WhatsApp will no longer work on these phones from midnight; check out details

The support for messaging app WhatsApp is ending for millions of phones at midnight January 1, 2021. These include both iPhone and Android devices. WhatsApp had announced recently that the company is phasing out older devices which are currently compatible with the messaging app.

WhatsApp is doing this because it wants to end app support for devices that are running on outdated software. The aim is to provide the best chatting experience to its customers which is no longer possible on older software.

Some old devices owners will still be able to access WhatsApp by updating to the latest software. However, for some devices, WhatsApp will remain permanently inaccessible from January 1, 2021, onwards.

Dropping support for older devices is a regular exercise for WhatsApp, it had done so last year as well. This time it is dropping support for any iPhone running on software older than iOS9.

Android phone users have not been spared either. WhatsApp will no longer work on Android devices running on devices running Android 4.0.3 or older versions of the operating system.

This move by WhatsApp means that the iPhone 4 and earlier models will not be able to access the messaging app from the beginning of next year. iPhone 4S, 5, 5S, 5C, 6 and 6S can all be updated to iOS9, hence they will be able to support WhatsApp once updated. So, the users of these phones just need to update to the latest OS to keep using the messaging app.

For Android users, some of the popular phones that still work on the old OS are - HTC Desire, LG Optimus Black, Motorola Droid Razr, and the Samsung Galaxy S2. Users of these phones must upgrade to newer OS to access WhatsApp from January 1, 2021, onwards.

If users have such phones that are no longer compatible with WhatsApp then they must back up their chats before January 1, 2021, if they want to retain them. They can do so by going

to 'Chat backup' option under Chats section in Settings. Aside from backing up their chats, users of old devices should also start looking for smartphones that are compatible with WhatsApp if they want to use the messaging app in the future.

Also Read: WhatsApp to stop working on these devices from Jan 1, 2021; what you can do