After sending a text message, you may occasionally see a subtitle explaining that the message was sent through a server. This happens more often when you’re using an Android phone and contains enough technical jargon that it may be confusing to users. If you’re unsure of how SMS works and why it occasionally needs server support, you’ll find the answers right here.
Server Supported Content
SMS, or Short Messaging Service, is used by mobile phones for texting. SMS is used when the text is less than 160 characters. Most phones use SMS, though RCS – Rich Communication Services – is its more modern equivalent. So, if you get the SMS server alert, your RCS message is converted to SMS and then sent online instead of through cell towers.
That’s where the servers come in. Servers are responsible for hosting and transporting data across the world, with every website taking up space on a server somewhere. Take an online industry, like iGaming, where the whole site and its games are archived. When users Play MegawaysTM Slots at Paddy’s, or any other kind of game on-site, it’s broadcast from the server to your device. This is how most websites online work, providing instantaneous content to users and facilitating other communications. Like retail and entertainment websites online, phone carriers also rent out a lot of server space to support their operations.
Why RCS Messages Get Converted
Since Google backs RCS messaging, it has become the default over SMS for most devices. This is because RCS has better features, combining SMS and MMS into one seamless and interoperable service. MMS – Multimedia Messaging Service – is used to send texts over 160 characters, along with images and video content. RCS does it all and is an open standard, explained here by Open Source.
Another big difference is that RCS prioritizes sending via data while SMS prefers to use the cell tower network. However, SMS can be sent online when RCS won’t work for several reasons. The main reason is that the recipient cannot receive RCS messages, either because they are using an iPhone or their phone has RCS disabled. Server-supported SMS messages act as a fast backup, making sure that the text is still sent. If someone is using a texting service hosted on a computer, those texts will also travel through a server instead of a cell tower.
Do SMS Server Texts Have Any Downsides?
If you’re texting somebody you know, there is no significant advantage or disadvantage to sending an SMS text online. At worst, messages with images or videos may require slightly more data when sending.
However, if you receive an SMS message from an unknown source, it may indicate a text phishing attempt. This is because SMS allows bad actors to broadcast messages to a lot of people, without the encryption protections or IP address logging that comes with RCS. Receiving them is harmless if you do not interact with them and delete the message. Identify phishing attempts using the FTC’s Consumer Advice resource.
If your known contact has an Android phone, they may need to enable RCS in settings. That way, the SMS notification won’t appear under your sent messages. If they have an iPhone, you’ll be glad to know that Apple are planning RCS support for 2024.
We believe everyone deserves to communicate inclusively no matter what phone they have. This is one huge step closer to doing that. Excited for Apple to embrace RCS, the modern industry standard, to help make messaging better for everyone. 💚💙https://t.co/fzP24uKBsA
— Android (@Android) November 17, 2023
