RCS Messaging - Waiting for Activation

[petenice]

My daughter's iphone has just started having an issue with RCS messaging. I have an Android and we've been sending messaging over RCS until it stopped receiving them since Saturday and now the RCS setting on her phone says 'Waiting for activation'. No system updates have happened on either phone. EE support have been beyond useless. I've had the same phone conversations 4 times and eventually got through to level 2 support who was equally useless. His 'support' was to upgrade the phone 11 to iOS26 or factory reset the phone. Wasn't interested in exploring anything else. 

Anyone else had this issue with RCS messaging?

[Schockwave]

Hello @petenice , is your daughter able to update the phone to iOS26? Not sure whether that would make the difference though.

Your daughter will need to go to settings and then Apps and scroll down to Messages, click on that and then scroll down to .Text Messaging and where it says RCS messaging click on that and make sure that it is enabled. That should sort it out.

[petenice]

TBH I'm not sure I want to update to iOS26. iPhone 11 is the oldest device it supports so it's likely to be laggy and might not resolve the issue. The frustration I have it that tier 2 support couldn't really offer anything other than update or factory reset. The RCS service just stopped working a few days ago without any changes made to the device which suggests it's a carrier issue. Maybe a carrier update would have been worth pursuing rather the binary options given. 

[Schockwave]

@petenice , if you do as I suggested and go to settings and apps and messenger, you should scroll down and find text messaging, and then just click on RCS and make sure that they are enabled, you do not need to update to IOS26 if you do not want to, that is your choice..

You can always update to the new version and if you do not like it,  so long as you backed up your system, go back to the previous version if you so please.

[petenice]

I've been through all of the suggestions - RCS messaging is on. The issue is the status of RCS messaging under the toggle says 'Waiting for activation...' Like I said this seems to be a carrier issue not a device issue 

[Leanne_T]

Hi there @petenice 

Thanks for coming to the community. 

Are you able to try the SIM card if this a physical SIM in a different phone to see if the RCS messaging works or shows the same message? This would help us to see if this follows the SIM card.

Speak soon.

Leanne 🙂

[petenice]

I don't have another iPhone to test the sim in I'm afraid.

[Leanne_T]

Thanks @petenice 

If you have no other device to try and would like to check if anything else can be done before trying the software update and factory reset, please get back in touch with our tech guides and the team can check everything at our end and let you know.

Thanks. 

Leanne.

[petenice]

I'm not happy with the insistence that it's a device issue when it's down to the RCS messaging waiting for activation that isn't being triggered- this would suggest it's a carrier issue. It's not ideal that your only proposed solution is to upgrade to an OS that's likely to be laggy on this age of phone or a factory reset. 

[Leanne_T]

Hi @petenice 

I understand and appreciate this is not something you would like to try on the device, our tech guides run troubleshooting to see what could be causing this and offer advice for you to try. 

If you would like to get the RCS messaging looked into in more detail and see if anything else could be causing the issue, please get back in touch and the team will continue the troubleshooting with you. 

Leanne.