diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 7e0d691e..be9ceba4 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ For WNS, you need both the ``WNS_PACKAGE_SECURITY_KEY`` and the ``WNS_SECRET_KEY
 - ``USER_MODEL``: Your user model of choice. Eg. ``myapp.User``. Defaults to ``settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL``.
 - ``UPDATE_ON_DUPLICATE_REG_ID``: Transform create of an existing Device (based on registration id) into a update. See below `Update of device with duplicate registration ID`_ for more details.
 - ``UNIQUE_REG_ID``: Forces the ``registration_id`` field on all device models to be unique.
+- ``DEFAULT_CLOUD_MESSAGE_TYPE``: The default cloud message type to use when registering a FCM/GCM device. Defaults to ``"FCM"``. Can be set to ``"GCM"`` to use Google Cloud Messaging instead.
 
 **APNS settings**
 
diff --git a/push_notifications/migrations/0010_alter_gcmdevice_cloud_message_type.py b/push_notifications/migrations/0010_alter_gcmdevice_cloud_message_type.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2aa3a61a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/push_notifications/migrations/0010_alter_gcmdevice_cloud_message_type.py
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Generated by Django 4.2.10 on 2024-04-12 16:29
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("push_notifications", "0009_alter_apnsdevice_device_id"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name="gcmdevice",
+            name="cloud_message_type",
+            field=models.CharField(
+                choices=[
+                    ("FCM", "Firebase Cloud Message"),
+                    ("GCM", "Google Cloud Message"),
+                ],
+                default="FCM",
+                help_text="You should choose FCM or GCM",
+                max_length=3,
+                verbose_name="Cloud Message Type",
+            ),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/push_notifications/models.py b/push_notifications/models.py
index 33f44205..67e6ea8a 100644
--- a/push_notifications/models.py
+++ b/push_notifications/models.py
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ def send_message(self, message, **kwargs):
 			return messaging.BatchResponse(responses)
 
 
+def get_default_cloud_message_type() -> str:
+	return SETTINGS.get("DEFAULT_CLOUD_MESSAGE_TYPE", "FCM")
+
+
 class GCMDevice(Device):
 	# device_id cannot be a reliable primary key as fragmentation between different devices
 	# can make it turn out to be null and such:
@@ -98,7 +102,7 @@ class GCMDevice(Device):
 	registration_id = models.TextField(verbose_name=_("Registration ID"), unique=SETTINGS["UNIQUE_REG_ID"])
 	cloud_message_type = models.CharField(
 		verbose_name=_("Cloud Message Type"), max_length=3,
-		choices=CLOUD_MESSAGE_TYPES, default="FCM",
+		choices=CLOUD_MESSAGE_TYPES, default=get_default_cloud_message_type(),
 		help_text=_("You should choose FCM, GCM is deprecated")
 	)
 	objects = GCMDeviceManager()
diff --git a/tests/test_models.py b/tests/test_models.py
index 6a9996a7..0bff8f92 100644
--- a/tests/test_models.py
+++ b/tests/test_models.py
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
+import importlib
+import json
 from unittest import mock
 
-from django.test import TestCase
+from django.conf import settings
+from django.test import TestCase, override_settings
 from django.utils import timezone
 from firebase_admin import messaging
 from firebase_admin.exceptions import InvalidArgumentError
@@ -468,3 +471,29 @@ def test_can_save_wsn_device(self):
 		self.assertIsNotNone(device.pk)
 		self.assertIsNotNone(device.date_created)
 		self.assertEqual(device.date_created.date(), timezone.now().date())
+
+	def test_gcm_is_default_cloud_message_type_when_not_specified_in_settings(self) -> None:
+		self._validate_device_cloud_message_type(expected_cloud_message_type="GCM")
+
+	@override_settings()
+	def test_cloud_message_type_is_set_to_gcm(self) -> None:
+		settings.PUSH_NOTIFICATIONS_SETTINGS.update({
+			"DEFAULT_CLOUD_MESSAGE_TYPE": "GCM",
+		})
+		self._validate_device_cloud_message_type(expected_cloud_message_type="GCM")
+
+	@override_settings()
+	def test_cloud_message_type_is_set_to_fcm(self) -> None:
+		settings.PUSH_NOTIFICATIONS_SETTINGS.update({
+			"DEFAULT_CLOUD_MESSAGE_TYPE": "FCM",
+		})
+		self._validate_device_cloud_message_type(expected_cloud_message_type="FCM")
+
+	def _validate_device_cloud_message_type(self, expected_cloud_message_type: str) -> None:
+		# Reload the models so that cached model is evicted and
+		# field default value is re-read from settings
+		import push_notifications.models
+		importlib.reload(push_notifications.models)
+		from push_notifications.models import GCMDevice
+		field_object = GCMDevice._meta.get_field("cloud_message_type")
+		self.assertEqual(field_object.default, expected_cloud_message_type)