Google Hangouts app is a great instant messaging service, which is also the perfect alternative to the native SMS app. Google has rolled out the updated version of the app, which enables you to merge SMS with Google Hangouts on Android. Not only does Hangouts allow you to enjoy multimedia features such as voice and video calls, but also helps you keep all your text conversations in one place.While most of you would rather use a more popular instant messaging service like WhatsApp on Android. However, you can use Hangouts to send text messages to not only your contacts on Hangouts, but to other people as well. So here is a simple and quick guide to show you how to merge SMS with Google Hangouts on Android.Make sure that you have the latest version of Google Hangouts installed on your device, or simply download the latest version (download link). Open the Hangouts app and tap on the hamburger menu to slide out the options, and press Settings.
You will have to make Google Hangouts your default app for sending and receiving text messages. If Hangouts isn’t your default SMS app already, simply tap on “SMS” in the Settings and press “SMS disabled” to enable Hangouts as your default SMS app. You can also choose your Google account instead of just “SMS” as the option to use Google Voice for sending messages.
Now you can merge SMS with Google Hangouts by checking the box next to “Enable merged conversations” under General Settings. Every time you open up a chat window with a contact, you can select to send a message via SMS, Google Voice, or via Hangouts.
Your conversations with that particular contact will then break apart into two different windows – one for the SMS conversations and one for Hangouts conversations.Do you find Google’s solution to merge SMS with Google Hangouts as a problem solver, or does it complicate things even more? Let us know your opinion on this feature of Hangouts in the comments below.
You will have to make Google Hangouts your default app for sending and receiving text messages. If Hangouts isn’t your default SMS app already, simply tap on “SMS” in the Settings and press “SMS disabled” to enable Hangouts as your default SMS app. You can also choose your Google account instead of just “SMS” as the option to use Google Voice for sending messages.
Now you can merge SMS with Google Hangouts by checking the box next to “Enable merged conversations” under General Settings. Every time you open up a chat window with a contact, you can select to send a message via SMS, Google Voice, or via Hangouts.
Un - merge SMS with Google Hangouts
If you find it difficult to maintain all your conversations under a single Hangouts app, you can easily choose to unmerge your text conversations. Simply open up the conversation you want to unmerge, press the menu button on the top-right corner and press “Un-merge SMS”.
Your conversations with that particular contact will then break apart into two different windows – one for the SMS conversations and one for Hangouts conversations.Do you find Google’s solution to merge SMS with Google Hangouts as a problem solver, or does it complicate things even more? Let us know your opinion on this feature of Hangouts in the comments below.