WhatsApp to stop working on some smartphone models from November
WhatsApp to stop working on some smartphone models from November
(Web Desk) - Users of 43 different models of smartphones will soon be unable to use the popular instant messaging app WhatsApp.
On November 1, the Facebook-owned platform will stop working on phones that run on systems older than Android OS 4.1, Apple s iOS 10 and KaiOS 2.5.1.
All of these phones will not receive support from WhatsApp and will be incompatible with the app.
However, the company has also introduced a new feature – "one of the most requested features", according to a blog post – to allow users to migrate their chats when switching from iOS to Samsung Android devices.
Before this, iOS chat histories would be stored in iCloud, while Android histories went to Google Drive, making it nearly impossible to transfer chats between phones that use different operating systems. Users would be advised to instead email their chat histories to themselves.
The new feature encompasses voice messages, photos and videos, but not call history or display name.
"To start, this feature is available on any Samsung device running Android 10 or higher, and will be available on more Android devices soon," said WhatsApp.
In a tweet, WhatsApp announced the update was available as of September 3, and that it would also be available "soon across all devices".
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) September 2, 2021
The migration will also need to be completed during the initial set-up of new phones, as the WhatsApp instructions read: "Your new Android device must be factory new or reset to factory settings." Users would alternatively need to do a factory reset of a device if already using it.
"This is just a start," said WhatsApp in the blog post. "We look forward to making this option available for more people to switch between platforms of their choice and securely take their chats with them."
