WhatsApp will stop working on the following devices

It may be time to Upgrade

WhatsApp is the most used messenger app in the world today and is practically on nearly everyone's smartphone. It has been around for some years well now and really took the world of instant messaging by storm overshadowing many of the other apps that had to settle for a second place. 

Every year, the company keeps updating it's app to stay aligned with security, hardware and software updates that keep changing all the time. It comes as no surprise that inevitably some devices will reach the point where they are unable to keep up with one or more of these three things most notably the hardware aspect given the fact that hardware components in a phone or device cannot really be modified and hence deemed unable to be upgraded.  Naturally the software which includes security patches and updates will not be supported on these older hardware as software is constantly evolving to facilitate new hardware.

With recent new features added to the app like, 'Communities',  'Find, Message and Buy' and 'Avatars' and the capability to use proxy servers on WhatsApp for those who have internet disruptions for extend periods, the question of security vulnerability arises as well as the need for improved use of memory and CPU resources on devices. 

As a result one can begin to see why such modern features will have problems working on older devices. Even if you decide to stay on an older version of the app  that your device supports, the company will not allow you to use it for an extended time due to the security compromises that will need to happen to facilitate this kind of usage, thereby negatively affecting its reputation and causing a security threat to others that communicate on these older units.  

Original photo by "downloadsource.fr" under CC BY 2.0

Phones that will not support WhatsApp from January 2023 :

• Apple iPhone 5
• Apple iPhone 5c
• Archos 53 Platinum
• Grand S Flex ZTE
• Grand X Quad V987 ZTE
• HTC Desire 500
• Huawei Ascend D
• Huawei Ascend D1
• Huawei Ascend D2
• Huawei Ascend G740
• Huawei Ascend Mate
• Huawei Ascend P1
• Quad XL
• Lenovo A820
• LG Enact
• LG Lucid 2
• LG Optimus 4X HD
• LG Optimus F3
• LG Optimus F3Q
• LG Optimus F5
• LG Optimus F6
• LG Optimus F7
• LG Optimus L2 II
• LG Optimus L3 II
• LG Optimus L3 II Dual
• LG Optimus L4 II
• LG Optimus L4 II Dual
• LG Optimus L5
• LG Optimus L5 Dual
• LG Optimus L5 II
• LG Optimus L7
• LG Optimus L7 II
• LG Optimus L7 II Dual
• LG Optimus Nitro HD
• Memo ZTE V956
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 2
• Samsung Galaxy Core
• Samsung Galaxy S2
• Samsung Galaxy S3 mini
• Samsung Galaxy Trend II
• Samsung Galaxy Trend Lite
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
• Sony Xperia Arc S
• Sony Xperia miro
• Sony Xperia Neo L
• Wiko Cink Five
• Wiko Darknight ZT

WhatApp chooses what they will support like many other technology companies by looking at the oldest devices being used by the fewest people which have the least security updates available to them. At the time of writing this article, they support the following versions of mobile operating systems :

• Android running OS 4.1 and newer
• iPhone running iOS 12 and newer
• KaiOS 2.5.0 and newer including JioPhone and JioPhone 2

Before WhatsApp stop supporting your Operating System or phone, they will usually notify you directly inside the App itself ahead of time and keep sending you several reminders to upgrade. You can see their entire FAQ guide from their WhatsApp help center where you'll find a lot of information.