SMS app alternative to Google Messages?

New Home

I've a Xiaomi Mi A3.

Major pain in the neck - over the last couple of weeks, the Google messages app has begun deleting/rendering unaccessible whole threads of SMS at random. I haven't been able to find a way to get them back, and I'm not able to send new texts to those recipients, either. I can't get them from google backup because my phone isn't linked to an account.

After doing some research on the web, I tried installing Signal, but unlike the older versions, the more recent one won't allow you to import your messages.

Can anyone suggest some other safe, possibly free/cheap alternatives to Google messages that would allow me to import and find those messages again? Not WhatsApp (privacy, etc).

Many thanks.

GIMP

Try Textra

WhatsGoingOn2

Try Signal. Not sure if you can import old messages though.

long_b

I thought the whole point of Signal was that it wasn't plain old SMS?

Also, people need to be signed up to Signal for you to message them so it's in no way an SMS replacement?

New Home

Signal was the first thing I tried, one of the websites I looked mentioned it worked a bit like a cross between Skype and an SMS app, so you could do both, but when I went to install it it didn't let me import any of the older messages, and when I looked further into it it turned out that version 8 something would let you do it, but no release after that, and I think they're o R11 o 12 or something.

I'll try Textra, thanks - anything I should watch out for/ any drawbacks?

Tom Mann Centuria

I used to use chomp sms, was good back then, but it's been at least 18 months since I last used it so can't 100% vouch for it now.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.p1.chompsms