- Google Messages users notice disappearing chats on Samsung Galaxy phones
- It appears to be a re-indexing issue after the shutdown of Samsung Messages in favor of Google Messages
- The issue is still ongoing, but a Google expert has offered tips to fix it
Google Messages users have discovered a bug that randomly deletes old and new chats, and their complaints about the problem are spreading like wildfire online.
Users of the ir/GoogleMessages forum share their experiences with disappearing chats, but it’s hard to tell if there’s a pattern between the disappearing messages. One user noted that ‘large chunks of messages’ disappeared from chats, while others have reported seeing entire conversations disappear.
Despite users trying to take matters into their own hands, the problem persists – one user also remembers a moment when a message ‘disappeared before [their] eyes’. Samsung Galaxy phones seem to be bearing the brunt — the Samsung A52 and Samsung Galaxy S21 have been mentioned on Reddit — but some Google Pixel users are also experiencing similar issues.
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But where does it come from? There is only one thing that users have linked it to, and that is the shutdown of Samsung Messages, which is now entering its phase-out phase, forcing users over to Google’s chat service.
Since the problems started spreading, users have been looking for ways to prevent this from happening, including checking their trash, clearing cache, and going through a chat history backup, but messages still disappear for no reason. That’s prompted frustrated users to flock to Google’s support page seeking further advice, and the company has cleared the air a bit.
In response to a user query, a Google product expert shared that the transition to Samsung Messages and Google Messages is indeed causing this: “Although frustrating, the ‘disappearance’ of messages during this transition is often a sync and re-indexing delay rather than a permanent deletion, especially if they are missing from both apps”. They also describe that RCS incompatibility and sync errors during the Samsung Messages-to-Google Messages crossover also contribute to the ongoing issue.
That said, the Google expert followed up by offering some solutions. First, they recommend waiting 48+ hours if you only switched from Samsung Messages or just noticed the problem. They also suggest leaving your phone on a charger with Wi-Fi connected so the indexing process can finish.
Alternatively, you can use what the expert refers to as the ‘Sync Force’ trick, where you have to set Samsung Messages back as your default SMS app, restart your device to open Samsung Messages, and then wait 2-3 minutes for it to load the local database. Once this is done, you can switch back to Google Messages and set it as default again.
“How will I be able to trust this app going forward?”
Looking at the overall responses, it’s clear that the transition to Google Messages from Samsung Messages hasn’t been the smoothest of processes, and the bug has come at a very inconvenient time for those just getting used to navigating the Google Messages reins.
While this is a minor re-indexing delay, those who have become familiar with using Samsung’s service are still very unhappy with the forced migration. A friend of our staff writer, Isaiah Williams, has been a long-time user of Samsung Messages and the switch has hit them hard, who shared the following words with us:
“I was already bothered by the forced switch from Samsung to Google Messages and the loss of organizational features I loved as a small business owner, such as text categories, but I never expected to see my messages completely disappear. They were there one minute, gone the next, and even after my attempts at troubleshooting, restarting, checking the archive and trash, I designed the necessary features I’ve been using the app to navigate to fully resolve the issue. I’m simply questioned don’t know how I’ll be able to trust this app moving forward when basic functionality seems so lacking.”
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