RCS is the modern version of SMS served over data/wifi. It improves security and allows you to group chat, send pictures/videos/voice notes for free without incurring MMS charges or having to use third-party apps like Facebook or Whatsapp.
It has been the standard on Android for many years, but Apple recently launched support for it in iOS 18 last year.
Due to the differences in how Apple and Google support RCS, iPhones require that carriers 'handle' the RCS protocol directly. Whereas on Android, Google handles the RCS chats for you. This means that Android users on UK carriers have enjoyed RCS for years, but UK carriers must do some work to support RCS on iOS.
Three UK promptly supported RCS on iOS in December 2024. This means Three customers on iOS devices can use and enjoy the benefits of RCS.
Smarty has yet to enable support for RCS on iOS, as of 18th February 2025. Someone did say in the forums that Smarty was actively investigating this in December, but we have not had any update since. Other UK carriers have swiftly done the work to enable RCS for iOS users, but there hasn't been an update on this from Smarty yet. I would really like some official acknowledging that this is coming soon, and ideally some realistic timescales to manage expectations.
This is quite an important feature for me because I moved my elderly mother over to Smarty to save costs, but she routinely sends me (an Android user) images or videos over MMS which incurs charges. I am giving Smarty another 4-6 weeks to acknowledge and confirm that proper RCS support is coming soon, or I'll be moving my mother to another carrier. I can imagine there's quite a few customers in a similar situation.
18 Comments
Any indication that this might come with iOS 26? I’m going to assume it will launch when an iOS update occurs
Has there been an update on this recently at all?
SamFinl_1605779 You need to take into account that you are paying a price for a no-frills product and therefore it most likely will not provide exactly what you want.
Fair enough, I'd have called it more expectant. In that I expect standard features across the board and for service to maintain pace with the rest of the world, actually I'd go further - being in the UK I expect us to be leading along with other major 'western' nations but we're not, we're behind.
Until demanding or expectant customers speak out in numbers they won't do anything about it by the looks of things, I would have expected them to initiate this on their own, several years ago ahead of the demand to stay current and on par with the competition but now they're playing catchup and as you rightly say - the option is to go with another provider who does offer the services as a minimum but this doesnt help Smartie, it hurts them.
So the way I see it, I'm part of the solution speaking up rather than just 'making do'.
Good day sir/madam and I wish you well - enjoy this sun we're getting, that's a surprise blessing.
SamFinl_1605779 I was referring to your whole tone here - demanding.
Excuse me? What about my comment was rude? If you're referring to the *bleep* then I suggest you read the words either side of it, it's plainly obvious that the forum has automatically changed the shorthand name for "Richard" within the phrase "Every Tom, D & Harry" which as you'll know is common parlance in English.
Might want to check that and read it properly before attempting to take the moral high ground and chastise me for being 'rude'.
SamFinl_1605779 When you post in such a rude manner, I imagine that you're likely to get nothing.
You are paying less than you would on the major networks and so should not expect all the fancy frills.
If those things are that important, luckily you are tied in no longer than the end of your current plan and so are able to move to a network that provides everything you want.
Why hasn’t RCS been enabled for iPhones yet? iOS has supported RCS since 18.2, and major carriers have already rolled it out. Meanwhile, we’re still stuck with outdated SMS/MMS when messaging Android users—no read receipts, no proper group messaging, no high-quality media. It’s 2025, and this should have been sorted by now! Some of us with common sense dont want Zuckerberg/Besos and Alphabet building data models upon us to sell to every Tom, **bleep** or Harry.
Since you operate on Three’s network, and Three supports RCS, there’s no excuse for the delay. iPhone users on SMARTY are paying customers too, and we deserve the same modern messaging experience. When can we expect RCS to be enabled? We need a clear timeline—no vague responses, just action.
Sort this out ASAP!
So given that smarty marked the Short Codes suggestion as "investigating" in June 2024, and finally launched them in March 2025, that suggests we'll need to wait a considerable long time for RCS.
I'll stick around on smarty for now, as I'm an android user so this doesn't impact me. But I've already started the process to move my elderly mother back to another carrier because iOS users are being negatively impacted by the lack of RCS support by Smarty. To be honest, the lack of communication and the general feeling of unpreparedness (we knew iOS would support RCS for over a year before release) makes me rethink sticking with Smarty.
I appreciate this is a value brand but you've gotta keep up with modern standards and features. Short codes are hardly new....
