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Why does RCS show the old SIM number after a port or a renumber?

When you insert a SIM in your phone the phone first reads the mobile number from the SIM, then registers with the network and collects the correct number, if the one on the network is different from the one on the SIM.

In some cases RCS message apps do not do this second check and register your RSC account with the number from the SIM rather than wait for the phone to collect the correct number.

The below steps should reset your Google RCS account to your correct number.

  1. Open Messages, go to Settings (top right, Message Settings), open "Chat Features" or "RCS Chats", verify if this is the correct number or not. If it shows the incorrect one
    1. Head to: https://messages.google.com/disable-chat and you should be able to unregister the number.
    2. Once done, turn off the Chat Features/RCS and the phone.
    3. Wait a few minutes and turn the device back on and re-enable Chat Features/RCS it should let you re-register/update to the correct number.
    4. Alternatively, you can turn Chat Features/RCS off and test SMS after this
  2. If the above does not work then you should reset your Network settings. This should clear the number form the phone memory and read it correctly from the network.
  3. Another set of tasks that is known to work but are a little more aggressive.
    1. In the phone settings, go to Apps, then selected Messages.
    2. Clear the storage/cache
    3. Restart the phone (full power off, wait 30 seconds, power on)
    4. Go back into the message settings, then into Advanced and enter the correct phone number.
    5. Go back to RCS Messages (you may have to wait for your phone and Google to make this available), turn RCS back on and enter the correct number to verify it.
    6. If you've got important messages, please back them up or make a note first.

All the above are known issues with the Google RSC servers. Some customers have found that the only option is turning OFF RCS in Google Messages app for a few weeks. Then the Google RCS servers sort themselves out, eventually.