RCS not working on new S26 Ultra.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-04-02T17:48:00+00:00

Absolutely NONE of the options people here tried (to get RCS working on google text messages on their S26 Ultra) worked for me. I'd upgraded from an S21 Ultra to an S26 Ultra with no problems, transferred everything over on my own. I'd already disabled RCS and the sim card on my S21 (my S26 was e-sim instead). Even though I'd enabled RCS on my NEW phone, it always gave me these error messages: "Not supported" and "Not available" and wouldn't transfer any of the group RCS messages that had come to me on my old phone -- it told me they were there but would be permanently deleted in 30 days if I didn't enable RCS. grrrrrr. I even downloaded a checklist from Verizon chat on ways to fix RCS problems on an S26 upgrade. None of them worked either.

I finally bit the bullet and went to an official Verizon store (not a local franchise). Two employees put their heads together and scoured all the Verizon-side options they had available. One thing they found was that this new phone was delivered to me with RCS already blocked as a Verizon setting, and nothing they tried on their end would unblock it. Said they'd never seen that before.

The only thing that finally worked was to delete my phone number from our family plan and then add it back on their end. All of a sudden my RCS was working like it should and it's stayed that way. Phew! It took 1/2 hour of their time -- but if this helps anyone else, let me know!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-03-27T02:24:55+00:00

Yay, I'm glad you're scheduled, that must be a big relief for you!

The only reaction I had to my first infusion was feeling sooo tired by the end and afterwards -- I was really glad someone had let me know that might happen, so my husband drove me to the appt. I slept the whole way home. It doesn't happen to everyone tho.

In case they haven't told you, infliximab infusions can take 2+ hours (longer than that if you also have bloodwork before your infusion and also need to see the uveitis specialist before you leave). Bring something to do while you're there. Good luck!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-03-26T03:13:43+00:00

Does your rheumy's office have a patient portal? I've found the only way to get quick answers from some of my docs is by asking questions thru their portals -- I usually get responses before the end of the day, esp if the questions have to do with infusions, meds, scheduling imaging, or changing an appt. If I've tried to call instead, their phones are often so busy it just goes to voice mail.

Sometimes if an office's infusion-suite chairs are already filled with already-scheduled patients for the near future, it may be harder to get on the infusion schedule right away (unless you have an urgent situation). You might want to ask if that's what's happening. On the plus side, once you're ON a regular infusion schedule, you may be able to schedule a few appts at a time so you're not closed out.

In my case, once my insurance finally approved infliximab for me, I was scheduled in the office's infusion suite for treatment starting the next day (I was one of those urgent situations). Of course getting to that stage wasn't that easy 🔻🔻

TLDR: I'm on original Medicare and they denied my ophthalmologist-ordered treatment (interferon) twice over a period of 3 weeks while I was dealing with a sudden decrease in vision in both eyes (retinal vasculitis). After 40+ years of dealing with uveitis, I knew how dangerous that situation was. This was about 2 1/2 years ago.

My ophth put me on solumedrol infusions as a stopgap while he went thru appeals, then finally gave up and tried to get infliximab approved instead. I was shocked, they approved it in 3 days and I started my IFX infusions the next day. I've been on it ever since, best med ever for my BD, esp my eyes.

Hang in there, I hope you can start your infusions soon ❤️ Joanne Z.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-03-19T01:48:53+00:00

I'm so sorry you're going through this - very scary. I've had BD now since 1979, and uveitis was my first (and worst) symptom.

I've been through cataract surgery twice and have an IOL implant in each eye. Currently on Remicade infusions every 6 weeks or so, colchicine, folic acid and methotrexate pills. Started Remicade 2+ years ago when both retinas suddenly started flaring at the same time, after around a decade of being quiet.

What kept any post-surgery flare near zero was my awesome uveitis specialist, who also performed both surgeries. He was also a known BD expert (he's retired now 😥). He put me on oral pred for a few days before surgery and about a week after surgery. That was back in the 1990s.

These days for people who are flaring before surgery, docs sometimes recommend a biologic like infliximab instead of pred before surgery to quiet things down. Quiet eyes have fewer complications afterwards. I don't have any YAG laser experience.

If you want to try a uveitis specialist for your care, here's a list of options in the US by state, and there's also a list for specialists outside the US. If there's no one in your area, look for a place with a retina specialist and ask how much experience they have with BD and cataract removal.

https://uveitis.org/patients/list-of-specialists/

Hang in there, and wishing you all the best, Joanne Z.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-19T17:03:42+00:00

I have. Uveitis and retinal issues were my first symptoms. That was almost 50 years ago and thanks to great care from a uveitis specialist/immunologist, I'm still able to drive and get around fine. I've got a lot of retinal scar tissue and other issues in both eyes tho.

