Find out how to send, delete or forward a text message and how to block spam or change your text alert tone. The icons and screen may differ slightly from the illustrations below depending on your device, operating system and theme.
You are not able to choose between SMS or MMS. Your messaging service will automatically switch to MMS if you are sending a picture message, or if your text message goes over the character limit, normal SMS length is 160 characters.
To find the Messages app, you may have to look in your Samsung folder. If you still cannot find the app, use your phone’s search function to locate it.
Please note:this FAQ is for text sending text messages. For information on using other messaging apps, please consult the developer’s website.
Reading a message
On receiving a message you will receive a notification in your messages app, to read this message you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2On opening the app you will see a list of your conversations. New messages will be displayed at the top of the list, and if they are unread a number in blue will appear beside the message (the number indicates the number of unread messages in a conversation).
3Tap a message to open and read it.
Please note: If you would like to increase the size of the text you can find out how in our FAQ about accessibility settings.
4Once you have read the message you can choose to reply to the message by typing in the chat message box.
5Once you have finished writing your message, tap the send icon to send it.
Sending a message
To create and send a text message, you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Tap the Compose icon.
3Tap the plus (+) icon and select the contact you'd like to message.
If you want to send a message to someone who is not a contact you can type their number directly in to the Recipient box. You can also find out more about how to add and manage contacts.
4Tap Done.
5Type your message, then tap the Send icon.
Please note:if you exit a message before you send it, the message will be automatically saved as a draft.
Sending an MMS
Please note:MMS or Multimedia Messages may incur a charge from your network provider or may not be allowed by your network provider depending on your contract. If you are having difficulty sending or receiving MMSs, you should check with your network as to whether they are included in your contract.
An MMS, or Multimedia Message, is a type of message sent when attaching media to a text message. To send an MMS, you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Tap the Compose icon.
3Tap the plus (+) icon and select the contact you'd like to message.
4Tap Done.
5You can add a picture from Gallery by tapping the Picture icon, take a new picture by tapping the Camera icon or you can tap the Attach icon.
6Tap your chosen multimedia element.
7Tap Send. Depending on your device, you may need to tap Done before proceeding.
If you are experiencing problems sending an MMS, please contact your network provider.
Show when text messages have been delivered and read
You can turn on settings so that your message displays when it has been delivered and/or read. To turn this on:
1Open the Messages app.
3Tap Settings.
4Tap More settings.
5Tap Text messages or Multimedia messages, depending on which you would like to turn on.
6Slide the toggle to turn on Show when delivered or Show when read.
7When a text message has been delivered, “Delivered” will show next to the message.
8When a text message has been read, “Read” will show next to the message.
Deleting a message
To delete a text message, you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Press and hold the message(s) you would like to delete or tap All.
3Tap Delete.
4Tap Delete again.
5Your message(s) has now been deleted.
Forwarding a message
The below steps will show you how to use the inbuilt forwarding option on your device.
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Open the message you wish to forward.
3Press and hold down on the message text until you get a pop-up menu.
4Tap Forward.
5Select your contact(s), then tap Compose or Done. If you do not see this screen, skip to step 6.
6Tap Send.
Blocking messages
To block text messages, you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Open the message you wish to block.
3Tap menu (three dots).
4Tap Block number or Block contact.
If you want to remove the number from your blocked list, tap Unblock number or Unblock contact.
5Tap Block.
Find out more about how to block unknown numbers
To check your text message spam folder, you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Tap menu (three dots).
3Tap Settings.
4Tap Block messages or Block numbers and messages.
5Tap Blocked messages.
6Any messages that have been blocked will now show.
Blocking MMSs
MMS messagingis provided byyour network,and MMS messaging and charges differ by provider.
You can block MMSmessages on your mobile phone by requesting that your network provider discontinue the service for you.
Delay sending a text message
To delay sending a text message, you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Tap the Compose icon.
3Tap the plus (+) icon and select the contact you'd like to message.
4Tap Done.
5Type your message, then tap the plus (+) icon to show the menu.
Please note: if you don’t see the plus (+) icon, tap the triangle (>) and it will appear.
6Tap Schedule message.
