WhatsApp Stops Supporting Old iPhones On January 1
WhatsApp ends service for a variety of devices starting on January 1, 2021. These devices are largely out-of-use at this point – but assuming you're the sort of person who keeps an old device for years and years, you might want to take a peek at the list. If you have an older mobile device and plan on using WhatsApp beyond the end of 2020, the time to get a new device is now.
This is the switch that old devices dread – very similar to the cut-off for the start of the year 2020. If you thought the cut-off was harsh then, the cut-off this time should throw you for a loop! This is the first time WhatsApp will not work on the first iPhone ever released.
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On January 1, 2021, WhatsApp will stop working on the following devices, regardless of operating system update:
• iPhone 1, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4
• LG Optimus Black (and older)
• DROID RAZR (Motorola)
• Samsung Galaxy S II
• HTC Desire
WhatsApp requires iOS 9 or Android 4.0.3 on the following devices, or they'll stop supporting the app on January 1, 2021:
• iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6S
• LG Lucid
• Motorola DROID 4
• Sony Xperia Pro
• HTC Sensation, HTC Thunderbolt (4G!)
• Samsung Galaxy Note (first)
• Samsung Galaxy S III and newer
If you have a device with WhatsApp running KaiOS, you'll need to make certain you're working with KaiOS 2.5.1 or later. That includes the JioPhone and JioPhone 2, too.
If you've used a jailbroken iPhone with WhatsApp in the past, take note of the newest word on the situation, straight from WhatsApp: "We don't explicitly restrict the use of jailbroken or unlocked devices. However, because these modifications might affect the functionality of your device, we can't provide support for devices using modified versions of the iPhone's operating system."
If you own a Windows Phone device of any sort, your last day for WhatsApp was all the way back on January 1, 2020. That included every single mobile device that runs Windows Phone OS, or any predecessor of that operating system. All your old Nokia Lumia devices where and remain entirely WhatsApp-dead.