It's Official, Samsung Messages Will Shut Down in Three Months

Back in 2023, Samsung and Google entered into a strategic collaboration where both brands started working closely to bring new features and updates to Android. From Circle to Search to Google's own Scan Detection network, Galaxy phones managed to receive them even before Pixel devices. Now, as part of this tight-knit partnership, Samsung Messages is being put to rest for wider Google Messages adoption.

Samsung Will Retire Its Native Messages App in July 2026

Samsung has officially confirmed the end of the road for Samsung Messages via a notice posted on the official website. It confirms that the default messaging app for all Galaxy phones will officially be discontinued in July 2026. However, ahead of the shutdown, Samsung urges users to migrate to Google Messages.

Image Credit: Samsung

The official notice states, “Upgrade your messaging experience” by switching to Google’s app to ensure a “consistent messaging experience on Android.” Moreover, for the exact shutdown date, users are urged to check their Samsung Messages app, as the retirement will be region-specific.

We checked it on multiple Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy F36 5G and more, but were unable to find the official shutdown announcement in the application. There were also no steps mentioned within the app to help users make the switch.

To make sure you can securely pivot to Google Messages from Samsung Messages without losing your data or experience, follow the steps below:

1. Download the Google Messages app from the Play Store and sign in using your primary Google account (the same account used to sign in to Samsung Messages).
2. In the "Set Messages as your default SMS app?" prompt box, select Google Messages from the list of options and hit Set as default.

You'll now be signed in to Google Messages and you'll be able to see all your previous messages and data.

Even if it's only now that Samsung is retiring the Samsung Messages app in favour of Google Messages, we saw this move coming way back in 2024. Samsung, in passing mentioned back then that it would transition its users to Google Messages to comply with RCS regulations. Even the newly launched Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra skipped Samsung Messages entirely and only offered Google Messages pre-installed.