WhatsApp is dropping support for a number of old and legacy mobile operating systems. While support for all versions of Windows Phone will end for good on December 31, 2019, some older versions of iOS and Android will lose support some weeks later.
When we first let talked about iPhones that will not support WhatsApp, it was iPhones running on iOS 7 and older versions. But now WhatsApp has announced that the cut-off version for WhatsApp support on Apple devices is iOS 8 and older versions. iPhone users still on iOS 8 need to either update to a newer version of the software (if available) or get a new device with iOS 9 or later version if they want to get all the features of WhatsApp on their phones.
While Apple devices running iOS 8 or older versions can still use WhatsApp at the moment (with limited features though), they are no longer be able to open new WhatsApp accounts or re-verify old ones. However, on February 1, 2020, devices running on iOS or older versions won’t totally be able to use WhatsApp anymore. In an official communique, WhatsApp said:
WhatsApp for iPhone requires iOS 9 or later. On iOS 8, you can no longer create new accounts or reverify
existing accounts. If WhatsApp is currently active on your iOS 8 device, you’ll be able to use it until February 1, 2020.
WhatsApp further suggested users get a device with the latest version of the software, which is iOS 13.1, for the best results.
For the best experience, we recommend you use the latest version of iOS available for your phone.
The Facebook-owned company also warned against the possible dangers from jailbroken devices, saying:
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.
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