WhatsApp will not support older phones from 1 November. If ever there was a reason to buy a new phone, this is it. Simply put, Android users with an operating system (OS) of 4.0.4 or earlier or iPhone users with iOS 9 or earlier will not support the new WhatsApp security and other features.
Not that this is unexpected. Android 4 launched in late 2011 and ran to June 2014 – it would be amazing if any of these devices were still working.
Older iPhones are generally only supported for four OS upgrades, so handsets before iPhone 7 could be stuck on iOS 9 or earlier.
What to do if you are going to be affected
What to do asap because you can’t do this after 1 November:
- You can back up your WhatsApp data, photos and chat history.
- Buy a new phone – here is our pick of phones from $155 to $1000
- Move your backup to the new phone.
Why is WhatsApp doing this now?
No, it is not to drive new phone sales. I am surprised that WhatsApp can support Android 6 (Vulnerability List) or iOS9 (Vulnerability List). These operating systems are hopelessly outdated and highly insecure, lacking even the most fundamental protection against malware. In other words, if you use these, you are a target for hackers.
WhatsApp and many more coming apps to need to use the latest API’s (application programming interfaces) provided by Apple (four OS version support) and Google Android (Support from Oreo 8.1 onwards), and as each year ticks over, the version support moves to the following number.
It is why Buying a second-hand or refurbished phone pre-2019 is not so much a great idea now. It is no different in the Mac or PC world.
Old faithful Windows 10, launched in 2015, is being replaced by Windows 11 on 5 October 2021, and it can only support PCs from Intel 8th Generation circa 2017 with TPM security chips.
macOS is a little more complex. With the replacement of Intel CPUs with Apple’s M series CPUs, we will eventually see Intel upgrade support phased out. At the moment, macOS support is for 2017 models or later; however, there are a few model exceptions back to 2014.
I am still using a Galaxy S5 but running Android 11 courtesy Lineage.
It is a good phone with a good camera and a removable battery.
I get regular OTA updates including security patches.
There is support for many older phones but with the caveat of bricking your phone if not careful with any of these custom ROMs.
We write for Joe and Jane Average and while I appreciate the advice, kids don’t do this at home!
On November 1, the Facebook-owned platform will stop working on phones that run on systems older than Android OS 4.1, Apple’s iOS 10 and KaiOS 2.5.1. All of these phones will not receive support from WhatsApp and will be incompatible with the app. If this includes your device, you’ll need to upgrade to a newer model of phone that has an operating system the company supports – or use a different messaging service altogether.
im going to iphone from android
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