Google Messages will let you know why it will not let ship your RCS texts

What’s extra annoying than when an app stops working? Nicely — a number of issues, really — however on this slender context we’re particularly speaking about when an app deliberately stops working, however received’t clearly talk why that’s. RCS help coming to Google Messages was a serious step ahead, not only for messaging on Android, however between customers throughout platforms, as effectively. Final 12 months, we recognized a difficulty with RCS in Google Messages the place your texts wouldn’t undergo, however the app wouldn’t let you know why. And now it’s trying like Google would possibly lastly be able to do one thing about that.

The issue that we noticed again then affected Google Messages customers that had rooted their telephones or have been utilizing customized ROMs — principally, doing something that will trigger their gadget to fail Play Integrity API attestation checks. If Messages detected that it was operating on gadget like that, RCS messages would simply vanish as you tried to ship them — no error, no falling again to common SMS, nothing.

We reached out to Google on the time, and the corporate described this measure as one undertaken to restrict the potential for unhealthy actors abusing RCS, utilizing modified telephones to ship spam messages and the like. In that gentle, the way in which RCS was silently failing not less than made a level of sense — like shadow banning an account, it may be strategic to withhold data from an adversary. However harmless Android fans simply ended up discovering themselves caught in that crossfire, and left with out a clear indication why.

Quick-forward to now, and Messages appears to be on the point of really inform these rooted customers what its large downside is.  Wanting by Google’s latest messages.android_20250730_00_RC00.phone_samsung_openbeta_dynamic launch of Messages, we’ve recognized a brand new textual content string:

This can be a string that, as soon as the app begins utilizing it, ought to show in Messages RCS settings the place you’re in a position to toggle on RCS and examine its standing — the identical place we’re anticipating the app to add that new Particulars button. Between the 2 of them, it feels that Google’s explicitly attempting to enhance its communication with customers in the case of RCS points.

Apps like Pockets already simply out and let you know when your rooted cellphone is why it refuses to work, so it’s not like this represents a serious coverage shift for Google — we’re simply pleased to see the aspect of extra data slowly beginning to win out. At this level, we are able to’t think about any critical spammers would acquire something from continued silence, and hopefully when this lastly rolls out we’ll have fewer customized ROM followers scratching their heads about vanishing messages.