7Choose the date and time, then tap Done.
8Tap Send.
9An image will appear next to the scheduled message.
Change the alert sounds and message notifications
Your message notifications will be set to default. To change your default message tone, you will need to:
1From the home screen swipe up to access your apps, then tap Settings.
2Tap Notifications.
3Scroll to Messages, then use the toggle to enable or disable your notifications.
If you can't see messages, make sureAllhas been selected.
4Tap messages and then general notifications to customise your alert sounds and notifications
Find out more about how manage notifications on your device.
Set up repeat notifications for a message
You can set your Samsung Galaxy smartphone to send repeat notifications until you read your text or message. On later models, you can also set which apps and messages to set on repeat.
1From the home screen swipe up to access your apps, then tap Settings.
2Tap Notifications.
3Tap Advanced settings.
4Slide the toggle next to Notification reminders to turn it on. On some devices you may need to tap Vision before choosing Notification reminders.
5To change the interval at which you wish to be reminded, tap Notification Reminders, choose Remind every, then select your preferred interval time.
Using My Emoji in a message
Please note:using the inbuilt emoticons/smilies should not be chargeable when used in a normal length SMS (160 characters). If emojis from a third-party keyboard are used these could turn your SMS into MMS which may be chargeable depending on network.
You can express yourself in fun and creative ways with My Emoji. Create an emoji that looks just like you!
You can capture photos and videos with My Emoji or share stickers of My Emoji with others.Find out more about how to create and use My Emojis.
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Tap the compose icon.
3On the Samsung keyboard tap the Emoji icon. If you can't see this option, choose the smiley face to change your keyboard options.
4Choose the emoji you'd like to use.
5Tap Send.
Using LiveMessage
The Live Message feature allows you to use the S Pen to create a short, animated message.The feature is supported by most major instant messaging apps including Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Line and more.
1Open Air Command by tapping the S Pen button twice.
2Choose Live message. (You can also select it by tapping the Live Message icon on the Samsung keyboard).
3Choose Pen effects to change the effects you might wish to change, e.g. colour or effects such as Sparkle, and adjust the thickness by swiping the slider.
4Write your message using the S Pen.
5Choose Done once finished.
6Choose Share when you're ready to share your message.
7Choose how you want to share it (e.g. via Messages or email etc.), select your recipient and send.
Click here to view the Samsung Smart Simulator: an interactive guide for everything from inserting your SIM card, to maximising battery life or using the S Pen.
Send a text by voice
To send a text message by voice, you will need to:
1On the home screen, choose Messages or swipe up to access your apps and choose Messages from the Samsung folder.
2Tap the Compose icon.
3Tap to Enter message, then tap the Microphone icon.
On some operating systems, a radio wave icon will be displayed. This will allow you record a voice message, but it will be sent as an MMS which may incur a charge from your network provider.
4Start speaking. Your device should now type what you say.
5Tap Send.
Send a text message using Bixby
Please note:available Bixby functions and features can differ by region and by device.
Before you can send a message using Bixby, you will need to make sure that the Bixby Key and Bixby Voice has been enabled. More information on how to setup Bixby services, can be found here.
1Press and hold the Bixby Key.
2Once Bixby is listening, you will need to tell it who you would like to send the message to and the message you would like to send.
3Tap Send or say Yes to send your message.
4Bixby will confirm once it has sent your message.
Ifyou're experiencing unusual behaviour on Samsung mobiles, tablets or wearables,you can send us an error report or ask us a question in the Samsung Members app.
Thisallows us to take a closer look at what is happening. The data is anonymised andonly held for the duration of the investigation. Find out more about sending anerror report through theSamsungMembers app.
- How to remove voicemail notifications
- What do the notification light colours mean on my Samsung Galaxy smartphone?
- How to set an audio file as a message notification or ringtone
Thank you for your feedback!
Please answer all questions.
Contact Info
Samsung Account
Get connected with Samsung Account. Your gateway to all things Samsung
Sign inCreate an account
Troubleshoot and book a repair
Support for your mobile devices, home appliances, TV and computing products
Learn more
Contact us
For support buying a product, help with an order or technical product support
Learn more
