Samsung will retire its Messages app for SMS and MMS texting on Galaxy phones in the United States on Monday, July 6, 2026. The company is directing affected users to switch to Google Messages as their default texting application before that date, a move that carries specific implications for the millions who also use a Windows PC.
The End of Samsung Messages as Your Go-To Texting App
Samsung confirmed through its official support channels that Samsung Messages will cease functioning for regular text messaging on that mid-summer date. After July 6, the app will no longer send or receive SMS or MMS messages on U.S. Galaxy devices. The app may remain installed and could still handle RCS (Rich Communication Services) chats, but the core SMS/MMS engine will stop working, effectively breaking the most basic form of texting.
The announcement is the culmination of a years-long pivot by Samsung and Google to consolidate Android messaging around Google Messages. Samsung has been preloading Google Messages on its flagships and many mid-range phones since the Galaxy S22 series, gradually making it the default in key markets. The July 2026 cutoff is the final nudge for holdouts who have stuck with the familiar Samsung-built app.
What This Means for You — and Your Windows PC
If you own a Samsung Galaxy phone and currently use Samsung Messages as your default SMS app, you have a straightforward migration ahead: download Google Messages from the Play Store or the Galaxy Store, set it as your default, and carry on. But the shift resonates more deeply when you factor in your Windows workflow.
Seamless PC Messaging with Phone Link
Google Messages has first-class support in Microsoft’s Phone Link (previously Your Phone) app, the built-in bridge between Windows PCs and Android phones. After you switch to Google Messages, your text messages, photos, and group chats will sync natively to your Windows desktop or laptop. You can read, compose, and reply to texts using your PC’s keyboard, and you’ll see notifications in the Windows notification center.
By contrast, Samsung Messages relied on either Samsung Flow or a narrower phone screen mirroring feature that never achieved the depth of integration Phone Link now offers. If you’ve been using Samsung Flow for PC texting, you’ll need to migrate to Phone Link and Google Messages together. The good news: the setup process is guided and only takes a few minutes.
RCS Comes Standard — Even to Your PC
Google Messages is the primary vehicle for RCS on Android, the modern messaging standard that adds read receipts, typing indicators, high-resolution photo sharing, and end-to-end encryption for one-on-one chats. Once you switch, your conversations with other RCS users (most Android users today) will upgrade automatically. And because Phone Link taps into Google Messages’ web syncing, your PC will also send and receive RCS messages, not just bland SMS.
That means you’ll see typing indicators, share high-res images without compression, and get encryption benefits across devices — something Samsung Messages never offered on the desktop.
What If You Don’t Switch by July 6?
After the cutoff, Samsung Messages will stop sending or receiving SMS and MMS. You won’t be able to text anyone from that app — no two-factor authentication codes, no plain-text messages to friends on iPhones, no group MMS chats. Incoming texts will bounce or simply not appear. If you miss the deadline, you’ll be forced to set up Google Messages in a hurry to restore basic texting functionality.
How We Got Here: Samsung and Google’s Messaging Alignment
Samsung’s messaging strategy has been in flux for nearly a decade. The company maintained its own SMS app alongside Google’s Android Messages (now Google Messages) for years, leading to confusion among users and fragmentation that carriers and industry groups wanted to solve. The turning point came in 2021, when Samsung and Google announced a deeper collaboration that included merging Samsung’s earlier RCS work into Google’s Messages app.
By 2022, Samsung began shipping Galaxy S22 devices with Google Messages set as the default messaging app in the U.S., following a similar shift in Europe and other regions. The move aligned with Google’s push to make RCS a universal standard and pressure from carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon to streamline messaging interoperability — especially as Apple’s iMessage continued to dominate the U.S. market.
Samsung never officially killed its app until now. The July 2026 date represents the formal end of dual-messenger coexistence. It follows a familiar pattern: Samsung has gradually ceded other software domains to Google, such as replacing Bixby Home with Google Discover on many phones and adopting Google’s Digital Wellbeing over its own version.
For Windows users, the alignment plays into Microsoft’s deeper partnership with Samsung and Google. Phone Link works best when the default SMS app is Google Messages, and Microsoft has optimized the experience specifically for that setup. As Samsung and Google grew closer, the writing was on the wall for Samsung’s in-house tools that competed with Google’s ecosystem.
What to Do Now: Your Migration Checklist
You have until July 6, 2026, to make the switch. Don’t wait until the last minute — doing it ahead of time ensures you won’t miss a critical text. Follow these steps, tailored for a smooth transition to PC-linked messaging.
- Back up your existing messages (optional). If you have important texts stored only in Samsung Messages, consider using a third-party SMS backup tool (like SMS Backup & Restore) to save them before switching. Google Messages can restore backups, but only those created through its own backup system.
- Install Google Messages. Download from the Play Store or open the preloaded version on your Samsung phone. It may already be there — look for the blue icon with a white chat bubble.
- Set Google Messages as default. When you first open the app, it will prompt you. Alternatively, go to Settings > Apps > Choose default apps > SMS app and select Messages.
- Enable RCS (Chat features). Inside Google Messages, tap your profile picture > Messages settings > Chat features. Turn on “Enable chat features.” This ensures you get the modern messaging perks.
- Set up Phone Link on your Windows PC.
- On your PC, open the Phone Link app (preinstalled in Windows 10 and 11).
- Follow the on-screen prompts to link your Galaxy phone. You’ll scan a QR code or sign in with your Microsoft account.
- Grant permissions for notifications, messages, and photos.
- After linking, the “Messages” tab in Phone Link will populate with your Google Messages conversations. - Test the flow. Send a text from your PC and check that it appears on your phone and vice versa. Make sure incoming notifications arrive on your PC.
- Uninstall or ignore Samsung Messages. Once you’re comfortable, you can remove Samsung Messages to avoid any confusion — though you might need to keep it if you use it for RCS-only chats. Check Samsung’s final guidance closer to the date.
If your workplace manages Windows PCs with Intune or other MDM, the Phone Link experience may be restricted — check with your IT admin. But for personal devices, the above flow works out of the box.
Outlook: One Messaging Client to Rule Them All — and Your PC
The shutdown of Samsung Messages marks the near-complete unification of the Android messaging landscape. Google Messages is now the de facto standard across Samsung, Google Pixel, and a growing list of other Android OEMs. For Windows users, that means a consistent, well-supported bridge between phone and PC that requires zero third-party add-ons.
Looking ahead, expect Microsoft and Google to deepen the phone-PC link. Google is reportedly working on a dedicated Windows app for Messages (beyond the current web-based PWA), which could bring even tighter integration. Microsoft, meanwhile, is expanding Phone Link to support incremental features like RCS reactions and improved media syncing.
For now, the practical takeaway is clear: switch to Google Messages well before July 6, 2026, pair it with Phone Link, and enjoy a unified messaging experience that spans your Galaxy phone and Windows PC without missing a beat.