RCS messages on a Mac with an Android phone: how to send and receive them

Yes, you can send and receive RCS messages on a Mac with an Android phone, through Google Messages for web. RCS runs in the Google Messages app on the phone, and the web version shows what is in that app, so your RCS chats appear in the browser alongside ordinary texts. There is no separate RCS app for macOS, and the Mac's own Messages app handles RCS only for people with an iPhone. Google does not publish a list of which RCS features carry over to the browser, so the sensible approach is to set it up and run the short test further down.

What is RCS, briefly?

Google's page Learn about Rich Communication Services messaging calls it "a modern industry standard for messaging". With RCS chats on, it says, you can share high-resolution photos and videos, see when someone is typing, get read receipts, send over mobile data and Wi-Fi, and have end-to-end encryption with other Google Messages users. The condition is on the same page: "everyone in the Google Messages conversation must turn the RCS chats on." Otherwise the conversation falls back to SMS or MMS. More is in what is RCS.

How do I get RCS chats on the Mac?

Three steps, and only the first is specific to RCS.

1. Turn on RCS on the phone. From Google's page Turn on RCS chats in Google Messages: open Google Messages, tap your profile picture or initial, then Messages settings, then RCS chats, and turn it on. If you cannot find "RCS chats", Google says to look for Chat features. The status on that screen should read Connected.

2. Make sure Google Messages is the phone's texting app. Google's troubleshooting page lists this first: "Make sure that Google Messages is your device's default app for SMS." This matters on a Samsung Galaxy in particular. Google's page on how RCS chats are secured notes that Samsung Messages has its own RCS setting, but Messages for web mirrors only the Google Messages app.

3. Pair Google Messages for web. On the Mac, open messages.google.com/web in Safari or Chrome, sign in with the same Google Account as the phone, and tap the matching emoji on the phone. The full steps are in Android messages on a Mac.

After that, the conversations in the browser are the ones on the phone, RCS chats included.

What does Google confirm about RCS in the browser?

Less than you might expect. It is worth being exact about where the documentation stops.

So the firm ground is this: the browser is a window onto the phone's app, and the phone is what sends and receives RCS. Anything about how a particular RCS feature looks in the browser is something to see for yourself.

How do I check what works, in five minutes?

Pick a contact you know has RCS. On the phone, Google says the compose bar reads "RCS message" for an RCS conversation and "Text message" for SMS. Then, on the Mac:

1. Open that conversation in Messages for web. Check it is the same thread, with the same history.
2. Send a message from the Mac. On the phone, look at the status under it. Google's FAQ says a single check means sent, a double check delivered, and a filled double check read, and that "these icons won't show on SMS or MMS messages". If you see them, the message went as RCS.
3. Ask the other person to type. See whether a typing indicator appears in the browser.
4. Turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data on the phone and send again. The message should not go through until the phone is back online, which confirms the phone is doing the sending.

Does RCS work with iPhone owners from here?

Yes, with limits set on the iPhone side. Google's RCS FAQ says RCS between Android and iPhone gives typing indicators and read receipts in one-to-one chats, group chat management, and high-resolution photos and videos. Apple's page Turn on RCS messaging on your iPhone says the iPhone needs iOS 18 and "a cellular plan from a carrier that supports RCS messaging on iPhone", with the switch under Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging.

On encryption the two companies' pages do not line up, and you should know both. Google's FAQ says RCS chats with iPhone users do not have end-to-end encryption. Apple's page on iMessage, RCS, and SMS/MMS, dated May 2026, says that starting with iOS 26.5, "end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging (Beta) in Messages is available with supported carriers and will roll out over time". Until both pages agree, do not assume a chat with an iPhone owner is encrypted unless the conversation itself says so.

Can the Mac's own Messages app do RCS with my Android phone?

No. Apple's guide to setting up Messages on a Mac says: "If you have an iPhone, you can also send SMS, MMS, or RCS text messages to any mobile phone from your Mac." RCS reaches Apple's Messages app through an iPhone on the same Apple Account. With an Android phone, that app can do iMessage from an email address and nothing more, which is covered in iMessage with an Android phone and a Mac.

RCS is not showing up. What should I check?

Start on the phone, because if RCS is not working there it cannot work on the Mac.

• Check the status. Under RCS chats, Google lists the states: Connected, Connecting, Trouble connecting. Awaiting retry, and Not supported. If "Trouble connecting" lasts more than 30 minutes, Google says to tap Details and submit feedback.

If RCS is fine on the phone and the browser will not connect at all, that is a pairing problem. See Google Messages for web not working.

Where does The Relay fit?

Not as an RCS client. The Relay does not send messages of any kind from the Mac, so replying to an RCS chat from the keyboard is a job for Google Messages for web, which is free.

What The Relay does is tell you something has arrived without a browser tab open. Its texts and one-time codes feature is about SMS: a text that arrives on the phone shows up on the Mac, and a login code in it is copied to the Mac's clipboard. It also shows the phone's notifications as Mac notifications, and a new chat in Google Messages raises a notification like any other app. It costs $19.99 once, and both devices need to be on the same network or in Bluetooth range.

Questions people ask

Is there an RCS app for Mac?

No. With an Android phone, RCS on a Mac means Google Messages for web in a browser. Apple's Messages app on the Mac supports RCS only through an iPhone.

Do I need to turn on RCS separately for Google Messages for web?

Google documents no separate web setting. RCS is turned on in the phone app under Messages settings > RCS chats, and the web version shows what is in the phone app.

Why does a chat show as a text message and not RCS?

Google says RCS is used only when everyone in the conversation has it turned on. Otherwise the message is sent as SMS or MMS.