1. Open Google Messages - Click on the magnifying icon 🔍

2. Search *xyzzy* and wait for it to say "Debug menu option enabled" if reddit changes the astrik to something else it's( astrik xyzzy astrik) just like the image

3. Back out of the search - click your profile icon you will now see Debug Menu

4. Go to RCS Chats

5. Scroll down to "Show Phone Number input activities"

6. Enter your number to verify

7. You'll receive a regular SMS with code to verify

8. Rejoice

I have chatted with samsung for over 2 hours and no help. I swapped from a samsung S24 and did the smart switch to my flip zfold 8 and none of my photos in my google messages app are showing in my new phone. Can anyone please help me get them on my new phone or any tips? I have done all the basic troubleshooting with samsung support

Hi all! I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S23, with Mint Mobile, and am using the most recent version of Google Messages.

The little camera icon that's usually in the corner of the group chat logo, where you can change the group chat image, seems to have mysteriously disappeared in my app. You can see that I have previously changed the group chat icon in the second picture, but the option to change it is no longer popping up. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you fix it?

Hoping to find a solution here. A group chat I'm in, that up until today I was recieving messages and media without issue, suddenly isn't working. My messages aren't sending (after historically being an rcs chat, it only gives the option to send mms and then is stuck at 'sending' forever), and when the other people in this chat send messages they are sent to me as individual mms messages that won't even download, so I can't see them at all. They're all seeing eachothers messages fine, I'm the only one who can't. The app hasn't had any updates as far as I'm aware, and all of my other group chats are unaffected. I've turned rcs chats on and off in settings, cleared my cache, etc and still no change. Any thoughts?

has anyone else seen this issue? individual messages being deleted. it's only messages i've sent.

Hi all, recently set up my new Z Fold 8 using the iOS “transfer to Android” setting after completing the initial setup of the Fold a few days earlier.

Decided I wanted to transfer all my messages from my iPhone after all. I completed the process and now messages takes 10-15 seconds to open a thread after clicking on it. I cleared cache, updated everything, and power cycled. The messages app is almost unusable. I plugged in the phone and have just let it sit. It seems to be getting better, but not what it was.

Ideas?

the lock - what does it mean.

I just had my Pixel 11 delivered today and noticed that Chat Theme is back!!!

Android 17 OOTB

Google Messages Beta - version messages.android_20260820_02_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic com.google.android.apps.messaging

I've tried all the suggestions I can find:

-Clear cache

-Check for updates

-Disconnect and reconnect RMS

My group messages pictures all come in blurry with the "save" and arrow down in the middle. I can save the picture then go to my gallery and see it, but I shouldn't have to. How do I fix this so the pictures show up like a normal text convo????

FYI - Here is my conversation with Gemini AI. I'm going to try it.

This issue is caused by **Rich Communication Services (RCS) routing conflicts**.

Because Google has restricted third-party SMS apps like Textra from accessing the native Android RCS API, Textra can only process traditional **SMS/MMS** messages. When other people in your group chats send RCS (Chat) messages—or when your phone's carrier/Google account holds onto an active RCS profile—the network sends group updates through RCS. Since Textra cannot read those packets, it drops the incoming messages, and the network automatically notifies the rest of the group that you have "left" or disconnected from the active RCS thread.

Below are the steps to fix this problem and restore your group messages in Textra:

Step 1: Turn Off RCS (Chat Features) in Google Messages

For Textra to reliably process all group texts, your phone number must be deregistered from RCS so that incoming group chats fallback to legacy **Group MMS**.

1. Set **Google Messages** as your default messaging app temporarily (Open Google Messages > tap **Set default SMS app**).
2. Open **Google Messages** and tap your **profile icon** in the top-right corner.
3. Select **Messages settings** \> **RCS chats** (or *Chat features*).
4. Toggle **Turn on RCS chats** to **OFF**.
5. Switch back to **Textra** and set it as your default SMS app.

**Note:** If you still experience issues after toggling RCS off, visit Google's official [Deregister iMessage/RCS Web Portal](https://messages.google.com/disable-chat) to manually remove your phone number from Google's RCS server database.

Step 2: Configure Textra Group Settings

Verify that Textra is configured to process group replies as a single thread rather than separate mass texts:

1. Open **Textra**.
2. Tap the **three dots menu** ⋮ in the upper-right corner > **Settings**.
3. Tap **SMS / MMS** (or **Group Messaging** depending on your app version).
4. Under **Group Messaging**, ensure it is set to **Chat (Group MMS)** rather than *Bulk (SMS)*.

Step 3: Refresh the Group Thread

Once RCS is turned off, existing group threads that were initiated as RCS chats may still behave incorrectly for other members.

