TechRadar

How to make Google Hangouts your default text message app

Make Google Hangouts your text message app

Once upon a time the discreet text message app was the life and soul of your phone – then Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp rocked up to spoil the party and it’s left the poor SMS client looking and feeling a little out of place.

But fear not! For you, proud Android proprietor, can upgrade your text message practice with the help of Google’s Hangouts app.

Hangouts substituted the search giant’s Talk service, and as well as acting as a rival to Whatsapp and Skype (it does voice and movie calls), it can also be your default text application.

Even better, it’s indeed effortless to set up.

Step one – Get the app

Pretty much every Android smartphone these days comes with Google’s suite of applications pre-installed, which means it’s very likely you’ll already have the Hangouts app on your handset.

Sometimes a folder of all Google’s applications is located on your home screen when you very first switch your phone on, so it should be effortless to find.

If for some reason the Hangouts app isn’t on your device head over to Google Play, tap "Hangouts" into the search bar, and download it for free.

Step two – Set up

There are a duo of ways to set up Hangouts as your main messaging app, depending on whether or not you’ve used the application before.

Very first timers

The very first time you open up Hangouts you’ll be asked to sign in with your Google account (which should already be set up on your Android phone).

There will be a prompt to set Hangouts as your default SMS client too. Go after the on-screen instructions to set it up. If you accidentally skip this, go after the instructions below.

Current users

If you’ve already been using the Hangouts app to talk to your Google contacts it takes just a few taps to feed your text messages into it.

Hit menu (top left) > Settings > SMS and you’ll see "SMS disabled" – tap this, then "ok" and "yes" in the resulting pop ups and you’re good to go.

Step three – Message transfer

Good news here folks, as soon as you switch to using Hangouts as your main text message supplier all your current SMS conversations stored on your Android phone will be automatically imported into the app.

You won’t miss any vital information, permitting you to proceed your conversation flows without issue.

Step four – Lodging in

Congratulations, Hangouts is now your one-stop-shop for all your SMS conversations, and while it’s pretty similar in operation to your messaging app we’ll run you through the basics.

Writing a fresh text is effortless: just tap the plus icon in the top right, choose the contact(s) you want to send a message to and then peck in your message.

You do need to make sure you select your contact’s mobile number to send them a SMS, as you may find yourself in a Hangouts talk rather than a text message.

It’s effortless to tell what type of message you’re about to send as you’ll see either a SMS icon or Hangouts logo next to the text entry field.

Your inbox will be a mix of SMS messages and Hangout conversations, so just make sure you’re in the correct message stream before replying.

Step five – Abort!

Had a unexpected switch of heart? Then don’t fear, as it’s just as effortless to disable Hangouts as your default SMS provider.

Hit menu (top left) > Settings > SMS and you’ll see "SMS enabled" – tap this and then select your desired text client and you’ll be transported back to the good old days. Phew.

How to make Google Hangouts your default text message app, TechRadar

TechRadar

How to make Google Hangouts your default text message app

Make Google Hangouts your text message app

Once upon a time the modest text message app was the life and soul of your phone – then Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp rocked up to spoil the party and it’s left the poor SMS client looking and feeling a little out of place.

But fear not! For you, proud Android proprietor, can upgrade your text message practice with the help of Google’s Hangouts app.

Hangouts substituted the search giant’s Talk service, and as well as acting as a rival to Whatsapp and Skype (it does voice and movie calls), it can also be your default text application.

Even better, it’s indeed effortless to set up.

Step one – Get the app

Pretty much every Android smartphone these days comes with Google’s suite of applications pre-installed, which means it’s very likely you’ll already have the Hangouts app on your handset.

Sometimes a folder of all Google’s applications is located on your home screen when you very first switch your phone on, so it should be effortless to find.

If for some reason the Hangouts app isn’t on your device head over to Google Play, tap "Hangouts" into the search bar, and download it for free.

Step two – Set up

There are a duo of ways to set up Hangouts as your main messaging app, depending on whether or not you’ve used the application before.

Very first timers

The very first time you open up Hangouts you’ll be asked to sign in with your Google account (which should already be set up on your Android phone).

There will be a prompt to set Hangouts as your default SMS client too. Go after the on-screen instructions to set it up. If you accidentally skip this, go after the instructions below.

Current users

If you’ve already been using the Hangouts app to talk to your Google contacts it takes just a few taps to feed your text messages into it.

Hit menu (top left) > Settings > SMS and you’ll see "SMS disabled" – tap this, then "ok" and "yes" in the resulting pop ups and you’re good to go.

Step three – Message transfer

Good news here folks, as soon as you switch to using Hangouts as your main text message supplier all your current SMS conversations stored on your Android phone will be automatically imported into the app.

You won’t miss any vital information, permitting you to proceed your conversation flows without issue.

Step four – Lodging in

Congratulations, Hangouts is now your one-stop-shop for all your SMS conversations, and while it’s pretty similar in operation to your messaging app we’ll run you through the basics.

Writing a fresh text is effortless: just tap the plus icon in the top right, choose the contact(s) you want to send a message to and then peck in your message.

You do need to make sure you select your contact’s mobile number to send them a SMS, as you may find yourself in a Hangouts talk rather than a text message.

It’s effortless to tell what type of message you’re about to send as you’ll see either a SMS icon or Hangouts logo next to the text entry field.

Your inbox will be a mix of SMS messages and Hangout conversations, so just make sure you’re in the correct message stream before replying.

Step five – Abort!

Had a unexpected switch of heart? Then don’t fear, as it’s just as effortless to disable Hangouts as your default SMS provider.

Hit menu (top left) > Settings > SMS and you’ll see "SMS enabled" – tap this and then select your desired text client and you’ll be transported back to the good old days. Phew.

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