Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones often notice in the settings or when sending messages the mysterious acronym RCS, which replaced the standard status of SMS. This is not a virus or a third-party program that requires removal, but a modern communication protocol designed to replace outdated text messages.
Rich Communication Services technology is integrated directly into the messaging system application, most often in Google Messages, which is pre-installed on global versions of MIUI and HyperOS firmware.
Understanding the principles of this service will allow you to move to a qualitatively new level of communication, gaining access to the functions of messengers without the need to install additional applications or register new accounts.
The essence of technology and the difference from the classic SMS
RCS is an evolution of traditional cellular communication developed by a consortium of operators to modernize text messages. Unlike SMS, which has a rigid 160 character limit and is transmitted through signal channels of the cellular network, RCS uses an Internet connection (mobile Internet or Wi-Fi).
This fundamental difference opens up capabilities previously only available in third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram: You can send high-resolution photos and videos without the compression that MMS has, share your location in real time, and see when someone types a response.
While the basic RCS standard does not always imply end-to-end encryption, implementing Google Messages on Xiaomi smartphones often uses secure channels, making it extremely difficult to intercept the content of messages.
⚠️ Attention: For work RCS Both participants in the dialogue (sender and recipient) need to have an active Internet connection and support for the protocol from the operator or application.
It is important to note that RCS You do not need to enter a phone number to register with a separate service, since it is tied directly to yours. SIM-card and phone number in the address book.
Functional features on Xiaomi and Redmi
Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi devices get access to the advanced functionality immediately after activation of the service in the Google Messages application. The interface becomes more informative: under the text input field, indicators of the delivery and reading status appear.
Among the main advantages of this is the ability to create group chats with improved participant management, you can assign names to groups, add or delete members, and see who sent a message in the general stream, which is not possible in normal situations. MMS- mailing.
Media files are transferred almost instantly and without loss of quality, and you can send files up to 100MB in size, which is critical for the transmission of original documents or photos.
- 📸 Status indicators: display "Print...", "Delivered" and "Read" in real time.
- 🌐 Wi-Fi: the ability to send messages even in areas of poor cellular reception, if Wi-Fi is available.
- 📎 File sharing: transfer of high quality documents, audio and video without compression.
- 🔒 Security: use of end-to-end encryption in one-on-one dialogues (if supported by the interlocutor).
Another important feature is the ability to respond to emoji messages directly in the chat, as well as edit or delete messages already sent for a certain time.
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If the RCS indicator is gone after the system update, try clearing the cache of the Google Messages app without deleting the data to save your correspondence history.
Configuring and activating the message service
On Xiaomi smartphones with global firmware, the main tool for working with RCS is the Google Messages app. The built-in MIUI Messaging app can also support the feature, but most often it is implemented through Google services.
To activate, you need to open the message application, click on the profile avatar in the upper right corner and select Message Settings. Next, go to the Chat features section.
In this menu, you'll see the switch Enable Chat Functions. Once activated, the system will start the process of checking the phone number. Status can change from Connect to Connect.
☑️ Checking settings RCS
If the process is stuck in the Connection phase, try switching from Wi-Fi to mobile or vice versa, and make sure that the device has the latest version of the app from Google Play installed.
⚠️ Note: The number verification process may not be completed if several devices are installed on the device. SIM-There's only one card active. SIM-map to which the registration is RCS, included in the system settings.
Comparison of RCS, SMS and third-party messengers
Understanding the differences between technologies will help you choose the best way to communicate. RCS It is an intermediate position between the classical telephony and OTT-Over-the-Top services such as Viber or Telegram.
The main advantage of RCS over SMS/MMS is its multimedia and no limits on text length, but unlike instant messengers, RCS does not require a separate account, password or email binding.
Below is a table showing the key differences between the messaging technologies on Xiaomi and Redmi devices.
| Characteristics | SMS / MMS | RCS (Google Messages) | Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet requirement | Not required (cellular network) | Required (Wi-Fi or Mob network) | Required (Wi-Fi or Mob network) |
| Media quality | Low (strong compression) | High (original) | Medium/High (depending on settings) |
| Registration | Not required (SIM-map) | Not required (SIM-map) | Required (account + number) |
| Encryption | Absent. | There is (through Google Messages) | Got it (through) |
It is worth noting that RCS works natively on the Android system, which provides better integration with contacts and calls compared to third-party applications.
Why does RCS not work for the operator?
Solving Connection Problems and Errors
Xiaomi users may experience a situation where the status of the service is constantly changing or messages are not sent, often due to the aggressive MIUI/HyperOS energy saving system, which limits the background of applications.
You need to manually allow Google Messages to work in the background. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → Messages and select Saving Charge by setting No Limits.
Another common problem is time desynchronization. Security protocol requires that the time on the device matches the network with an accuracy of up to a minute. Check the Date and Time settings → Time autodetermining.
- 🔄 Resetting: In the chat menu, click “Delete Profile” or “Disable” then turn on again.
- 📱 App Update: Make sure Google Play has the latest version of Google Messages.
- 📶 Network Change: Try sending a message by temporarily turning off Wi-Fi to use mobile traffic.
If the problem persists for a long time, it is possible that your carrier does not support a universal RCS profile or blocks it at the network level.
⚠️ Note: When you reset chat features, your correspondence history is not deleted, but encryption settings for current dialogs may be lost before re-activation.
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The stable operation of RCS on Xiaomi depends on the settings of the system energy saving and the relevance of the version of the Google Messages application.
Impact on traffic consumption and battery
Switching to RCS inevitably affects smartphone resource consumption, albeit insignificantly, because messages are transmitted over the Internet, they consume traffic, unlike SMS, which comes in a packet of minutes and messages.
But data consumption is minimal: a text message weighs a few kilobytes; the main traffic is consumed when transmitting photos and videos; on tariffs with limited Internet, you should control the size of your attachments.
As for the battery, a constant back-up process of keeping a connection (keep-alive) can slightly increase energy consumption, but modern Xiaomi and Android algorithms effectively manage this process by combining requests from different applications.
To save charge, you can turn off the function at night or in areas of unstable signal, where the phone spends a lot of energy searching for a network to transmit data packets.