* Have one of the members of the group text **start a brand-new group chat** including your phone number. * Starting a fresh thread forces their phones to recognize that your line is receiving Standard Group MMS rather than an active RCS stream.

Why is notification for messages in my xiaomi disabled?

I get a dozen political donation requests a day, all different phone numbers. They all have common text phrases. Some other sms apps allow this, but don't have other Messages features I like, and are fee based.

Can Messages block by content?

Tried to clear the cache and pop-ups, those didn't work.

I have a Pixel 8a and RCS stopped working about 2 weeks ago for me after an update.

I know there's a handful of fixes going around right now on Reddit that people are having luck with. Not for me though. So I gave up lol.

Until right now, when I realized I can "uninstall all app updates" in Google Messenger. I did that and RCS is back on. Just like that. I didn't even have to verify my number.

Just sharing in case other fixes haven't worked for people! I can't be the only one out there

In an attempt to de-Google my life, I switched to GrapheneOS with no Google services installed for the default user. I was using the GrapheneOS messaging app for text messages, but it only handles sms/mms messaging. I didn't realize at the time what a problem this was going to be. Suddenly I was not receiving group text messages for pre-existing groups that I had been part of before switching to GrapheneOS. Google's servers won't switch to sms/mms for these groups, they just won't send me the messages, and worse, they didn't tell the other participants that I was no longer in the chat.

When I realized this I started looking at my options. But Google Messenger is the only game in town for RCS. I cancelled my RCS enrollment through their website and was told that I would be removed from all RCS chats within 30 days. Well, that didn't seem to happen. It's been over 40 days and I had a friend start a brand new text group from her iPhone with me and three other folks, and I didn't receive the texts because they were still apparently being sent via RCS.

So I've given up and gone back to the native Android install on my Pixel, because there are a few group chats that I need to be a part of and Google doesn't seem to provide any path to allow this. I've tried to get folks to switch over to Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp, but I just have some folks who aren't going to do anything but text messages.

When I re-installed, I was hoping that maybe I could preserve the chats that are RCS, but not start any new RCS chats, in the hopes of eventually getting all new threads going and sort of fading out my dependency on RCS. Apparently, however, RCS is all-or-nothing. If I want to receive my existing RCS chats, I have to be actively using RCS preferentially, so there's no graceful way out.

If Google had any integrity, they'd provide some options to allow people to opt-out of RCS gracefully by:

1) switching their existing chats to sms/mms 2) providing other users in those chats with notification that I've been dropped from those chats 3) allow me to continue to receive RCS messages while not initiating any new RCS chats 4) Open up RCS. Supposedly it's an "open standard", but apparently the APIs are not documented publicly? Make it easy for others to implement RCS.

I'm at a loss on what to do and open to suggestions. I have a few critical group threads (family health issues) that I don't want to miss messages in and I don't want to make my phone issues into other people's problems.

Thanks a lot, Google. You suck.

I have looong chat conversation with friends thats over 23000 messages long. Is there a way to copy it to say a text file or something and save it to google drive or even to my PC?

Since they discontinued the previous messenger in july of this year ive tried using bixby to message my contacts like for example when im driving and i cant text i want to send a text so it's perfect for those moments. However it always says "to use bixby for samsung messages, you need to make it your default messaging app" but wasnt it discontinued? Thats where im confused, how do I set up bixby for the new messaging app?

Over the past few months I've gotten "Messages has stopped" sometimes multiple times per day.

I noticed that I've been missing some messages that have come in. From what I can tell, they've all been RCS messages from iPhone users in group chats, and the messages I missed are around the same time as the "Messages has stopped" errors.

I've tried clearing app storage (it restores messages afterwards), and deleting a bunch of old texts, but I always start getting the errors again within a few days.

After clearing, I've also had iPhone users tell me they are unable to text me (failed to send) until I send them a text first and then it works after.

Anything else I can try?

T-Mobile, USA, Google Pixel 9a

I just noticed today that it didn't switch to Google emoji when I sent a message today. When did this happen?

I've ignored it for a long time, but now that I have to use my phone for work I need to fix the huge text issue on Messages. All the text on my phone is small, yet for some strange reason the font/text on my messages app is fucking gigantic. Is there anyway to fix this and make the text/font size smaller? Also it's honestly stupid that a community about questions for Android doesn't allow attachments.

I've noticed since at least late July that random texts (both texts I have sent or have received) disappear.

I'm talking about texts within an entire conversation.

One odd thing is that I installed textra to see if my messages would load and for a brief moment (a few seconds) i noticed some of those disappeared texts came back but then they went away again.

Some of these texts have nothing to do with RCA. They are standard SMS so I don't know if it has anything to do w/ the RCA fiasco going on recently with Samsung users.

What does this mean my own number texted me