WhatsApp to stop working on some iPhones and Android phones on December 31

WhatsApp is about to cease functioning on older phone models from the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Huawei.

First reported by GizChina, WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging service, will end support for 49 different models of smartphone on December 31, with the list including mostly entry-level and mid-range smartphones. 

"Devices and software change often, so we regularly review what operating systems we support and make updates," WhatsApp said.

"These devices also might not have the latest security updates, or might lack the functionality required to run WhatsApp. "To choose what to stop supporting, every year we, like other technology companies, look at which devices and software are the oldest and have the fewest number of people still using them," it added.

This doesn’t mean WhatsApp will stop working entirely on these older phones – it just means the company won’t support them with updates. So bugs and other issues may crop up over time without any available fix.

Similarly, you won’t get access to any new WhatsApp features that get released.

If you can, it may be possible to update the operating system on your older device and continue using WhatsApp as normal.

If your device can’t be updated to a recent operating system version, you will need to buy a newer phone. 

This is the second time in the last three months that WhatsApp is phasing out support for a big chunk of Android and iOS devices.

The last time this happened was in October, when WhatsApp announced that it would no longer support the iPhone SE, 6S, and 6S Plus, as well as 40 Android devices from Samsung, Huawei, LG, Sony, ZTE, HTC, Lenovo, and Alcatel.

This time around, WhatsApp confirmed that it will no longer support nearly 50 phones, including the Apple iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c. The rest of the phones on the list are made by Samsung, Huawei, LG, Sony, Lenovo, and ZTE.

Here’s the full list of phones that won’t be able to run WhatsApp properly after next week:

iPhone 5
Phone 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

WhatsApp recommends Apple’s iOS 9 and above, and Android v4.3 and above, to continue to receive support.

Any phone running Android 4.3 or below, and iOS 9 or below, won’t run WhatsApp reliably after December 31, 2022. The platform already ended support for smartphones running Android 2.3.7 and iOS 8 in February of this year.