WhatsApp users with older Android phones may find that the app will soon stop working. WhatsApp has announced that it will discontinue support for Android 4.1 to Android 4.4.4 on October 24, 2023. From that date, you will need a phone with at least Android 5.0 to continue using the app .
How to check your Android version
Open Settings on your Android device. Tap About -> Android version. Exactly where you’ll find the version number can vary from phone to phone and tablet to tablet, but you can certainly find this important information somewhere in the settings.
If you find that your device is still running Android 4.1, there is nothing more you can do. Google no longer provides updates even if you could get an update to the latest Android 13, your phone – or tablet – is unlikely to be able to run it. If so, you should consider buying a new smartphone.
Few people should be concerned
The good news is that this change shouldn’t affect almost anyone. Android 4.1 and 4.4.4 are very old and even Android 6 was only used by 1.69% of Android users in May 2023 according to Statista, which doesn’t even list Android 4 or 5 anymore.
Android 5 is old and insecure
Android 5 Lollipop was released on November 3, 2014, which means WhatsApp will still work on very old Android phones after October 24, 2023. Google has long since stopped providing security updates for this one, so using a phone running it is risky and should be avoided. Nevertheless, WhatsApp will still work on Lollipop and other Android veterans.
Google will launch Android 14 before the end of this year.
Nothing changes for the iPhone
For iPhone, system requirements for WhatsApp will not change: as before, you need an iPhone running OS 12 or later to use the messaging app. This has been the case since October 2022, when WhatsApp stopped supporting iOS 10 and 11.
To summarize, from October 2023, you will need a device with the following operating system versions:
- Android devices with version 5 or later
- iPhones with iOS 12 or later
- KaiOS phones from KaiOS 2.5.0, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2
This article originally appeared on PCWelt.com.
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