How to Save Your Texts as Samsung Shuts Down Messaging: Best Alternatives and Tips

Samsung has confirmed that its Messages app will shut down in July 2026, requiring Galaxy smartphone owners to migrate their texting experience to alternative platforms to avoid losing access to SMS and RCS messaging.

The shutdown affects Galaxy users who have continued to use Samsung’s proprietary Messages app, which the company began phasing out as early as 2021 in favor of Google Messages as the default texting experience on Android devices. While Samsung stopped preinstalling its Messages app alongside Google Messages in 2024, some older Galaxy models still retain the legacy app, which will cease functioning entirely after the July cutoff.

Samsung advises users to switch to Google Messages as their default SMS app to maintain a consistent messaging experience. The process involves opening or downloading the Google Messages app, tapping “Set as default” when prompted, and confirming Google Messages as the primary SMS application. Google Messages is identified by its white icon with a blue conversation bubble.

Google Messages offers several advantages over the legacy Samsung platform, including RCS-enabled texting with features like typing indicators, improved group chats, and higher-quality image sharing. The app also includes AI-powered spam detection, multi-device access to messages, and built-in Gemini AI capabilities. It is now the default texting app on most Android devices, including Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series.

For users who prefer not to use Google’s app, alternative SMS applications are available in the Google Play Store. However, Samsung emphasizes that migrating to Google Messages ensures continuity of service and access to modern messaging features that will not be supported in the deprecated Samsung Messages app after its shutdown.

Once the Samsung Messages app is deactivated in July, only emergency service messaging will remain functional within the legacy platform. All standard SMS and RCS conversations will be inaccessible unless users have migrated their default messaging app beforehand. Samsung has not announced an exact shutdown date within July but urges users to act within the ten-week window following the announcement to avoid disruption.

The move aligns with Google’s broader strategy to consolidate messaging on Android around its own Messages app, particularly as Apple prepares to roll out RCS support for iPhone users. This convergence aims to improve cross-platform messaging between Android and iOS devices, though the current implementation relies on carrier-level RCS deployment rather than direct interoperability between Google Messages and Apple’s iMessage.