What does ‘sent as SMS via server’ mean?

So, you’re messaging with a friend or family member on your phone, and you see a notice that says ‘sent as SMS via server’ on the text receipt. The first thing you need to know is that your message was sent and, technically, nothing is wrong. It’s a different sent receipt than you’re used to seeing. You don’t have to do anything because everything is working as it should.

But you may be curious why you’re seeing it and what it is. In short, this message occurs when using RCS. If the connection is unstable, Google will send the message as a regular SMS instead of waiting for the RCS message to push itself through. Thus, the SMS is sent from the server instead of the RCS message.

Joe Hindy / Pocket-lint

What does ‘sent as SMS via server’ mean?

Fortunately, the message has no ambiguity here. It means that your SMS was sent to the other person via a server. Which server, you might ask? Google’s. This message only happens when you’re using RCS on Android.

When the connection is unstable, your RCS message stalls out and doesn’t send. Instead of waiting for the connection to reestablish, Google simply forwards the message as a regular SMS. Thus, the SMS comes from Google’s servers. The ‘sent as SMS via server’ is your way of knowing what happened.

This is actually a feature referred to as SMS fallback. Essentially, when your RCS message fails, Google will send it as an SMS instead, thus keeping the conversation going instead of waiting for the RCS connection to reestablish. When the connection is reestablished, you’ll go back to sending RCS messages.

Joe Hindy / Pocket-lint

Can I turn ‘sent as SMS via server’ off?

Yes, you can. It’s not overly difficult to do either. Since RCS chats can only be sent in Google Messages, that is the only place where you can turn off ‘sent as SMS via server’. Of course, it’s also the only place where you can see it to begin with. Anyway, digression aside, here’s how to change it.

1. Open Google Messages and head to the conversation view.
2. Tap your profile picture and select Messages settings.
3. Tap RCS chats.
4. Find a setting called Automatically resend as text (SMS/MMS). Toggle that setting off.

That’s it. There are some pros and cons to this. On the one hand, you won’t see ‘sent as SMS via server’ anymore. However, if your RCS connection fails, your messages won’t be sent. Personally, I leave it ticked on. As long as you have SMS support on your mobile carrier plan, there’s no reason to turn it off.

Google

What is RCS?

RCS stands for Rich Communication Services, and it’s an Internet-based messaging protocol. Yes, that means it’s like Facebook Messenger, Discord, WhatsApp, and all of those. However, it doesn’t require you to make an account. It sends from your phone through your phone number like old school SMS, but uses data like a modern messaging app.

The result is a host of new features, including better multimedia messages, higher character limits, read receipts, and even location sharing. Mobile carriers are working toward using RCS instead of SMS, but some companies, like Google, already have the technology rolled out, as you can see in Google Messages.

Does iMessage use RCS?

Nope, but it will eventually. The good news is that it’ll fix a lot of Android-to-iMessage problems, like low quality photos and videos or the lack of encryption when a green bubble user is in a group chat. However, knowing Apple, it’ll still probably come in the form of a green bubble even though it doesn’t have to at that point.