WhatsApp will soon discontinue support for a range of older Android and iOS smartphones, which means users with these devices need to back up their chats promptly to avoid losing important messages. The instant messaging platform frequently updates its application to maintain privacy and security standards, which includes periodically ending support for outdated operating systems. As part of this ongoing process, WhatsApp will no longer support phones running Android versions earlier than 4.0 and iOS versions before 11. Currently, WhatsApp is compatible with devices operating on Android 5.0 or higher and iOS 11 or later, so users on older systems will need to upgrade their devices to continue using the app without interruption.
Affected devices
While WhatsApp has not officially listed the smartphones which will be impacted by this change, as per the leaked report, it has been identified that around 35 phones will no longer support the app. This includes devices from major smartphone brands like Samsung, Apple, Motorola, Sony, LG and Huawei. Here’s a breakdown of the affected phones:
Samsung:
- Galaxy Ace Plus
- Galaxy Core
- Galaxy Express 2
- Galaxy Grand
- Galaxy Note 3 N9005 LTE
- Galaxy Note 3 Neo LTE+
- Galaxy S II
- Galaxy S3 Mini VE
- Galaxy S4 Active
- Galaxy S4 mini I9190
- Galaxy S4 mini I9192 Duos
- Galaxy S4 mini I9195 LTE
- Galaxy S4 Zoom
Apple:
- iPhone 5
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone SE
Lenovo:
- Lenovo A858T
- Lenovo P70
- S890
Motorola:
- Moto G
- Moto X
Huawei:
- Ascend P6 S
- Ascend G525
- Huawei C199
- Huawei GX1s
- Huawei Y625
Sony:
- Xperia Z1
- Xperia E3
LG:
- Optimus 4X HD P880
- Optimus G
- Optimus G Pro
- Optimus L7
What to do next?
If your phone is on this list, you'll need to upgrade your device to continue using WhatsApp. Meanwhile, make sure to back up your chats to avoid losing any important conversations. You can use WhatsApp’s built-in backup feature to save your data to Google Drive or iCloud.
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