Samsung confirms its Messages app will shut down in July, causing a furor for Galaxy smartphone owners who now must act to keep texts and texting. You have just ten weeks to make changes to ensure you’re not cut off after the shutdown. It’s all about secure messaging, and Google ensuring full encryption on Android.

This is the latest step in Google’s consolidation of messaging on Android onto its own Google Messages app. Ironically timed , given Apple’s imminent RCS update, we now face a bizarre situation where the bridge between Google Messages and Apple’s iMessage relies on a complex carrier rollout rather than a direct link.

For Galaxy users affected by the change, initially in the U.S. and then elsewhere, the steps you need to take before the July switchover are simple. Doing nothing is not an option. “Upgrade to Google Messages as your default messaging app today,” Samsung says, “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.”

That means doing the following, the Galaxy-maker tells users:

  1. "Open or download Google Messages. The first time you open the app, a message appears: ‘To use Messages, make it your default SMS app.’
  2. Tap the ’Set default SMS app’ button.
  3. Select Google Messages. Google Messages is the white icon with the blue conversation bubble.
  4. Tap ’Set as default’.
  5. Google Messages is now your default messaging app."

When you make that change, Samsung says, “all messages / conversations will automatically be transferred between Samsung Messages and Google Messages.” Not immediately though. It may take up to 24 hours to complete.

Post the cutoff date, when Samsung’s Messages shut down is triggered, “sending messages via Samsung Messages on your phone will no longer be possible, except for emergency service numbers or emergency contacts defined in your device.”

There is an issue for RCS users on phones released before 2022. Switching apps “may temporarily disrupt ongoing RCS conversations,” Samsung warns. "However, RCS conversations can resume if both parties switch to Google Messages.”

Make the change today — as Samsung suggests. Do not leave it too late.