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Depending on the model of phone in your pocket, you might find yourself unable to wish friends and family a happy new year when the clock strikes midnight. That’s because WhatsApp will end support for over a dozen different Android handsets from popular manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, LG, and Motorola.
From January 1, millions with older Android handsets could find themselves unable to use WhatsApp. The decision to remove support for these ageing smartphones was taken by parent company Meta, which is run by multi-billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and also owns Instagram and Facebook.
The Californian company, which is currently valued at roughly $1.5 trillion, has announced that all Android devices running version 4.4 of the mobile operating system — known as KitKat — or earlier, will lose access to WhatsApp. Android KitKat was the eleventh iteration of the Google-owned operating system and launched back in late 2013.
If the phone in your pocket is capable of upgrading to the follow-up to Android 4.4 KitKat, dubbed Android 5.0 Lollipop, then downloading and installing this update will guarantee that you can continue to use WhatsApp. If you’ve been putting off pop-up notifications about a software update for the last decade or so… now is probably a good time to carve-out some time to download and install that new iteration of the operating system.
However, many phones are unable to upgrade to a newer version of Android — leaving them stuck on 4.4 KitKat and guaranteed to lose access to WhatsApp. The decision to cull these 10-year-old handsets is likely to impact millions of users worldwide, particularly in developing countries where older phones remain common.
Both regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business users will be affected by these changes, requiring many to upgrade their devices to maintain access to the popular messaging service. For those who don’t know, WhatsApp Business allows companies to offer customer support chats and other messaging opportunities via WhatsApp.
This is the definitive list of Android devices set to lose WhatsApp support from January 1, 2025:
- Samsung Galaxy S3
- Samsung Galaxy Note 2
- Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
- Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
- Motorola Moto G (1st Gen)
- Motorola Razr HD
- Moto E (2014)
- HTC One X
- HTC One X+
- HTC Desire 500
- HTC Desire 601
- LG Optimus G
- LG (Google) Nexus 4
- LG G2 Mini
- LG L90
- Sony Xperia Z
- Sony Xperia SP
- Sony Xperia T
- Sony Xperia V
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