Starting January 1st, WhatsApp will not be available on certain phone models.

As of January 1, WhatsApp Messages will no longer be compatible with 49 phone models, including iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S2.

Users of about 49 phone models released more than ten years ago will not be able to wish their loved ones Happy New Year via WhatsApp. The messaging app will not be available from January 1. Users of devices running a version earlier than Android 4.1 (called Jelly Bean) and iOS 12.1 will not be able to use WhatsApp.

“To keep up with the latest technological developments, we regularly stop supporting older operating systems to dedicate our resources to supporting the latest ones,” says WhatsApp. on its help page.

Among the phones in question, we find in particular the iPhone 5 and 5c released in 2012 and 2013, the Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3 mini, or the HTC Desire 500.

However, most of the users are already running Android 4.1. Only 0.2% of smartphones are running a newer version, According to a stat from Android It dates back to February 2021. For its part, iOS is at version 16.2.

Operating system update

But don’t panic, if you have one of these devices, there are still some workarounds to keep using WhatsApp. On some devices, the operating system can be updated to the next version. It is necessary that the phone has at least Android 4.1 and iOS 12. The update is done from the settings.

The latest WhatsApp OS update was on October 24, 2022 with iOS 10 and 11 discontinued.

Here is the full list of affected devices: iPhone 5, 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 And Sony Xperia Neo L, Wiko Cink Five and Wiko Darknight ZT.