Samsung Messages to be discontinued in US July 2026

Samsung's long-running Messages app is being discontinued this month, forcing millions of users in the United States to switch to Google Messages to maintain texting functionality. The shutdown, which Samsung officially announced in April, is scheduled for July 2026, with many users reporting a specific cutoff date of July 6.

Once the service ends, the Samsung Messages app will no longer be able to send or receive standard text messages. The only exception will be for contacting emergency services or pre-defined emergency contacts. The change is currently limited to the U.S. market and applies specifically to Galaxy devices running Android 12 or newer. Devices operating on Android 11 or older are not affected and can continue using the app.

Samsung has directed users to transition to Google Messages, which became the default texting app on new Galaxy phones in 2022. The company stopped pre-installing its own Messages app on U.S. devices in 2024. The shift is part of a broader industry move toward Rich Communication Services (RCS), a modern messaging standard that supports features like read receipts, typing indicators, and higher-quality media sharing, which Google Messages supports.