RCS now quietly available in the Netherlands: that’s how it works
Google has made RCS available to all Android users in the Netherlands. You can now use the SMS successor in the Search giant’s Messages app. This is how it works.
Read on after the ad.
Using RCS in the Netherlands: that’s how it works
Google is adding RCS (Rich Communication Services) support to the Messages app in the Netherlands. The SMS successor was quietly made available to a group of users a few months ago, but can be used by everyone. Google, together with providers, is responsible for the rollout of RCS.
In Android’s default Messages app, a notification appears saying “Messages has gotten better.” If you tap ‘Agree’, RCS will be activated. Via the settings of the Messages app you can then check whether the new chat functions are enabled. Google calls the SMS successor ‘Chat’ and when typing a message you will see ‘Chat message’ instead of ‘SMS’ in the chat window.
- Open the Messages app on your Android phone and tap the three dots at the top right;
- Select ‘Settings’ and then ‘Chat functions’;
- You can switch the new RCS support on or off at ‘Enable chat functions’.
This is RCS (and you can do this with it)
With RCS, as the name suggests, you can send much more elaborate messages than via SMS. For example, RCS supports sending photos, stickers and videos. There are also many features that you previously only saw in chat apps such as WhatsApp. For example, there is support for group conversations and you can see when someone types a message or receives your message. RCS is therefore a kind of alternative to WhatsApp and a really modern successor to SMS.
If you want to learn more about RCS, check out our FAQ about the SMS successor. Have you seen the notification in the Messages app and already used the RCS functions? Let us know in the comments below this article!
