Many WhatsApp users around the world will soon have to stop using the messenger if they don’t upgrade their smartphones – or, in some cases, install a ROM with a newer version of the operating system.
Several of them will be orphaned later this year, because after failing to work on Windows Phone, WhatsApp will also lose support from February 1, 2020, on iPhones with iOS 8 and Android phones running version 2.3.7 or lower of the platform.
Smartphone owners running Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile had their support ended on December 31, 2019, users of Android 2.3.7 and iOS 8 will be able to access it until January 31, 2020.
WhatsApp currently has more than 1.5 billion users, being one of the most used messengers in the West. Since 2014 the app belongs to Facebook, integrating with the growing family of apps managed by the company (Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram).
Below you can see which systems no longer support WhatsApp and which will no longer support it soon:
- Nokia S40 and S60 (since December 2017)
- Mobile phones running BlackBerry OS (since December 2017)
- Mobile phones running BlackBerry 10 (since December 2017)
- Mobile phones running Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile (since December 2019)
- Cell phones running Android 2.3.7 or lower (as of February 1, 2020)
- iPhone running iOS 7 or earlier – iOS 8 will not allow you to create new accounts (February 1, 2020)
If you are using an older version of Android or iOS, depending on the smartphone you have, you can hopefully upgrade the system to a newer build.
On Android, just go to Settings> System> Software Update to access the latest version of the platform. On iOS, just open the Settings> General> Software Update app.
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For owners of Android smartphones, even if there are no updates available, you can still choose to install a customized ROM with a newer version of the little green robot. We recommend a survey on the XDA Developers forums, for those who are already familiar with the manual installation of this type of system.