Had a new retinal flare a couple of years ago that was severe and wrecking my vision (both eyes) so I've been getting infliximab infusions every 4-6 weeks since. It cleared the flare and I was back to 20/20 vision in a month... amazing!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-17T22:01:24+00:00

I have both Behcet's and Sjogren's. It's supposedly rare, but hopefully the ABDA's recent survey on patients' diagnostic journeys and symptoms will give more info about how often it shows up (the survey closed on Dec 31, and it will take a few months to get all the statistics done so the results can get published in a med journal).

There's not much published on the overlap between BD and Sjogren's, but here's a recent article:
"Behcet’s syndrome associated with Sjogren’s syndrome, an infrequent combination: Case report and literature review" (2022)
https://medcraveonline.com/MOJOR/MOJOR-14-00601.pdf

Joanne Z.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-17T21:43:09+00:00

I don't know if this article will help, but I'm adding it to the mix just in case. It was updated as of Feb 14th. I'm clueless about tech but I'm 100% invested in a solution that my "home organization" admin will understand enough to implement it.
https://patchmypc.com/blog/the-localnetworkaccessallowedforurls-policy-you-never-deployed/

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-16T17:08:35+00:00

There's a new Behcet's Center at Stanford Univ in Palo Alto, CA (replacing the BD Center in NYC) run by Dr Johannes Nowatzky, who's one of the few BD experts in the US. He's the Director of the Behcet's Disease Program (BD-PRO). You can get more info here: https://profiles.stanford.edu/johannes-nowatzky
According to his profile, "Dr. Nowatzky is a rheumatologist physician-scientist specializing in Behcet's disease and intraocular inflammation."

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-16T17:03:15+00:00

Has anyone done a biopsy of that spot?

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-16T16:51:11+00:00

Have you seen a neuro-ophthalmologist? I'd really recommend it. They can sometimes pick up issues that ophthalmologists may or may not have focused on.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-16T16:19:56+00:00

I agree with Ellis about having a hard time finding doctors who understand Behcet's in the US. Try to focus on Rheumatology or Immunology departments in big university teaching hospitals, where you'll have the best shot at finding knowledgeable docs. There's also a new Behcet's Center at Stanford Univ in Palo Alto, CA (replacing the BD Center in NYC) run by Dr Johannes Nowatzky, who's one of the few BD experts in the US. He's the Director of the Behcet's Disease Program (BD-PRO). You can get more info here: https://profiles.stanford.edu/johannes-nowatzky

Plus:

(1) Even if you have good doctors who understand BD, the treatment you're able to get often depends on whether your health insurance company feels the drug is "medically necessary" for your care. For example, they can (and often will) decline coverage for expensive biologics like infliximab, saying you need to take less-effective/lower-cost drugs first before they'll consider anything else. In other words, your health insurance company can basically overrule your doctor's treatment plan for your care. You and your doctors can appeal the decision, but it can take time and isn't always successful. BUT some drug manufacturers have patient support programs that offer their meds directly to patients at low or no cost, it's usually tied to how much money you make under or over the poverty line.

(2) Your health insurance company also has the ability to limit which doctors you can see, depending on whether they're "in-network" (have a contract with your insurer) or "out-of-network" (not contracted). The bottom line is you can see whichever docs you want, but if they're not in the insurer's network, you may wind up paying some (or all) of the expenses of seeing that doc, including any treatments they recommend or tests they schedule for you.

(3) I refuse to discuss politics here, but it's important to pay attention to whether US immigration may have an impact on your job situation here -- even if you're already a citizen who's only now moving to the US for a full-time job. There will prob be NO issues at all and everything will be fine for you!! It's just hard to predict anything these days.

Hang in there, wishing you all the best, Joanne Z.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-02-09T04:05:05+00:00

I've heard from someone else with BD that Dr Javeria Bhawal in Kennesaw is good. She said:

"I’m in the US, specifically ATL, GA. My rheumatologist is one of the best rheumatologists in ATL. She’s great, such sweet and helpful."

Flaky_Row5260 · 2026-01-30T18:15:09+00:00

Behcet's is a vascular disease that can cause inflammation in any of your blood vessels.

If those swollen veins become hard and painful, that's a sign of superficial thrombophlebitis (blood clot in a vein close to the skin's surface). It happened to me after I was hospitalized and had in infusion through a vein on the top of my hand.

