Samsung Messages stopped working today for millions of U.S. Galaxy users โ and scammers started laying traps for the confused months before the cutoff arrived. As of July 6, 2026, the app can no longer send or receive SMS, MMS, or RCS messages on Galaxy phones running Android 12 or higher. The shutdown is the final act in a years-long retreat that ended with Google gaining operational control of the RCS messaging layer for virtually all U.S. Android users โ a consolidation that matters well beyond which icon sits in a dock. For anyone who received a text message telling them Samsung Messages was ending and urging them to tap a link: do not tap it. Samsung does not send standalone text messages containing links asking users to switch apps. Make the switch manually, through Settings.
What Stopped Working and Who It Affects
Not every Galaxy owner is equally affected.
Phones running Android 14 or newer moved to Google Messages automatically, with the home screen icon updating on its own. Android 12 and 13 devices require a manual default-app change through Settings. The process takes about two minutes: open Settings, navigate to Apps, tap the default SMS app setting, and select Google Messages. On Android 12 or 13 specifically, the Google Messages icon will not automatically shift into the home screen dock after switching โ long-press the Samsung Messages icon in the dock, remove it, then find the Google Messages icon and drag it into the dock manually.
Galaxy users on Android 11 or older are not affected and can continue using Samsung Messages. The Galaxy S26 was already past this decision point before today: Samsung never pre-installed Samsung Messages on it and blocked download from the Galaxy Store entirely. Samsung Messages is now unavailable for download from the Galaxy Store on all affected devices.
There is one group for whom no clean transition exists: owners of Tizen-based Galaxy Watches released before the Galaxy Watch 4. Those watches cannot run Google…