The demise of Samsung’s popular messaging app, “Samsung Messages,” is no longer just a rumor or a remote possibility; it has become a reality just weeks away, with July 2026 set as the deadline.
The Korean giant had already begun guiding Galaxy phone users to Google Messages back in 2024, when it stopped pre-installing its own app on new flagship devices. Now, it seems the time for users of the original app has run out. When Samsung presses the shutdown button, the app will cease to function entirely, and no message history will be available unless it has been migrated beforehand.
How can you avoid losing your messages before the deadline?
Samsung has published an information page with clear instructions on how to migrate to Google Messages, including for phones still running Android 12 and Android 13. To encourage users to make the switch, the company highlighted the advanced features offered by Google’s app, most notably RCS technology, which supports modern features such as handwriting indicators, facilitates group chats, and allows sending high-quality images.
There’s also smart protection through advanced AI-powered filters to detect and block spam messages, along with Gemini AI features that integrate some of Google’s AI capabilities directly into the app. Multi-device access allows users to seamlessly read and send messages from different devices.
It’s worth noting that Google Messages has become the default app on most modern Android phones, including Samsung’s latest Galaxy S26 series. The company also stated that users can choose alternative SMS apps from the Google Play Store if they prefer not to use Google’s app.
What happens after the service is discontinued in July?
Samsung hasn’t specified a date in July for disabling the service. However, once the app is deactivated, Samsung Messages will only allow emergency messages.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Galaxy S26 doesn’t support downloading the Samsung Messages app at all, and other phones won’t be able to download it from app stores after the discontinuation in July.
Regarding older phones running Android 11 or earlier, Samsung clarified that they will not be affected by the service discontinuation, but advised users to switch to a supported app like Google Messages to take advantage of new security and technical features. To complete the switch, users simply need to download the Google Messages app (if it isn’t already installed) and set it as their default SMS messaging app.
The report also indicated that users of older Galaxy Watch models running Samsung’s Tizen operating system will lose the ability to view their entire chat history, as these watches do not support Google Messages. However, they will still be able to read and send individual text messages. Newer watches (starting with the Galaxy Watch 4 and above) running WearOS will continue to support viewing their entire chat history without any issues.
