[Update: Rolling out again] Galaxy S9 and S9+ update for T-Mobile also brings with it RCS messaging compatibility

Damien Wilde | Feb 11 2019 - 5:36 am PT

The latest carrier-locked Samsung device is now receiving the latest Android OS update with the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ now seeing the Android Pie update rollout.

This isn’t the only bonus of this update as it appears to have brought with it the RCS Universal Profile 1.0. This is the icing on the cake of that massive One UI overhaul that comes with the Android Pie update for Samsung smartphones.

RCS has often been touted as the answer to iMessage on Android devices as it allows you to send and receive much larger media files, stickers, have proper group chats, read receipts and even typing notifications. RCS has been in the pipeline for some time but is expected to become more widely adopted once Android Q drops on devices within the next few months.

[Update 3: The update should now be rolling out again to T-Mobile subscribers. Check your device System Updates section now.]

[Update 1: T-Mobile has just announced that this update has been put on hold to resolve a few issues that have been found. We’ll let you know once we know more and when this Android Pie rollout resumes for T-Mobile Galaxy S9 and S9+ devices.]

[Update 2: Our understanding is that this will work solely within the T-Mobile network due to the way that T-Mobile has implemented RCS outside of the Google Jibe hub. That means that at present it will not work with any carriers that support the new profile via this Jibe hub. That said, some carriers have committed to interconnecting their services potentially by the end of 2019.]

As for build numbers, this T-Mobile Pie update comes as build G960USQU3CSAB for the Galaxy S9 and G965USQU3CSAB for the Galaxy S9+. They aren’t exactly small in size, with each update coming in at a pretty sizeable 1.9GB download.

With the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S9 update, almost all US users should be able to get a taste of Android Pie. If you are a T-Mobile subscriber, it’s worth checking your System Update section to download the update.