There’s a reason to panic for all the users running WhatsApp on iOS 9 or older and outdated Android smartphones on New Year’s eve.
According to Dailymail, WhatsApp will stop working on devices running outdated software versions. It includes both the iOS and Android platforms. Simply put, the app will end its support on iPhone 4 or older and other phones.
So far, almost all the devices were having the latest version of support for using the chat app. But now, things will change completely from the first of January of 2021.
The first day of 2021 won’t be great for some WhatsApp users
Going in-depth, the app will end for ancient iPhone models, running below the version of iOS 10. Also, all the phones having Android 4.0.3 will become incompatible with the Facebook-owned messaging app.
It also means that if you have iOS 9, released in 2015, installed or Android 4.0.3, you need to change your device immediately. A newer upgrade is highly recommended.
The latest software from Apple is iOS 14, with many people already using it. Talking about Google, then Android 11 is the current version for the smartphones running it.
Another solution for those still on older iPhones is to update their operating system. If you have at least the 4S, 5, 5S, 5C, 6, and 6S, you can install the succeeding updates. That way, WhatsApp will keep working for you.
The chat app is one of the world’s most popular messaging platforms, with nearly 1.5 billion active users!
What’s next for the chat app users?
Speaking about the latest announcement, it’s also because developers tend to work more on new versions and latest models. So ending the app’s support on older devices means less stress for them because they will focus just on the modern phones and their software-related issues.
The move to end the chat app’s support for many outdated smartphones means that all the developers will keep in mind the latest devices.
Coming back to WhatsApp ending its support for older handsets, users don’t have to panic a lot. What they can do is either make an upgrade or creating a backup of all the chats. Then they can use the app on another device that can support new Android or iOS versions, or at least Lollipop and iOS 10. This is the best way possible to prevent any unexpected situation at the beginning of the New Year. Otherwise, it doesn’t seem likely that you will be able to use the messaging platform because there’s no other method.
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