Why did my RCS messages stop forwarding after updating to Android 17?

Google made RCS end-to-end encrypted by default in 2026, and Android 17 (plus some Android 16 updates) restricts RCS messages visibility only to your default messaging app (usually Google Messages). PhoneLeash is not your default messaging app — Google Messages is — so on affected devices it can no longer read RCS messages the way it used to. Plain SMS and MMS are unaffected and keep forwarding normally.

Does the latest version of PhoneLeash fix it?

Yes, for incoming RCS messages only. PhoneLeash 6.86 and later reads incoming RCS — text, photos, videos, and captions — using a workaround, so incoming RCS forwarding works again on Android 17. There is one limitation to know of: messages you send (outgoing texts to RCS numbers) are not copied to your destination.

Should I avoid updating to Android 17?

If RCS forwarding is essential to you and you have not updated yet, delaying the Android 17 update is one way to keep the old behavior for now — but it is a personal trade-off, since OS updates also carry security fixes, and the RCS change is expected to reach more devices over time. If you are already on Android 17, updating PhoneLeash or turning off RCS are the better long-term fixes.

Can I simply turn off RCS to avoid this problem entirely?

Turning off 'RCS chats' (Chat features) in Google Messages makes your conversations fall back to standard SMS and MMS, which PhoneLeash forwards completely in both directions, attachments included. The trade-off is that you lose RCS niceties in Google Messages itself — typing indicators, read receipts, and higher-resolution media. But many PhoneLeash users don't see those as must-have features.

What if I use PhoneLeash only for OTP (2FA) code forwarding?

OTP codes don't use RCS, they use SMS, so they're unaffected. You don't need to change anything.

Android 17 and RCS forwarding: what changed, and how to keep your texts forwarding

If some of your texts stopped forwarding after a recent Android update, you are not imagining it. Google's Android 17 changed how third-party apps like PhoneLeash can read RCS messages, and in the process it briefly broke RCS forwarding across the board. The short version: PhoneLeash has since recovered incoming RCS forwarding. This article explains what changed, and your options.

What changed on Android 17

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the modern successor to SMS — it is what powers photos in full resolution, named group chats, typing indicators, and read receipts on Android. Over the last couple of years RCS has become the default way most Android phones send and receive texts, so a lot of what used to arrive as SMS now arrives as RCS.

In 2026, Google made RCS end-to-end encrypted by default. As part of that rollout, Android 17 — and some Android 16 updates — restricts reading RCS messages to your phone's default messaging app only (usually Google Messages).

That single change is the whole story:

Your default messaging app (Google Messages) can still read RCS normally.
Any other app that used to read RCS — including PhoneLeash — is now blocked from those messages.

Because PhoneLeash is not your default messaging app (Google Messages is), on an affected device it can no longer see incoming RCS the way it did before. The result you notice: RCS chats and their photos quietly stop arriving in your forwarding inbox, while plain SMS keeps coming through.

A few important clarifications:

Your SMS, MMS, and WhatsApp forwarding are completely unaffected. Only RCS is impacted.
This is not a PhoneLeash bug. It is a platform-level change from Google that blocks every non-default messaging app the same way.
It is rolling out gradually. It reaches devices as they move to Android 17 and certain Android 16 updates, so not everyone is affected at the same time.

The good news:

The good news is that starting with PhoneLeash 6.86, this problem is solved fully for incoming RCS. They're forwarded, including with attachments. Replies were never broken, and they continue to work. So, just update to the latest version.

Two limitations apply specifically on Android 17:

Outgoing RCS is not forwarded. Messages you send over RCS are not copied to your destination on Android 17.
A message that arrives while Google Messages is open on-screen may be skipped. If the app is in the foreground at the exact moment a message lands, Android does not post a notification for it, so PhoneLeash does not see it. You shouldn't be using Google Messages actively while also forwarding messages using PhoneLeash.

Can I just avoid the Android 17 update?

Holding off on the Android 17 update is one way to keep the current behavior for now. But:

OS updates also deliver security and privacy fixes, so skipping them indefinitely has its own downside.
The RCS change is tied to Google's broader encrypted-RCS rollout, so it is expected to reach more devices over time, including some on Android 16. Delaying postpones the change rather than avoiding it forever.

If you are already on Android 17, here are your options.

1. Update to the latest version of PhoneLeash (recommended)

This is the easiest option. Your incoming RCS messages continue to forward, including those with attachments. But you lose outgoing RCS message forwarding.

2. Turn off RCS in Google Messages

If you want everything forwarded in both directions — including outgoing messages — and you do not mind giving up RCS features, turn off RCS in Google Messages. Your conversations then fall back to standard SMS and MMS, which PhoneLeash forwards completely, attachments included, exactly as it always has.

You give up typing indicators, read receipts, and full-resolution media, but maybe those aren't critical to your needs.

How to turn off RCS (Chat features) in Google Messages:

Open Google Messages.
Tap your profile picture (top right) → Messages settings.
Tap RCS chats (sometimes shown as Chat features).
Turn off RCS chats.

From then on, your incoming and outgoing texts travel as SMS/MMS, and PhoneLeash forwards all of them.

3. If your senders don't use RCS, there is nothing to fix

If the people and services that text you send SMS rather than RCS — for example, if you mainly receive SMS OTP codes, appointment reminders, and business texts — then this change does not affect you at all. (Automated senders like banks and airlines almost always use SMS, not RCS.) SMS and MMS forwarding are unchanged, so there is nothing to do.