Back in November, Google announced that it will be discontinuing its messaging service, Hangouts. It also encouraged its MVNO subscribers to switch to Messages so they can enjoy uninterrupted service.
In its previous announcement, Google told Fi subscribers that they only have two months to switch to the other messaging platform. But it looks like Google is pushing that deadline to a later date.
As revealed on Hangouts’ support page for Google Fi, it looks like Google has extended the shutdown date to a few more months. Instead of the original plan of shutting down the service in January 2021, Google has pushed this date to March 2021. As soon as the phasing out process begins, users will no longer be able to make/receive voice calls and voicemail messages. They will also lose the ability to send/receive text messages.
The support page also comes with a step-by-step guide that gives subscribers an easier time to switch to Messages. The first thing you need to do is to download the Messages app from the Play Store. You will then need to make sure that this app is set as your default SMS app. This can be done by going into your device’s Settings app or by following the on-screen instructions.
Even though Google is shutting down Hangouts in March, it will still be giving its subscribers a chance to transfer or sync the text messages from their Hangouts app. You have until September 30, 2021 to transfer those important text messages you wish to save on your device.
