Not long ago,major US cellular carrier Verizonannounced its intent to shut down its Message+ texting service. The app is still listed on both theApple App Storeand theGoogle Play Store, but the company is urging users to transition to an alternative soon rather than later.
The Verizon Message+ discontinuation began in earnest on October 2, with a full shut down slated for November 7.The company recommendsAndroid users switch to theGoogle Messages app, and that iPhone users migrate to the built-in iOS Apple Messages app.
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The Verizon Message+ discontinuation comes at a time in whichRich Communications Service (RCS)support is growing in both popularity and reach. This newer texting standard is safer and more feature-rich than the old-school Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) protocols.
“The message space is rapidly changing and we want you to have the best messaging experience,' says Verizonon its official support page.
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How to transition away from Verizon’s Message+ app
You’ll want to switch to an alternative texting app before November 7 hits
If you have a Verizon Android phone, follow these steps to migrate off of Message+ andonto Google’s own messaging platform.
If you’re using an iPhone, you won’t need to follow these steps – simply discontinue usage of Message+ and begin texting via Apple’s own Messages app.
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Going forward, Google Messages will now be preloaded on all Verizon Android devices, according to the company. Apple’s iPhones already come preinstalled with a first-party Messages app, but this hasn’t traditionally been the case for Verizon-based Android handsets.
Going forward, Google Messages will now be preloaded on all Verizon Android devices, according to the company.
Some other housekeeping tips: once the Message+ servers shut down on November 7, you won’t be able to send or receive any text messages using the Verizon app. Any messages you may have scheduled to automatically send on or after this date will also not be sent, according to the company.
If you have an Android phone and would prefer to try out a texting app that isn’t Google Messages, then there are a number of options available to choose from on the Play Store. Some popular examples include:
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RCS is the future, and it’s been a long time coming
The RCS texting standard is superior to SMS in every way conceivable
The RCS texting standardhas actually been aroundfor a long time, but only in recent years has it begun to gain any real traction. After Google’s numerous botched attempts at creating anApple iMessagecompetitor, the search giant eventually decided to rally around RCS technology to improve the Android messaging experience.
Google’s particular flavor of RCS enables many quality-of-life texting improvements over traditional SMS texting.
Google’s particular flavor of RCS enables many quality-of-life texting improvements over traditional SMS texting, most of which you’re probably already familiar with from iMessage,WhatsApp, and other internet-based chat services. Some of these features include:
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With the recent release ofiOS 18, Applehas begrudgingly enabledRCS support for the iPhone, in an attempt to combat the mounting antitrust pressures faced by the company.
With the recent release of iOS 18, Apple has begrudgingly enabled RCS support for the iPhone.
Verizon, for its part,first began to embraceGoogle’s implementation of RCS earlier this year. This development cameafter a notoriously unsuccessful attemptwithin the American telecommunications scene to unify US phone carriers under their own RCS-based standard.
In the years to come, RCS-based messaging is expected to overtake and eventually fully supplant the antiquated SMS and MMS standards. Most Android OEMs are now embracing Google Messages,including the juggernaut that is Samsung. The iPhone’s roping in of RCS support is expected to accelerate this process of adoption, as well.
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