If you own an old smartphone and use WhatsApp for your work or daily chat, then you might be at risk of losing your messages. No, there isn’t any vulnerability, but your device might be too old to support WhatsApp. As per a report, WhatsApp will cease to work on dozens of Android and iOS devices. But why? Read to find out.
According to a report by CanalTech, WhatsApp will stop working on over 35 smartphones, including devices from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Huawei, LG, and Lenovo. While Huawei, Sony, LG, and Lenovo no longer sell phones in India, several people have held on to their older devices. People use these phones for messaging on WhatsApp among other use cases. However, soon they may have to switch to a new phone to continue using WhatsApp.
Devices that will lose WhatsApp support
The exact devices that may lose support for WhatsApp are as follows.
Apple devices
iPhone 5
iPhone 6
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone SE
Samsung devices
Galaxy Ace Plus
Galaxy Core
Galaxy Express 2
Galaxy Grand
Galaxy Note 3
Galaxy S3 Mini
Galaxy S4 Mini
Galaxy S4 Zoom
Motorola devices
Moto G
Moto X
Huawei devices
Ascend P6
Ascend G525
Huawei Y625
Huawei GX1s
Huawei C199
Sony devices
Xperia Z1
Xperia E3
LG devices
Optimus 4X HD
Optimus G
Optimus G Pro
Optimus L7
Lenovo devices
Lenovo 46600
Lenovo A858T
Lenovo P70
Lenovo S890
Why won’t these phones support WhatsApp?
The reason that the aforementioned devices will lose WhatsApp support is evident. All of the above phones do not get regular OS or security updates anymore. Most devices are stuck at Android 4.2 Jellybean or older iOS versions. WhatsApp officially requires Android 5.0 or higher and iOS 12 or higher. This means that the above phones or the ones operating older Android or iOS versions than the mentioned ones won’t be able to run WhatsApp.
Why to do to continue using WhatsApp?
You need to switch to a new phone to continue using WhatsApp. Any recent Android or iPhone can do. Or, if you do not have a budget to deal with this unprecedented situation, you can use a slightly newer device.
Any Android or iPhone from the last 4-5 years can run WhatsApp, so you can possibly borrow a device from someone to keep using the messaging app. However, our suggestion will be to go for the latest one. There are 5G phones available for as low as Rs 10,000, and those support WhatsApp among other apps.