What Changed With Samsung Messages—and What This Replacement Offers
Samsung Messages is Samsung’s discontinued native texting app that used the familiar One UI messaging design; you can now recreate most of that experience with a third-party Samsung Messages alternative called Messages by OzarksMade, which supports SMS, MMS, and modern RCS messaging while aiming to feel like the original interface.
When Samsung retired its own Messages app, it encouraged users to switch over to Google Messages as the default option on Galaxy phones. For many people, that meant losing the One UI messaging look and the muscle memory built up over years of texting. If you were comfortable with the old Samsung Messages layout, the change can feel like starting from scratch with a new RCS messaging app you never asked for.
Messages by OzarksMade is a Samsung Messages replacement built specifically for people in that situation. The developer’s goal is to recreate Samsung’s messaging app “as closely as possible,” complete with the familiar One UI design language and key features like SMS, MMS, RCS, group chats, group messaging, scheduled messages, and conversation categories. To the untrained eye, the new app looks like a Samsung Galaxy app and strongly resembles Samsung Messages.
How the OzarksMade App Brings Back One UI Messaging
Think of Messages by OzarksMade as a skin and feature layer that restores the old feel on top of today’s messaging technology. Samsung Messages no longer works, but this app aims to recreate the familiar One UI messaging experience so your inbox looks and behaves the way you remember. You still get modern capabilities, because the current beta supports SMS, MMS, RCS, group chats, group messaging, scheduled messages, and conversation categories.
There is a catch: RCS in this Samsung Messages alternative still depends on Google’s infrastructure. Google does not allow direct access to its RCS system for third-party apps, so you need Google Messages installed quietly in the background for RCS to work. In practice, you will use Messages by OzarksMade as your main RCS messaging app, while Google Messages powers the RCS behind the scenes via the app’s Companion Mode. If you prefer the old-school approach, you can ignore Companion Mode and stay on SMS/MMS, which keeps you closer to the original Samsung Messages experience.
You should treat any new messaging app with a bit of caution, since your texts are sensitive. The developer says that all messages remain on your device and are not stored on its servers, and that only anonymous information like a random identifier, app version, release channel, device model, and Android version is collected for statistics. Still, it makes sense to keep an eye on future updates and reviews, because this app looks so much like Samsung’s own product that Samsung could try to shut it down over copyrights at some point.
Step-by-Step: Joining the Beta and Installing the Samsung Messages Alternative
Getting this One UI messaging replacement running is not quite as simple as searching the Play Store and tapping Install, because it is still in beta. You need to sign up before you can use it, and that is where most people stumble. If you take a few minutes to follow the sequence carefully, you end up with a Samsung Messages replacement that looks familiar and can serve as your main SMS/MMS/RCS messaging app.
- Sign up for the Messages by OzarksMade beta, either through the developer’s website or by joining the app’s Google Group with the same Google account used on your phone.
- After joining, open the Messages by OzarksMade Play Store page using that same Google account; the listing will show the app with a price of USD 0.99 (approx. RM4.60).
- Tap the purchase button and select the payment option labeled “Test Card, always approves”; because you are in the beta group, this option lets you download the app for free.
- If you do not see the “Test Card, always approves” option, repeat the Google Group sign-up step, since that means your beta registration did not go through correctly.
- Once the Play Store confirms the test card purchase, install Messages by OzarksMade and set it as your default messaging app so it can handle SMS, MMS, and RCS for you.
The main mistake people make in this process is using a different Google account for the beta sign-up and for the Play Store on their phone. If the accounts do not match, the Play Store will treat you as a normal buyer, and you will not see the “Test Card, always approves” test payment option. The expected result, when everything is done correctly, is that you can download the app for free through the beta, install it, and start using a Samsung Messages alternative that closely mimics the original One UI messaging layout while supporting modern RCS.
Living With the New App: Continuity, Limitations, and Gotchas
Once you have Messages by OzarksMade installed and set as your default, daily life feels familiar again if you were used to Samsung Messages. You get the One UI design language, conversation categories, and support for SMS, MMS, RCS, group messaging, and scheduled messages in one place. That means you can migrate away from the discontinued Samsung Messages app without losing core functionality, while keeping the visual continuity that made One UI messaging comfortable in the first place.
There are a few real-world gotchas to keep in mind. Some features, like chat themes, are not in the app yet, although the developer plans to add them in a future update. RCS will stop working if you uninstall Google Messages, because Google’s infrastructure is not open to third-party apps and the new app relies on it in the background. And since this is still a beta release, you should expect occasional bugs or polish issues as it inches toward a public version that the developer says will be available for a one-time purchase of USD 0.99 (approx. RM4.60).
Is it worth it? If you miss the original Samsung Messages experience and want a modern RCS messaging app that still feels like One UI, it is hard to argue against giving the beta a try. Watch out for the beta sign-up quirks, keep Google Messages installed if you care about RCS, and be aware that Samsung could challenge the app in the future due to how closely it resembles its own designs. For now, though, it offers a practical way to restore a familiar inbox without giving up today’s messaging features.
