What you need to know
- Reports on Reddit from the Google Messages and Pixel communities state the Messages app is failing to send media in RCS.
- One report states the app will fail outright or “randomly send all the files at once” in their experience.
- Google is reportedly aware of the issue and is rolling out a fix; however, it could take a couple of weeks.
- This problem mirrors another media-related issue Google Messages had last year when media texts failed to send in RCS.
Google Messages has been suffering from a major problem these past few days. If you’re one of the (un)lucky, you might’ve noticed that you can’t send photos.
Over the past few days, users on the Google Messages subreddit reported issues with sending photos and other media (via SamMobile). One user with a Pixel 10 Pro Fold said they started encountering problems after the August update. They state that the app will enter a “weird cycle” of “undeliverable media and then randomly all the files send at once.”
The user states the Messages app will suffer from this for anywhere from two to four days at a time.
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As others joined the discussion, it was revealed that these problems have occurred over RCS in the app. The publication discovered a similar thread on the Pixel subreddit, where one user with a Pixel 8 says they’re unable to send links, as well as other media (photos, videos). Users attempted to troubleshoot and rectify the issue on their own, but to no avail. One report states the user tried a hard reset of their phone “several times.” While this worked (once), the issue has returned.
Good news comes via Android Authority who received a statement from Google about the problem. The company is reportedly aware “of a bug affecting a subset of Google Messages users that can lead to disrupted RCS message delivery.” A Google spokesperson informed the publication that a fix is rolling out, but you might have to wait a couple of weeks before you see it.
Similar problems
The current Messages app issue reminds us of another media-related problem its RCS chats encountered. At one point, users couldn’t send media messages to other users with RCS active. Users encountered two issues: either the message would outright fail, or it would be slow to send. A Google Community manager said the company was aware and “working toward” a fix for users.
A fix did arrive, thanks to a server-side patch. We’re likely looking at a similar situation again. Earlier this year, Samsung Galaxy users ran into a snag with the Messages app after using Smart Switch. Widespread RCS chat failures were reported after users swapped to a new phone. Many received error code 3100 when trying to enable RCS or send a message.
Google confirmed to Android Central in April that it was aware and working with phone carriers to fix the problem. Google has been pretty timely with its fixes for major issues like this. So hopefully anyone experiencing problems this week (or last week) will see them gone soon.