The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a don't feature RCS messaging on T-Mobile

Rich Communications Services (RCS) messaging has been touted as the successor to standard text messages, but you’ll have to go without it if you’ve got a Google Pixel 3 or Pixel 3a on T-Mobile.

Responding to someone on Twitter, T-Mobile bluntly said “no” when asked about RCS support for the new Pixel phones. Compounding matters, there aren’t any Pixel phones on T-Mobile’s list of phones that support RCS.

When Android Authority reached out to T-Mobile for clarification, the carrier said the following:

For wireless provider grade performance, T-Mobile’s advanced messaging RCS capabilities are built into the core of the network rather than individual apps or devices, and the Pixels currently do not support this network-level authentication.

Keep in mind that T-Mobile adopted the RCS Universal Profile, the same one that Verizon and Sprint also adopted. Because Pixel phones support RCS messaging on Verizon, it makes us wonder whether T-Mobile is doing something on the back-end to limit access.

There’s always a chance that future updates will enable RCS for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a on T-Mobile. For now, RCS on T-Mobile remains limited to Samsung Galaxy S phones dating back to the Galaxy S7 and excluding the newer Galaxy S10 phones, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and the OnePlus 6T.

NEXT: What’s the point of the Google Pixel 3a?