WhatsApp ends support for millions of devices, check if your device is in the clear

WhatsApp is currently the most popular online messaging app, which is available on multiple platforms and operating systems. The Facebook owned app has over 1.5 billion active users worldwide and this number keeps growing. However, millions of WhatsApp users have lost the ability to access the chat app, since the company has ended support for devices running on dated operating systems. 

WhatsApp no longer available on these devices 

As per the updated FAQ on WhatsApp’s official website, the chat app will work only on iPhones running on iOS 9 or later and on Android 4.0.3 or later devices. Devices running on KaiOS 2.5.1 and above are also supported. While the company has listed supported operating systems, millions of older devices that run on older software versions won’t be able to run WhatsApp. 

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Apple doesn’t give out numbers for how many devices are still running on older iOS versions. However, Google has a distribution dashboard that was last updated in May 2019. As per the dashboard, 75 million Android devices worldwide were still running on Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread or older versions. While these numbers are from mid-2019, it is safe to assume that most of these devices are not updated, maybe because the phone manufacturers stopped seeding them software updates. 

How to get WhatsApp working again?

In case WhatsApp is not working on your smartphone, a simple solution would be to check for a software update. If your handset runs on a non-supported operating system, a software update that brings the OS version to Android 4.0.3 or above, or iOS 9 and above will ensure that WhatsApp starts working again. 

It should be noted that some devices may not be receiving any more software updates. For example, the iPhone 4s is not compatible with OS versions above iOS 7, which means one will need to upgrade to a newer device to continue using WhatsApp.

Image credits: Flickr/Christoph Scholz

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