It’s a fact that just about all the tech we make use of will eventually become obsolete. Unless you’re the US Military or NASA, in which case you’ll be using the same operating systems long after the rest of us are done. Hey, some of those probes were programmed in the 1970s — doubtful there’s gonna be an OS update for those things. WhatsApp is moving at a bit of a faster clip than Voyager, though. Several older mobile operating systems will soon see no further updates, which means the service will stop working. For those specific OS versions. Obvs.
In line for the chop
Which isn’t news. At all. Back in 2016, WhatsApp ended support for several operating systems including BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, a couple of Nokia OS options, and (far) older Android and iOS versions. Now they’re doing it again. Forewarned is forearmed we’re told, and it’s probably good to have a bit of notice so you can replace your older hardware. How else are you going to share weird images of the kids with Janet or mental health memes with your social circle?
Want to know if you’re looking at replacing your old phone/tablet/archaeological artefact? If you’re running one of the below-operating systems, it’s a certainty that your messaging capability is doomed. Soon. Ish.
Anyone running iOS 7, Android 2.3.7, or a Windows Phone (at all) best hunt for a replacement — though there’s still a fair bit of time. But you’ll have to secure a new device eventually. Here’s the list of OS versions that’ll stop working, as well as the dates they’ll terminate.
- All Windows Phone operating systems after 31 December 2019
- Android versions 2.3.7 and older after 1 February 2020
- iPhone iOS 7 and older after 1 February 2020
Source: WhatsApp (blog)
