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How to send RCS messages from your iPhone to your Android user friends
Looking for a way to send rich text messages from your iPhone to your Android counterparts? Thanks to iOS 18, the long-awaited RCS messaging option is a reality. With the new RCS support, your iPhone texts to Android users can include larger file attachments, higher-quality photos and videos, audio messages, read receipts, more types of emojis, smoother group chats, and other cool features.
Also: 6 reasons why iOS 18 makes the iPhone 16 a must-upgrade
Promised by Apple in 2023 and top among the desired new features in iOS 18, RCS (Rich Communications Service) is a messaging standard released by Google a few years ago. Designed to replace SMS messaging, RCS is a more modern standard that can handle richer content.
Apple had long resisted the calls to enable RCS but finally gave in amid demand for greater interoperability between iPhone and Android. Until the release of iOS 18, Apple users could send rich text messages to each other only through iMessage. Any texts exchanged with Android users would use SMS, thereby stripping out the rich content, or use MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), allowing limited types of media in a message.
To send an RCS message, your iPhone needs to be running iOS 18 or higher. You must also be on the right carrier. Though Apple has enabled RCS at its end, the carriers must also activate it on their networks. At this stage, all three major US carriers — Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile — have turned on the RCS switch. Other carriers in the US and around the world have done likewise. In March 2025, RCS support expanded to Google Fi users and several MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) that use T-Mobile’s network.
Now sure if your carrier allows for RCS? Fear not, there is an easy way to check. Now, here’s how RCS message works.
How to send RCS messages from iPhone to Android
First, you’ll need to be running iOS 18 or higher on your iPhone. For this, head to Settings, tap General, and then select Software Update. Tap the option for Update Now and then allow the latest update to download and install.
Next, you’ll need to turn on RCS messaging. On your iPhone, go to Settings and select Apps. Swipe down the screen and tap the entry for Messages. Go to the Text Messaging section, tap the RCS Messaging entry, and then turn on its switch.
Open the Messages app and start or continue a conversation with an Android user. The message field will read: Text Message + RCS. Compose a message that includes content you couldn’t send before RCS support, such as a high-resolution photo or video, an audio clip, or an unusual emoji.
Also: Best iPhones 2025: Which iPhone model should you buy?
On the receiving end, the Android user should be able to view the rich content that you included with your text.
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