Updated to iOS 18 and can’t find the new RCS Messaging option on your iPhone? There’s a reason for that.
If Your Carrier Does Not Support RCS Messaging, the Toggle Option Won’t Even Show up in iOS 18 for iPhone
iOS 18 is packed with a ton of new features and technologies and one of them is RCS. It is short for Rich Communication Services, and it uses a modern architecture to send rich text messages, images, video, audio notes or files over a cellular or Wi-Fi network.
To put it in simple words – it’s a replacement for SMS and MMS. It’s something Android users have been enjoying for a while and it is finally available on iPhone.
However, after installing iOS 18, you realized you can’t see the RCS Messaging option in Settings > Apps > Messages at all. Did Apple not ship the feature with iOS 18.0? Oh, it did. It’s just that your carrier does not support it at all, yet. The toggle switch won’t even show up if your carrier hasn’t added RCS support for iPhone.
Once your carrier has added support for it, you can just go to Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS to see check for its availability. It is turned on by default when the feature is available.
Do keep in mind RCS relies on cellular data and Wi-Fi to work, just like iMessage. If you have great cellular coverage, but data isn’t working, RCS won’t work either and your messages will revert to SMS. But hey, it’s very hard to come across a spot these days where cellular data or Wi-Fi does not work.
One last thing, and it’s an important one – RCS is only available on iPhone. If you have a cellular iPad, the feature is not available on it at all. It’s best to make it clear right now before you find yourself in a rabbit hole of misinformation.
If you haven’t already, make sure you take iOS 18 for a spin today on iPhone. It’s a free update and contains a ton of new features which you are going to love.
