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  • Using RCS with Google Messages on GrapheneOS

CryptOwlie RCS was working fine and effortlessly for me when I had my Pixel 4a. I had to upgrade it, due to it being end of life. I got a Pixel 7a and ever since I got it, it's been impossible to get RCS running on it. It seems to me that a lot of people struggling are using 6 and 7 series.

If Google has been making changes to RCS, which I believe they have, then RCS having worked before on an older phone may not be relevant.

Note that most GrapheneOS users are probably 6-series and 7-series users because:

  • the 5 series is just about EOL;
  • the 8 and 8 Pro are new and expensive;
  • unlike the 6 series and 7 series, which have three models, there isn't an 8a yet(?).

Also, I think I saw Reddit complaints about Verizon RCS by non-GrapheneOS users on non-Pixel phones.

      I would really like a developer to initiate a step-by-step process of providing them with information and logs, if it is something that they can resolve; even providing a little app in their App repository to allow users to manually add their RCS information, would be helpful. If it falls out of their scope, I would also like to know this as well. For me on a P8P, the issue is not registering the device but actually receiving the carrier settings. If it stays in the “Connecting…” stage for too long, it will unregister and stay in the “Setting up…” stage, where there is no ACS URL set according to the debugging menu. I only see “Connecting…” if there is no data or Wi-Fi present, or I am on a network that is blocking the connection. Otherwise, I will remain connected.

      de0u No, no P8a until there is a P9 and P9P.

          bluesl33ves I would really like a developer to initiate a step-by-step process of providing them with information and logs [...]

          While various of the developers occasionally scan the forum, the standard protocol is to seek help via one of the real-time chat rooms, see https://grapheneos.org/contact#community-chat. The chat rooms also make it possible for you to provide telemetry from your device via a non-public channel.

          This may well not be quickly resolvable. RCS is a moving target -- the standard isn't really settled, carrier implementations are evolving, and carriers are not completely settled in terms of which implementations to deploy. I don't know if Google's standard client is changing too, but it probably is. Personally I won't be surprised if reliable solutions are months away.

            irrenarzt
            Compat mode didn't make a difference on my end either. I also had wifi disabled the entire time, and my RCS stayed connected for about 3.5 days. I had gotten so hopeful when I saw that I had made it past the 72 hr mark, but by that evening it had disconnected. I want to keep troubleshooting this because, especially with Apple on board and google Messages being the stock messaging app on all droids, I do think RCS is the future.

            Note to others: I also tried installing Carrier Services, and that didn't seem to make a difference. And there had been some talk earlier in this thread about sniffing the traffic to see if Google was phoning home with a bunch of telemetry; well, once I got RCS connected I did start logging my traffic, and I was happy to see that the only URLs it connected to were m.talk.google.com and my carrier's PCSCF url. In other words, I don't think it was sending more than the bare minimum data required to maintain the connection.

              FlipSid I'm confused as to how you managed to get this to work. All I see is that you downloaded the app from the Play Store. Are you running the latest version of Google Messages?

                  So reading through the post that Posichronic shared, it looked like one of the commenters found that their success was immediately connected to "Safetynet".

                  I haven't figured out what that means exactly, but it sounds like it's related to "Device Integrity Check" which Graphene OS does not pass.

                    FlipSid I had to download over mobile data (n o t wifi) and have the VPN deactivated.
                    Otherwise it would not work.
                    From Play store. Version now is:
                    20240123_01

                    If you feel up to it, wipe the cache, data, and uninstall the app, re-install it, and let us know what happens.

                      Negativ. Feeling kind of indisposed at the moment 😂😂😂
                      Once it stops working I will touch it, until then leave it alone

                        Wanted to add my experience.

                        I had this problem for three months and may have fixed it.
                        I am on Visible, seems to work the same as Verizon.
                        I turned off WiFi since it seemed more people got verified using cellular data.
                        I uninstalled current Messages version.
                        Installed version: messages.android_20220131_05_RC00.phone.opebeta_dynamic
                        Opened, gave network permission, set as default, opted into RCS I think they called it dynamic messaging.
                        After that I got the standard "connecting" in the RCS menu. It would either sit on "connecting" or "trying to verify" for weeks regardless of what version I tried.
                        Sidenote: xyzzy debug enabler would immediately disable in this version.
                        Went to App Info menu for Messages, clicked 'force stop', went back to Messages and my number was now verified and connected, for the first time in months.
                        Upgraded through store to latest version, and I am still verified.
                        I should mention, I tried almost every method available before this. So I am surprised my simple method worked. I tried the debug menu tricks but could never get a version installed that would give me the ACS menu to manually insert a link for my carrier to activate RCS.
                        It has now been three days, I'll keep my eye on it.

                          I'll give my experience. One of the reasons I wanted to switch to GOS was for RCS messaging. I was following this thread to see if it was possible before I took the plunge. Ultimately, I decided to give it a try anyways.

                          The TL;DR is my RCS messaging worked without problems straight out of the box. It has been working for 2 days now so I hope it sticks.

                          I have a Pixel 6 Pro, Xfinity Mobile (Verizon network).

                          1. Fresh install if GOS (not sure if this is a requirement)
                          2. With WiFi and no VPN, from the Apps app, I installed all of the Google apps: Framework, Services, PlayStore
                          3. I updated them all to the latest versions
                          4. I installed Google Messages from the PlayStore. I had to create a throw away account.
                          5. I turned off WiFi and opened Google Messages, went into settings and turned on RCS. It was enabled right away, but E2EE wasn't enabled yet. Maybe about 30 seconds later E2EE was enabled.
                          6. I then turned off permissions for the Google Apps except network. Google Messages has the permissions I want for functionality as well as network.
                          7. It has been working ever since, but I will update the group if there are problems in the coming days/weeks
                            6 days later

                            • [deleted]

                            • Post #247

                            Seems as though the recent GrapheneOS version 2024022300 update has changed my RCS status from "Verifying..." With no phone number displayed. To "Setting up..." With my carrier and phone number. Will conduct further testing.

                              SirBlain Only three days? That seems normal. I'm on Visible as well. Longest I had it stay connected was a week. Finally gave up on it. Seems unlikely to get fixed at this rate, but who knows.

                                5 days later

                                Looks like this issue (with a generic reference to "custom ROMs" rather than GrapheneOS specifically) is getting some coverage: https://9to5google.com/2024/02/29/google-messages-rcs-rooted/. Not sure how well-researched the article is but curious if people thought this is off-base or some consensus emerging around a new restrictive approach that Google's taking.

                                  Gramsci ugh, I have been wondering about this for a few weeks now. It does seem like Google is trying to tie RCS to hardware in a way that graphene prevents. Well I don't understand all of the technical details, it is a little understandable from the point of view of wanting to have absolute control over a device/person and wanting to prevent spoofing.

                                  It's an uphill battle, but it's going to push me further towards third party E2EE options, and I'll just have to deal with getting my friends onto those platforms.

                                  I suppose the other approach is that somebody could come up with a way to implement RCS outside of Google messages. I know that's been a very rocky situation.