Lahore (NUT-DESK)
WhatsApp has been in the news this year for releasing a plethora of features for its more than 2 billion users across the world. The year saw some of the most anticipated features from the Facebook-owned messaging app such as Dark Mode feature, Disappearing Messages option, WhatsApp Business app enhancements and more.
However, WhatsApp has always maintained that “For the best experience, we recommend you use the latest software version of Android or iOS and all other compatible software.”
Thus, come 2021, WhatsApp will stop working on a number of smartphones. As updated on the FAQ support page of the Facebook-owned messaging app, there are several Android and iOS phones that may not be able to run the app as the company will withdraw support for older versions of OS from next year.
WhatsApp is used to removing the support for specific Android versions. This is a common technique because developers always prefer to support the newest OS updates, and it’s hard to always support old versions. It’s the case of Android OS 4.0.4 and older versions: WhatsApp has announced that they will no longer support Android phones running those versions after a new WhatsApp beta for Android update.
What can you do to continue using WhatsApp on those versions? Unfortunately, you won’t be able to update WhatsApp after November 1, 2021, and your current WhatsApp update is going to expire after a certain date.
You need to switch to a new Android device on a supported Android version if your device is old, so be sure to back up your chat history. Note that WhatsApp is also going to support chat history migration from Android to iOS in a future update if you’re interested to switch to iPhone.
