Does your phone have two messaging apps? This could be why
It is not uncommon for a new phone to come with two SMS apps, which is redundant. This also raises the question of whether the manufacturers are aware of this or if it is just an unexpected bug.
The truth is that the answer to why you can have two messaging apps on your phone is simpler than it seems. After all, the most common reason is nothing more than a conflict of services on the same Android device: Google, the most popular, which always tries to be on top of everything, and then the manufacturer's own applications.
Your phone has two messaging apps, one from Google (Google Messages) and the other from your phone manufacturer or carrier. Samsung is a common example of this situation, but they recently decided to shut down their messaging app to make way for Google Messages.
While not all brands pre-install their own messaging app on their phones, most do or at least allow carriers to install their own apps. Another less common reason is that you accidentally downloaded a second messaging app.
However, this is a common scenario, and in the face of this scenario, there are measures you can take that are easier than you think.
Since messaging apps usually come pre-installed on your phone, they are part of the group of apps that are impossible to uninstall (system apps). However, you can disable them so that they stop working and disappear from your app drawer.
To do this, you just have to do the following:
Go to your mobile phone's home screen and select the icon of the application you want to deactivate.
Press and hold your finger on the icon.
Select the Disable option.
If you can’t disable it this way, you can also do it from Settings > Apps. There, choose the app you want to deactivate, and finally tap on the option that says “Deactivate” or “Disable.”
After that, the app will disappear from your list, and it will stop working as well. It will be as if you only have one messaging app on your phone, saving you the confusion.
Which of the two messaging apps should I continue using?
Now, before you deactivate an app, it’s a good idea to carefully decide which one you want to keep. The safest option is Google Messages, not only because it’s constantly updated but also because there’s a risk that messaging apps that come from the manufacturer will break or cause problems, as was the case with Samsung’s pre-installed apps. Plus, Google’s option supports RCS.