Verizon Message+ Is Shutting Down: Here's What That Means For Android Users

Looks like it is the end of the road for Verizon's home-grown text messaging app — Verizon Messages. The app, which has been around since 2011, may not have featured in the list of most popular messaging tools, but in its 13 years of existence, it did manage to garner a small, but dedicated user base. The app, which also went by the name Verizon Message+, will be completely shut down by November 7, 2024, the company confirmed on the official FAQ page for Verizon Messages. Even before the day of shutdown, several features of the app will stop functioning as Verizon has confirmed that it has already begun the process of shutting down the app starting October 2, 2024.

Once Verizon shuts down the Message+ app, people will no longer be able to use it to send and receive text messages. The app, which boasted a message scheduling feature, will not be able to send texts scheduled to be sent after November 7. The shutdown of the app also means that it will be removed from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Signing up for Verizon Message+ also gave users access to an email address that ended with the @vmtext.com. These email addresses are also part of the shutdown process, and they will also cease to function once Message+ is discontinued.

It is pertinent to note that Verizon Messages wasn't limited to just Verizon customers — anyone with a U.S. mobile number and a compatible smartphone (iOS and Android) could use the app. While the vast majority of iPhone users are hooked on iMessage, for the handful of Android users using it as their primary text messaging app, the shutdown of Verizon Message+ means moving to an entirely new text messaging app.

The decision to shut down Verizon Message+ couldn't have come at a better time for Google, which has been promoting its own messaging app — Google Messages — as the text messaging tool of choice for Android users for a while now. In fact, Verizon has also recommended Google Messages as their app of choice as a viable alternative to Verizon Message+ for Android smartphones. As a part of this change, all Verizon-branded Android smartphones will now come preloaded with Google Messages.

While this move will undoubtedly help Google Messages gain a small number of users from Verizon, there is no denying that the biggest win for Google Messages came after Apple, earlier this year, agreed to opt for Rich Communications Services (RCS). This was a long-demanded move that would let iMessage users seamlessly text with Android smartphone users without losing out on helpful features like reading receipts, typing notifications, and sharing multimedia content.

RCS text messaging facility rolled out to iOS users as part of the iOS 18 update, which coincided with the launch of the iPhone 16 series in September 2024.

For existing Verizon Message+ users, the switch to Google Messages is a straightforward process. All they need to do is go to the Google Play Store, search for Google Messages, and download and install the app. On the setup screen for Google Messages, users will be prompted to select the app as the default SMS app. With Google Messaging supporting almost all the features that Message+ came with, getting used to the new app will only be a matter of time.