“Please switch to a supported device.” Numerous WhatsApp users received this message on November 1st.
You can find out whether you are affected by the shutdown here.
Mountain View - On the last weekend in October, not only is the clock switched to winter time: One day after the time change on October 31, an important change comes into effect in the WhatsApp messenger service, which causes long faces on Monday morning (November 1) will.
With the change of month, the Facebook subsidiary will stop supporting some operating systems.
WhatsApp will then no longer work on many smartphones.
"As of November 1, 2021, WhatsApp will no longer support Android phones running Android 4.0.4 or older," the Messenger writes on its website.
Only Android 4.1 or newer operating systems are supported.
WhatsApp turns off the light on smartphones that run on older versions.
WhatsApp will end support for certain Android operating systems on November 1st
Facebook forbids access to the market leader among messenger services for old devices, as the outdated operating systems, according to
inside-digital.de, harbor
too high a
potential
for attack. With the shutdown, Facebook wants to guarantee the security of the app and the privacy of the users, it is said.
But what does that mean in concrete terms?
According to
chip.de
, WhatsApp users can no longer create a new account with the said operating systems;
Re-verifying an existing WhatsApp account should then no longer be possible.
"WhatsApp itself can still receive messages, in the worst case these will not be displayed on the device," writes the technology portal.
WhatsApp itself does not write anything about the consequences for those affected in its short website article on Support-Aus.
WhatsApp no longer runs on Android 4.0.4 - those affected can do that
Affected users should therefore check whether a more up-to-date operating system that is still supported by WhatsApp is available for their smartphone - or look around quickly for a new mobile phone.
"Please switch to a supported device or save your chat history before this date," advises WhatsApp on its website, but does not provide any details about the end of Android 4.0.4.
The easiest way to find out which operating system is currently running on your mobile phone is to go to the device's settings - usually in the “System” or “About the phone” submenu.
Here you should also be able to check whether the smartphone supports newer Android versions.
The good news: According to
chip.de
, just 0.04 percent of all Android devices are currently still using version 4.0.
WhatsApp: Android users on the lookout - no changes to the iPhone
Incidentally, everything stays the same with the Apple iPhone at the turn of the month: WhatsApp support expired in May after an update for all Apple operating systems older than iOS 10.
It stays that way (for the time being).
List of rubric lists: © Fotoarena / imago