Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- It seems iOS 18.4 Beta 2 is introducing the ability to use T-Mobile’s default RCS carrier bundle on any prepaid provider that runs on the Uncarrier’s network.
- For now, only select Mint Mobile users have successfully activated the feature, but the bundle appears to be designed for all T-Mobile Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that don’t offer their own direct RCS solution.
- It’s likely that this broader RCS expansion won’t happen until iOS 18.4 reaches a stable release, though nothing is official just yet.
While all three major carriers have supported RCS on iOS for some time, the rollout has been slower for prepaid carriers. Many of the largest prepaid providers have since followed suit, but notable holdouts remain, including Mint Mobile and US Mobile (via its Light Speed network). The good news? That may finally be changing — not just for these two providers but for any prepaid service running on T-Mobile’s network. However, there are a few important caveats.
First, these carriers won’t be offering RCS support directly. Instead, any iOS user on a T-Mobile-based service without native RCS support will be able to connect using T-Mobile’s default RCS carrier bundle. So far, this change appears to only be rolling out to Mint Mobile.
According to several Redditors in the Mint Mobile subreddit, it is now possible to enable RCS if you’re using the iOS 18.4 Beta 2. Since the beta isn’t yet daily-driver material, only a handful of users have confirmed that RCS is working.
Although RCS support hasn’t reportedly been activated for users on other T-Mobile-based providers, bundle details shared by Redditor Jason_he54 on the US Mobile subreddit suggest that RCS will eventually roll out to all T-Mobile MVNOs. However, they note that it is currently disabled and the RCS endpoints aren’t properly configured.
This suggests that not only Mint Mobile will eventually get full RCS support for iOS, but US Mobile (Light Speed), Ultra Mobile, Tello, and several others are likely to follow.
It’s unclear why Mint Mobile is the only provider with early access. That said, not all Mint Mobile users with the beta have RCS yet either and it seems to be a bit hit-and-miss. It’s likely that RCS won’t officially roll out to Mint Mobile and other T-Mobile-powered providers until the stable release of iOS 18.4, expected sometime in April.
We’ve reached out to T-Mobile for more details on this rollout and its timeline, though a response seems unlikely. While this change appears imminent, nothing is official just yet. Hopefully, the wait won’t be too long.
