WhatsApp will soon no longer work on loads of phones – check if yours is on the list
The popular messaging app WhatsApp will soon discontinue its support of some older smartphones – here’s the full list so you can find out your phone’s fate.
It won’t be long until WhatsApp will be discontinued altogether from Windows Phones, and cut-off dates are also approaching for certain versions of older Apple and Android operating systems. According to a blog post, WhatsApp will no longer work for phones using the following operating systems from the given date:
- All Windows Phone operating systems after December 31, 2019
- Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020
- iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020
Related: Best Phones
On the FAQs page, WhatsApp has provided more detailed information about creating accounts on the soon-to-be unsupported versions of each respective iOS or Android operating system (quoted verbatim):
WhatsApp on Android Phones
“For Android versions 2.3.7 and older, you can no longer create new accounts, nor re-verify existing accounts. However, you’ll be able to continue using WhatsApp until February 1, 2020.”
Related: Best Android Phones
WhatsApp on iPhones
“WhatsApp for iPhone requires iOS 9 or later. On iOS 8, you can no longer create new accounts or reverify existing accounts. If WhatsApp is currently active on your iOS 8 device, you’ll be able to use it until February 1, 2020.
“We don’t explicitly restrict the use of jailbroken or unlocked devices. However, because these modifications might affect the functionality of your device, we can’t provide support for devices using modified versions of the iPhone’s operating system.”
Related: Best iPhones
This latest move from WhatsApp will therefore only affect relatively old phones (as iOS 8 was released in 2014 and Android 2.3 in 2010), and so most users should remain unaffected by the discontinuation of support if they have a more recent handset. Both Apple and Android have released updates to their operating systems in recent months, with iOS 13 and Android 10 being the latest respective iterations of each.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
