[Updated] Android sending double or duplicate text messages? You're not alone (workarounds inside)

Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

This story is being continuously updated…

Original story (published on April 13, 2021) follows:

Android has come a long way over the past few years. Gone are the days when the OS was riddled with bugs and lagged on even the most premium phones running the OS.

Of course, Android still isn’t perfect or flawless. New Android OS updates often break certain features or functions on some devices.

This is why we’ve been keeping tabs on most of these bugs via our dedicated trackers for OEMs such as Samsung, OnePlus, Realme, and Xiaomi after the Android 11 update.

In case you’re an iOS user who stumbled upon this article, well, we’ve also been tracking all bugs and issues with iOS 14 that you can check out here.

Now, on the unfortunate subject of bugs, it seems that many Android users are reporting that their phones are sending double or duplicate text messages.

My Samsung Galaxy S7 has been sending double texts pretty often. Anyone else having this problem and how can I fix it? (Source)

My Samsung galaxy note 20 is sending multiple of the same message I am texting in. Its happening almost every text I send. (Source)

Almost every text message I sent sends duplicate text messages. It’s very annoying! (Source)

The double or duplicate text messages issue on Android appears to have been around for a few years but there’s still no permanent fix for it.

Most reports of the problem come from users with Samsung devices, however, there are plenty of complaints from others who’ve not mentioned any device in particular.

Whatever the case, there are a few workarounds that you could try out to fix the problem.

We’ve added some workarounds that have had positive results for some users below. So be sure to give them all a shot.

Workaround 1: A user claimed that they were able to fix the issue by simply turning off RCS messaging or Advance Messaging on their device.

Workaround 2: You might get lucky if you try out the generic troubleshooting steps to fix most minor issues with apps. What are the generic troubleshooting steps?

Well, for starters, force close the app and reboot your phone. To force close the messages app, simply go to the apps list in the Settings menu and tap on the messages app, then tap on the Force stop button.

After that, hold down the Power Button and tap on Restart. If that does not work, clear the app’s data and cache. Do note that this will wipe all your messages so you might want to backup all important texts.

To clear app cache and data, head to Settings > Apps > Messages > Storage > Clear cache/data. If this too does not work then a factory data rest might do the trick.

Workaround 3: In case you do not wish to go through the process of resetting your smartphone, you may want to consider switching to another messaging app. Some good alternatives are Google Messages, Pulse SMS, Textra, and SMS Organizer.

That said, feel free to drop a comment below in case you were able to fix the problem with a workaround that’s not mentioned here.

As for the latest development, a community moderator at Samsung community has asked the affected users to approach the concerned carrier calling text messaging a carrier-specific feature. Here’s what the mod said:

As text messaging is a carrier feature, I would recommend reaching out to your carrier for further assistance with duplicate messaging.

On the other hand, those who have approached their carrier have been told the issue is at Samsung’s end and is being looked into. However, there is no official confirmation regarding this. Here is what a user shared:

Yep. My carrier says Samsung having same issue with many phones right now. Samsung “working on it”

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