Pixel 9 offers full RCS transfer to Google Messages

Abner Li | Aug 23 2024 - 3:30 am PT

The Pixel 9 thoroughly updates the setup process, with a “carbon copy” of your Google Messages history that includes a “full RCS transfer.”

Google now “fully maintains the conversation structure, media, audio, reactions, favorites, and all the other conversation metadata” of RCS instead of converting to SMS/MMS.

Yup, that’s exactly what it means. Note, for now, it’s only cable or WiFi transfers that are supported. Cloud restore still has the previous limitations. You’ll also need to make sure you’re running the very latest version of Google Messages on your old device. If you have this, you’ll get a proper, full RCS transfer that fully maintains the conversation structure, media, audio, reactions, favorites, and all the other conversation metadata. It should pretty much be a carbon copy of your message threads on your old device.

To benefit from this RCS transfer on your Pixel 9, make sure Google Messages on your previous phone is updated to the “very latest version” — beta available here — and transfer over Wi-Fi or USB-C cable. At the moment, “cloud restore still has the previous limitations.”

Google equates this to a “carbon copy of your message threads on your old device” after it “rebuilt [the] Messages transfer infrastructure from the ground up, to make it more robust, reliable and complete.”

This joins how more system settings, permissions, notification preferences, and app logins get transferred over. Google worked with third-party developers to achieve the latter and is continuing to do so. eSIM transfer for some carriers is also possible during setup.

More broadly, a new “Back up or copy data” menu in Settings lets you transfer after the initial onboarding experience. Google now offers a faster “Express” setup that will only copy “media that’s not backed up to Google Photos in original quality.”