What you need to know
- Google is reportedly working on a better dual-SIM switch approach for users in Messages.
- A tipster notes that the company is testing a long-press “Switch SIM” button for users in an RCS chat; however, interacting with it still throws you into your profile’s details page for the swap.
- Google started rolling out dual-SIM in Messages for RCS chats around November last year, bringing it to T-Mobile, AT&T, and Visible consumers.
Google is reportedly beginning to work on an improved way for users with dual-SIM to manage them in Messages.
Google’s work was spotted by tipster AssembleDebug (Android Authority) in a recent Messages app beta. What’s been reported is that the company is working on a way for users to swap between their SIMs while (sort of) remaining in the messaging thread. While in an RCS chat, the tipster found that long-pressing the typing field in the chat will produce that standard floating menu, but with a “Switch SIM” addition between the Gemini icon and Paste.
After tapping “Switch SIM,” Messages moved the tipster to their profile’s details page, where they can interact with the switching menu for their available dual-SIM. In practice, the user would tap a new SIM and quickly hop out. The “good thing” here is that, when you do hop out, you’re doing so into the same chat you’ve just been moved from. In a way, it’s removing a couple of extra steps one would normally take.
A small change that occurs here involves Messages clearly showing the tipster moving from a T-Mobile SIM to Visible in the typing field.
It’s pretty clear from this that Google’s working on a way to make this process easier to manage. Currently, you’d have to leave the chat, enter your details, change the SIM, and then walk those steps backwards, plus enter the chat you want. However, it’s probably still not as smooth as it could be, which is something AssembleDebug also notes. Perhaps a perfect scenario would be to handle all of this switching right in the same chat without ever having to leave (even if it is for a moment).
Dual-SIM gets another look
Dual-SIM support for Messages and its RCS chats rolled out on Android phones around this time last year in beta. It was a server-side update that took a little time for all Android users rocking dual-SIMs to notice. However, in the update, consumers on AT&T, Visible, T-Mobile, and more were starting to see it, per Reddit reports at the time. It was also made aware during this time that, within the app’s RCS chat settings, users could toggle which SIM card they wanted active.
If both were active, users could conveniently switch via their details page before texting. Alternatively, you could just have one active and not worry about switching, in which case you’d have a few extra steps to enable it and then switch.
Google had been working on proper support for dual-SIM since earlier that year, taking roughly nine months to craft it and roll it out to users.
The feature soon arrived at the beginning of 2025 for even more users on Pixels and Samsung Galaxy phones in the U.S., Canada, and Germany.
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