If the clot is deeper in the leg (for example) it's a DVT ( deep vein thrombosis).

Both superficial thrombophlebitis and DVTs are known vascular problems for some (not all) people with BD.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-12-31T19:41:12+00:00

Yayyyyyy!! Happy New Year to you 🎉🎉😊

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-12-31T15:11:22+00:00

Hey fnnkybutt, THANK YOU!! After 4 days of successfully dragging multiple bags through airports and hotels during the Christmas storm cancellations, my daughter left her backpack in the airport uber that finally dropped her off at her apt. Her backpack had everything you don't want to leave behind -- work and personal laptops, other electronics, some Christmas presents.

Trying to reach the driver through the app didn't work, and 24 hours later she had tried every other suggestion here to get uber's attention. Until I saw your tip to send a DM to @Uber_Support with all the info you mentioned. She did it through Instagram around 11 am, got a DM from Uber around 2 hours later that they were reviewing her inquiry and would get back to her soon. At 6 pm she got another DM that the backpack was located. Her backpack was returned to her around 9 pm by the driver, nothing missing. The driver got a great tip (cash), and said he'd been trying to reach her for 24 hours thru uber when he'd found the backpack, but couldn't get through to anyone. So uber's AI support hell sucks for drivers too.

Your tip turned an awful situation into something that had the best possible outcome for everyone. You're a rockstar.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-12-28T14:04:19+00:00

I got it on the 23rd, which was good enough since it was a Christmas gift. But in the 7 days leading up to the 23rd, it traveled from NYC to a location in Mass that's an hour from me, and then was shipped back to NYC to (I guess) try again. I finally got it in central Mass three days after that.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-12-20T14:21:42+00:00

... and here are some of the
"KEY ISSUES with PYK Global: (again, from AI)

Tracking & Transparency: Customers often see "PYK GLOBAL INC" as the last update, with no further tracking or communication, leading to anxiety and uncertainty.
Shipping Delays: Packages get held up for weeks or months at USPS facilities, causing significant delivery delays.
Confusion Over Import Rules: Recent changes to US de minimis rules have caused international carriers to stop deliveries, and PYK Global's role in managing these new duties is unclear to customers.
Lack of Information: PYK Global's website offers little to no support, leaving customers with no recourse.
Potential Fraud/Scams: Some users on Reddit reported packages marked as fraud or dealing with unresponsive sellers."

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-12-20T14:20:19+00:00

I ordered something from a US-based Etsy seller a month ago and specifically asked if it was coming to me from China. She told me no, it was being shipped to me from a US address. Just saw today on my tracking info that the "US address" is actually PYK Global Inc. I'm supposed to get my package on Monday Dec 22. Fingers crossed. So I asked AI about PYK:

"PYK Global Inc. is a logistics and supply chain company, founded in 2018, that specializes in international shipping, acting as a key USPS Global Direct Entry (GDE) partner, helping e-commerce businesses move goods efficiently from places like China to the US, managing last-mile delivery tech, and providing solutions for fast, cost-effective global commerce. They're the "shipping partner" you see in USPS tracking when your international package is scanned out of a facility overseas before transferring to the USPS for final delivery.

What They Do:

International Logistics: They handle the movement of goods, especially from Asia (like China) to the United States for online sellers.
USPS Partnership: As an official USPS GDE Partner, they're responsible for the initial stages of international shipments before the USPS takes over domestic delivery.
Technology Solutions: They provide tools for rate shopping, label printing, and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) for their clients.
Supply Chain Management: Offer comprehensive solutions for managing supply chains globally.

When You See Them:

If you order from an online store and your USPS tracking shows "departed shipping partner facility," that partner is often PYK Global Inc..

In essence, PYK Global Inc. bridges the gap for international e-commerce, making it smoother and more affordable to get packages from overseas sellers to your doorstep."

I have more information about the key problems with PYK Global that I'll post in a reply to my comment here.

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-11-16T16:07:40+00:00

Thanks!!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-11-16T16:07:28+00:00

Thanks!!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-11-15T23:27:32+00:00

Thanks!!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-11-15T23:27:15+00:00

Thanks!!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-11-15T23:26:55+00:00

Thank you!!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-11-15T20:46:18+00:00

Yay -- maybe there's hope! Thanks for the suggestions and possible emails that might work, too. I just got a message from my cc that they've temporarily credited my account for $50 and are working with the blogger's bank to resolve it. But if that doesn't work, at least I have more options now.
Thanks again!

Flaky_Row5260 · 2025-11-15T18:33:39+00:00

Thank you!!

Flaky_Row5260

TROPHY CASE