RCS Messaging and DSDS support comes to Pixel 4 on Google Fi

Damien Wilde | Nov 5 2019 - 5:03 am PT

Despite missteps and issues, if you happen to have a Pixel 4 on Google Fi, you can now enable RCS messaging with DSDS support also added.

A tweet by Sanaz Ahari, the Senior Director of Product & Design at Google confirmed that DSDS support has been rolled out to the Pixel 4, Google Fi subscribers should now also have RCS messaging support included too (h/t Android Central).

While RCS support great news for those of you using the Pixel 4 with a Google Fi SIM, for anyone else, you’ll have to rely on workarounds to enjoy the iMessage-like Rich Communication Services alongside your regular SMS messaging. RCS is available on supported networks but there are some issues with cross-network messaging if RCS is not fully supported by your carrier network-wide.

With Google Fi being an MVNO, the service relies heavily on the infrastructure of partner carriers. Sprint is one partner carrier that has pledged support for the RCS protocol, which explains why the support is now being made available.

quick update – we rolled out DSDS support for Pixel 4. Pixel 4, Fi users should have RCS support now.

— Sanaz (@sanazahari) November 4, 2019

As for DSDS (Dual Standby mode), when two SIM cards are installed this allows you to assign tasks to each SIM carrier network. That means you can have phone calls to one network and have SMS messages and data over another. Of course, the Pixel 4 doesn’t include support for two physical SIM cards, so the second SIM would be assigned to the eSIM — with support being added in Android 10.

If you have the Pixel 3 or Pixel 3a, both devices already support DSDS features thanks to the aforementioned Android 10 update. We’re not sure if or when other carriers will add support for DSDS or just how that will affect the murky plans for RCS messaging but it’s great news for those of you already subscribed to Google Fi.