To kick off the month of October, Verizon caused a bunch of users of its Message+ app to freakout with an announcement that it would shutdown the service by November 7. Well, that day as come and it appears that Verizon is giving everyone another month to find a replacement.
The support page for Verizon’s Message+ app changed within recent days to say that the service “will be fully discontinued on 12/9/24.” Again, it used to say November 7 and that is today. You have an extension, folks!
What is Verizon+ and why are even talking about? That’s a great question. Umm, Message+ was an app that Verizon started loading on devices it sold as a piece of bloatware a number of years ago. It was the Verizon Messages app, essentially, so a whole bunch of people used it by default instead of Samsung or Google messaging apps because it was there, ready to be used.
Since it was adopted by so many, and it apparently has features they love, the discontinuation of it is not going over well. While most should just jump on Google Messages and get with the times, I’ve seen several comments around the internet suggesting that Google’s option is not up to their standards. It’s so weird to say that as someone who has seen the Verizon Message+ app. It is atrocious.
Anyways, if you are hanging onto Verizon Message+, you have until December 9 to finally, finally make the switch to Google Messages (download). Just do it already and experience RCS. Samsung did.
// Verizon
Verizon message app+ was easy and convenient and oh it was not owned my Google….I am tired of Google taking and controlling everything! There was no reason to get rid of the app it worked for so many and if you didn't like it then great move to google but there are many of us who did enjoy it and enjoyed the features! So thanks alot Verizon for selling out to Google!
I've used Verizon since day 1 of having a phone, and only recently switched to Google messages. Let me tell you, as much as I love goigle features in other areas, their messaging app is not doing it for me. The main problem is that Verizon messages knew me and my 'country' accent. So when I used talk to text *(speaking into my text and the words get typed out) Verizon always got every word perfectly. Google doesn't understand half of what i say. I always have to go back and edit the text before sending, due to so many words are incorrect. Samsung is even worse. I was planning on switching back to Verizon but then I found out they are planning on doing away with their messaging app.
This issue has made texting a nightmare for me. One would think Google would do better on understanding various American accents.
I only switched to Google temporarily due to i needed the encryption for a short period, I had every intention of switching back to Verizon but now they are doing away with their messaging app…
What phone are you using?
I gave Verizon a day and found a replacement myself…..now with US Mobile! Enough of the price increases already….
I've been using Verizon Message+ since day 1. SO FAR, I have found another app that can do EVERYTHING Verizon Message+ can do. Is Verizon Message+ a perfect app??? Probably not. But it does way more things well than anything else I've tried. I have tried almost all of them over the last month, so I think I know what I'm talking about. How many other apps can provide you with individual ring tones for each contacts messages? How many can adjust the font size and color for each message contact? How many can be used across multiple platforms to include a desktop on the web? That's just for starters. Textra was the closest I could get but it would not work on my tablet.
Verizon Message+ is a dandy app and Verizon should just let it be…
Idk about changing colors but…
Adjusting font size on Google Messages is a simple pinch to zoom in/out
You can also change individual ringtones for each contact messages
I also text on my laptop using the Chrome extension for Messages
I don't have a tablet so I can't speak on that
How did Textra not work or your tablet? Is the tablet on an active line or is it wifi only?
I use it on my wifi only iPad to receive the text messages that normally go to my phone. If I’m using my iPad, I don’t have to pick up the phone to check for incoming messages or 2FA messages…
I got tired of all this shit. Google messages is terrible. Samsung Messages is getting eliminated. Decided to get an iPhone couldn’t be happier.
I used to get a ton more customization with Messages+. There's hardly any with Google Messages and that's the best that's out there with no more Messages+ and that's not saying a whole hell of a lot, they all stink.
PS: RCS doesn't do squat for me. I see no difference between stuff from Messages+ and Google Messages.
Agree completely.
Oh…. But you can change the colors of the chat…. ????
RCS adds encryption, it adds larger media sharing (i.e. larger or higher quality photos and longer video etc.)
Oh, have you ever had a problem when ads you to a group chat and your came get it to stop? Google messages fixed this problem.
Regular SMS can be intercepted and with no encryption this can cause father of abilities with 2FA, appointment links. (Granted, companies and medical entities need to adopt this as it's also more HIPAA compliant)
The built-in Glympse location sharing feature was about the only good thing of Messages+. I had to move to the native Glympse app and it's not as reliable. Whenever I lose cell signal and Glympse is in the background my location won't update until I open the app again. That's problematic as I usually have my phone showing navigation when it's in my car's phone mount.
I used VZW messaging+ app briefly. Atrocious, maybe, but it does allow you to set a background picture for your chat threads, which Google's message app does not. It also allows you to set color profiles per chat, which Google's message app also does not. So yeah, it did have some stuff going for it that users would miss.
How or why anyone would or has been using the VZW messaging+ app is beyond me. As stated it is atrocious to say the least.