Android Messages is getting an upgrade!

[FidoStephane]

Hey Community!

The Android Messages app is getting an upgrade today!  This upgrade will allow for Rich Communication Services, which means an even more awesome texting experience.  Most Android models released after today will have the new Android Messages build in, however it will be available for download from the Play Store to all Android devices running 4.1 and 4.4 or higher. Note that the update is rolled out to devices in batches. You'll receive a notification to update it when it's available.

So, what’s changing exactly? Android Messages now has advanced features such as Typing Indicators, Deliver Receipts, Read Receipts, Group Messaging, and Photo/file/Location Sharing capabilities. Pretty cool eh?

Note: The advanced features only work from Messages to Messages, for now at least.

Check it out today! It’s pretty awesome.

Cheers!

-FidoStephane

[FidoChristina]

Hey @tmEvol!

That's pretty strange but i'm glad it's working again! keep us posted and feel free to share if you figure out what was wrong!

[mzkaye729]

Any updates ? It's been more than a month now w/ no updates.

[KAPABLE-K]

@mzkaye729 which phone are you using and did you try clearing your cache partition and also clear the data on the Android messenger app then restart the phone?

[mzkaye729]

Hi,

Originally was using a OnePlus 3 unlocked phone. Did factory reset, uninstalled and re-installed Android Messages, cleared cache. Still did not receive the RCS banner to enable the RCS feature.

I have since moved on to a Samsung Galaxy S8+. Brand new out of the box; still did not receive the Android Messages RCS banner.

[FidoTerry]

@mzkaye729 All phones locked or unlocked should receive the RCS banner now so it's odd you didn't get it on both phones. Just curious, was the S8+ purchased from Fido? 

[mzkaye729]

Hi,

No, still no banner up to this day, not even on the OnePlus 3 when I tried it this morning. Not entirely sure why it's taking such a long time.

It was purchased directly from the Samsung Store, not through Fido.

[FidoMegan]

Hey @mzkaye729

Have you tried to uninstall and re-install it on your Samsung? Does the app have the latest update? 

[mzkaye729]

Yes, I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling. I've cleared the cache also. I've even factory reset it after turning the phone on for the first time since I purchased it. It's running Android Nougat (7.0) and it has the latest version of the app in question on there. 

I'm starting to think this botched rollout maybe is isolated to unlocked phones and maybe Fido has restricted the rollout to carrier-provided cellphones only. It's been like this for awhile now, even with my other unlocked phone. In fact, none of my friends who have unlocked phones have received the banner.

[FidoTerry]

@mzkaye729 All phones locked or unlocked have access to this feature. I'll send you a PM so we can look into this together.

[FidoTerry]

Hey everyone! 

We’re aware that some people who are using non-Fido phones aren’t getting the banner, and we’re investigating. We will update the thread once we have more information on this.  

[MattinToronto]

Three months later the response is underwhelming. Heck, at this point I'd love prefer to hear that you have no idea and you never will over rather than just be asked to wait indefinitely. This is right up there with being put on hold with terrible repetitive music, being on a delayed flight, or waiting for a break in traffic to make a left hand turn. You are sure it'll happen eventually but you wonder if you'll still think it's worth it when it does. It's a little concerning to think that Fido doesn't understand the ins and outs of the tech over a half year after it began the roll out of it. And, before people say all devices are different etc etc, and it takes time to get a system to work with all of them, I'll say it would then behoove the folks at Fido to have advertised the rollout as execlusive to the models they tested and told the rest of the customers - hey maybe it'll work for you, best of luck! My wild conjecture is that Fido isn't tyring to improve anything but waiting on Google to make the next RCS version more universally deployable, and that's why they have no time frame and/or fixes to quote.

[FidoFaiza]

Hi @MattinToronto, thanks for your feedback; I will make sure it gets to the right people. -Faiza

[MattinToronto]

So for any of you folks, like myself, who are like a dog with a bone and just can't give up waiting for RCS here's the skinny so far. Still no response from Fido, their support when I tried asking about it knows nothing about it, and thinks RCS is an app instead of a protocol, and I'm not sure who the right people @FidoFaiza was going to direct my inquiry to were, but I assume the answer is vacationers for the last month. This may just have to be another services not accessible through Fido with a BYOD plan. No Spotify, no five free hours a month, no roam like home, and no RCS. The other stuff I get, they are bonus dealies, but to not give a fella access to a protocol? That's just mean!

Oh well, so sad, but I just heard Bell is getting their butts in the RCS game starting today so maybe those coporate comrades will get this thing off the ground properly. I kept posting here because I heard squeeky wheels get greased but I guess sometimes they just get ignored.

All the best to you all!

[bmbhkjhkh6]

Any updates on this? It's been months and my unlocked Samsung S8 still isn't getting an RCS banner.

[FidoRanya]

Hey @bmbhkjhkh6 ,

No updates for now regarding RCS for unlocked phones!

I'll send you a PM so we can take a look! 

[tmatthews524]

For several months now, RCS has not worked on my Google Pixel XL. When this first came to Fido, it seemed to be functioning for about a year, perhaps a year and a half. Then the feature was removed.

What has happened? Has this been removed? Is it an update with Google? 

Cheers,

T.

[FidoGabrielle]

Hello there @tmatthews524!

Welcome to the community.

Is your phone a Fido phone? Did anything happen since it stopped working, like a software update or something?

[tmatthews524]

I purchased the phone directly from Google, but I have been with Fido since I have had the device. I don't recall if anything specific happened to cause the functionality to stop. I just know I have tried multiple things to get it to work. I have even uninstalled and reinstalled the app with no success.

[FidoPierre]

Hey @tmatthews524, 

Can you try to go through your messaging settings on your device and let us know if you see an option to turn the Enhanced messaging On/Off?

If so, can you confirmed it is still properly Enabled?  

[tmatthews524]

This is what I'm trying to say. That function is no longer available and does not show up in the settings of Android Messenger. 

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app, but no luck .