RCS Stuck on Setting Up

FidgetSpinner

Dmbruley I'm currently using the August 2024 version (the one that was suggested on a separate thread) but I am still having the issue of it getting stuck on verifying.

paulpirateflag

Checking in because it's been 18 days for you and I'm having the same issue. Did you find a resolution yet? I'm worried this RCS thing might be a dealbreaker for sticking with GrapheneOS for me...

ChompyCat

I've had RCS working on GOS on my Pixel 8 Pro for a year or so using Google Messages installed from the play store. The OS update 20250903 seemed to break it, it's now stuck on "Setting up... Trying to verify your phone number."

yaomtc

RCS stopped working for me recently too. Google Messages had my number "verified" for months and then suddenly it wasn't anymore, starting maybe about a week ago. I've tried all kinds of things mentioned in an older thread but nothing helped.

jumpdeer

There are a few different things you can try. See the main Google Messages thread and specifically this post that worked for me on T-Mobile.

c0rd

I was able to fix RCS after noticing it was broken after the latest update. I downloaded this version of Google Messages from APKMirror, opened it, it asked me if I want to enable RCS (I can't remember the exact wording, something like "new chat features"), tap yes, restart, then when you open it again, it should say your number was verified or connected. you can then update the Google Messages app and it should be back to normal!

paulpirateflag

c0rd I tried this a couple times with the older apk. It pulls up this popup that says "get features" and "skip" and if I select the former, the popup refreshes and only let's me clear it with "skip."

Then it tells me my carrier doesn't support chat features, although it definitely did on my pixel 6a.

Might get a new sim from my carrier and see if that makes a difference...

GrouchyGrape

c0rd what permissions did you end up giving it and the other Google apps?

GrouchyGrape

paulpirateflag what permissions did you have to give the apps?

paulpirateflag

GrouchyGrape I gave messages and google services access to all SMS and network, along with whatever the default was. I still have "trying to verify" while using the older apk and have not succeeded.

Safely9659

Same issue for me- after working for over a year, after this new update, suddenly I'm stuck without RCS. Seems like GrapheneOS broke it somehow. Hoping for a reliable workaround or patch soon

de0u

Safely9659 Seems like GrapheneOS broke it somehow.

Maybe so, but meanwhile Google is definitely rolling out changes to Google Messages, some of which appear to be designed to make verification harder to spoof.

Safely9659 Hoping for a reliable workaround or patch soon.

That would be great, and I'm sure the GrapheneOS developers would like to do that... but as long as the situation is that carriers are outsourcing RCS to Google Jibe it may not be possible for anybody to provide RCS on devices that Google wants to reject.

That said, apparently some carriers are shifting back to doing RCS themselves (source). And apparently that is resulting in instability for some users too!

Basically, I think the overall RCS ecosystem is in upheaval right now. That may not be something that the GrapheneOS developers can fix.

Safely9659

de0u at risk of veering too off topic, could you explain what you mean? What is being spoofed? I am using my real, normal phone number as per usual. Just one phone number, on one profile, on one device, same as always. You're saying this is likely an issue due to actually not being verifiable, but I think that is unlikely since I have changed nothing (except GraphenrOS updates) and RCS has broken. Also, the status shows as "verifying..." not something like "verification failed"

de0u

Safely9659 What is being spoofed? I am using my real, normal phone number as per usual. Just one phone number, on one profile, on one device, same as always.

The issue is that scammers want to send messages that appear to be from banks, government agencies, etc. Carriers and Google want to impede that, so Google wants to be sure that your device and SIM are legit. This is harder for Google than it would be for your carrier (who, after all, associated the number with the SIM and gave you the SIM, for which you pay).

beakman

For me, Google Messages says that RCS is "Connected." But I still can't send any RCS chats to anyone. I guess I'll just disable RCS for now.

nmassey

For me, it's stuck on "status : connecting" et when i try to verify my phone number it's don't work.