GrapheneOS fixes RCS on T-Mobile and other carriers, adds revamped call recording

The wait is finally over for GrapheneOS users on T-Mobile and other carriers who have been struggling with broken RCS messaging for months. After previously flagging that changes by Google and carriers had disrupted the service, and later admitting a fix was planned but delayed due to other priorities, the privacy-focused custom ROM has rolled out a solution in its latest update.

Release 2026021200, which is currently rolling out to supported Pixel devices (Pixel 6 through Pixel 10 series), brings a crucial addition to the Sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer: a toggle for granting Play services access to ICC auth.

The RCS fix

For those unaware, the root of the issue lay in specific carriers, notably T-Mobile, requiring ICC (Integrated Circuit Card) authentication for RCS to function correctly in Google Messages. Standard GrapheneOS privacy sandboxing restricted this access, leading to the breakage reported back in September 2025. While GrapheneOS confirmed in December that RCS was working for “most” carriers, T-Mobile and AT&T users were left in the cold as the team focused on other urgent development tasks.

With this new update, users can now manually enable this access, effectively restoring RCS functionality for carriers that demand it. The changelog notes:

"Sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer: add toggle for granting Play services access to ICC auth in order to support RCS with carriers requiring it for RCS in Google Messages including T-Mobile."

New call recording implementation

Beyond the messaging fix, the update introduces a significant change to call recording. GrapheneOS is debuting a new opt-in implementation that leverages the same framework APIs as the Google Dialer.

The goal of this new system is to improve both functionality, specifically “handover support”, and overall robustness. For now, it exists as an opt-in setting for testing purposes, but the team plans for it to eventually replace the previous implementation entirely.

Security and other changes

As always, security is paramount. The update includes all Android 16 security patches from the March 2026 through August 2026 Android Security Bulletins, positioning this as a “security preview” release.

Other notable changes include:

• Kernel updates: Updates to LTS branches for kernels 6.1, 6.6, and 6.12, including a workaround to re-enable standard forced module signing while maintaining pKVM compatibility.
• UI tweaks: The default quick tile configuration has been updated for the new UI, now prioritizing Camera, Microphone, and NFC toggles over Cast, Wallet, and Device Controls.
• Vanadium: Updated to version 145.0.7632.45.1.

This update covers a wide range of devices, from the Pixel 6 and 6a to the latest Pixel 10 series (Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, and 10 Pro Fold).

If you’ve been holding out on GrapheneOS due to the RCS woes on T-Mobile, this update clears the biggest hurdle.

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