Skip to Main Content

Here Are All the Carriers That Support RCS on iPhone

Most do now, but your carrier may still be excluded.
iphone and google pixel phones on table next to each other
Credit: Linaimages / Shutterstock.com

When Apple announced last year that it would finally bring RCS support to the iPhone, it seemed like the beginning of a new era in tech and communications. Finally, Androids and iPhones could message directly with one another without having to go through SMS, an inherently insecure and outdated messaging protocol responsible for poorly functioning group chats, low-quality images and videos, and most things we associate with "green bubble" messaging.

However, even when RCS officially rolled out on iPhones with iOS 18, there were limitations. For one, RCS' biggest perk, end-to-end encrypted messaging, didn't work (and still doesn't work), which means texting between iPhones and Androids on RCS is as insecure as it is over SMS. What's more, you might not even get the other perks of RCS on your iPhone, since the protocol is carrier-dependent. At launch, only the major carriers—AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile—supported RCS. If you used another, you were out of luck.

Since then, things have changed. More and more carriers have adopted the protocol for iOS, so chances are pretty high your iPhone can message other Android users over RCS.

9to5Mac spotted the latest updates to Apple's list of carriers that support RCS. As of Monday, Dec. 23, these are those carriers:

  • AT&T

  • Boost Mobile (iOS 18.2 required)

  • C Spire

  • Consumer Cellular

  • Cricket

  • FirstNet

  • H20 Wireless

  • Metro by T-Mobile

  • PureTalk

  • Red Pocket

  • Spectrum Mobile

  • T-Mobile

  • TracFone / Straight Talk

  • US Cellular

  • Verizon

  • Visible

  • Xfinity Mobile

As 9to5Mac highlights, the two major exceptions right now are Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile. Combined, these carriers have about three million customers, and were acquired by T-Mobile earlier this year, so it's a bit surprising it's taking so long for them to adopt this messaging protocol. In all likelihood, these carriers will add RCS support in the near future.

As a reminder, you can make sure RCS is enabled on your iPhone from Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging. Note that even if this setting is enabled, and your carrier supports RCS, you might not see RCS appear for all chats with Android devices. The Android device also must support RCS, including both the device, its carrier, and the messaging app in question. If the other user doesn't have RCS enabled for any reason, you'll see that SMS is the protocol used for that particular conversation.

artist rendition of Jake Peterson
Jake Peterson
Senior Technology Editor

Jake Peterson is Lifehacker’s Senior Technology Editor. He has a BFA in Film & TV from NYU, where he specialized in writing. Jake has been helping people with their technology professionally since 2016, beginning as technical specialist at New York’s 5th Avenue Apple Store, then as a writer for the website Gadget Hacks. In that time, he wrote and edited thousands of news and how-to articles about iPhones and Androids, including reporting on live demos from product launches from Samsung and Google. In 2021, he moved to Lifehacker and covers everything from the best uses of AI in your daily life to which MacBook to buy. His team covers all things tech, including smartphones, computers, game consoles, and subscriptions. He lives in Connecticut.

Read Jake's full bio