- Users who have rooted their phone, have their bootloader unlocked or are using some custom ROMs report that their RCS messages are not being sent, even though RCS shows them as connected.
- The Google Messages app does not show any error messages when blocking RCS messages of these users and does not send the messages out as SMS or MMS either.
- Google famously campaigned for Apple to include RCS messaging in iMessage but is now blocking it for certain Android users.
We’ve all seen Google wax poetically and relentlessly on how RCS messaging is the next best thing since sliced bread and how Apple should adopt the standard on its iPhones to bring a great messaging experience to all users. We agree with the sentiment, and even Apple has committed to including RCS in iMessage this year, likely with the impending iOS 18 update. But as much as Google wants others to use RCS, the company is blocking rooted Android phones and custom ROM users from using it on their devices.
Many users are complaining on Reddit (h/t Mishaal Rahman) that Google is quietly blocking RCS messages on rooted devices and custom ROMs. More specifically, it appears that Google has begun implementing Play Integrity API attestation checks (popularly known as “SafetyNet checks,” inspired by the predecessor SafetyNet API) on the Google Messages app.