It's the end of 2019 and yet another great year in technology is coming to an end. However, if you've been planning to stick to your old Android smartphone or iPhone for one more year, and hoping that it will serve you well in 2020, it's time you drop that plan and look for a new more up-to-date smartphone for the new year.
It's a known fact that as phones become older they become incompatible to newer features that app developers include in their updated apps and therefore they drop support for their apps on these phones. Come 2020, WhatsApp, the world's most popular messaging service, will stop working on a number of such outdated phones.
No WhatsApp on older Android phones and iPhones
As per the updated FAQ section of the Facebook-owned messaging app, several Android and iOS devices may no longer be able to run the app as WhatsApp will drop support for older versions of both OSes from February 1, 2020. The end of support for all devices running the defunct Windows Phone OS is December 31, 2019.
The updated information on WhatsApp FAQ section mentions Android phones running Android version 2.3.7 and lower and iPhones running iOS 8 and lower will no longer be compatible with the WhatsApp chat app from Jan 1, 2020.
No account creation and verification
WhatsApp also stresses that these versions of Android and iOS can no longer be used to create new WhatsApp accounts, nor re-verify existing accounts after the deadline. Here's a list of all the older versions of various mobile operating systems that will no longer support WhatsApp from next year:
• Android versions 2.3.7 and older
• iOS 8 and older
• All phones running Windows Phone OS
Windows Phone support ends Dec 31
If you're among the handful of people who still use a Windows Phone device, WhatsApp had earlier announced that it will be withdrawing support for all Windows Phone devices from December 31,2019, which is the same month that Microsoft ends supports for its last version Windows 10 Mobile OS.
The WhatsApp app has not been available in the Windows Phone Microsoft store since July, 2019.
How to save your chats
However, if you happen to be a Windows Phone user and don't want to lose your WhatsApp data, you can backup your chats or export them onto a new phone before the December 31 deadline.
To export your chats on Windows Phone, open the chats that you want to save individually, and tap on the Group info in the menu tab on the top left corner. Then tap 'Export Chat,' you will be asked whether you want to save the chat with media (photos, sounds, videos etc) or without. Choose your option and export all the chats by following the steps on each chat page.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp has also listed the versions of Android and iOS that will support the app and has asked eligible users to update their phones to these versions. The company says that the app will work normally on devices running Android 4.0.3 and newer and iOS 9 and newer.
