WhatsApp is set to raise the bar for its minimum requirements and, for a small group of users, the app will simply cease to open. Starting from 8 September 2026, the service will no longer be compatible with Android phones stuck on a version earlier than 6.0, according to reports from WABetaInfo, which reconstructed the contents of a notice that appeared within the app. This is certainly not entirely unprecedented, as Meta reviews its list of supported operating systems every year, dropping older ones that have fewer active users. This time, however, the leap is wider than usual: the minimum requirement is moving from Android 5.0 (Lollipop) to version 6.0 (Marshmallow), an entire operating system generation that suddenly excludes anyone still using a device from more than a decade ago.
Those left out
Those set to lose access are smartphones running Android 5.0 or 5.1 – versions that are widely used, particularly in India, Brazil, Pakistan, and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, where older handsets remain in circulation for a long time. The cut-off affects both WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business, as they share the same underlying codebase. Affected users have already started receiving notifications directly within the app, warning them that WhatsApp will stop working on that device before the end of the year. For iPhones, meanwhile, there are no changes: the requirement remains set at iOS 15.1, which also applies to iPads running iPadOS.
How to check your phone
Checking whether your smartphone is among those affected takes just a few steps: open the Settings menu, scroll down to About Phone, and check the installed operating system version. If the device can be updated to Android 6.0 or later, everything will continue to work as normal; if not, the only option is to switch to a new phone. Before the cut-off takes effect, it is advisable to back up your conversations. WhatsApp itself recommends backing up to Google Drive via the app’s settings, or saving a local copy to the device’s internal storage: in either case, when switching to a new smartphone, chat history can be restored without losing any data.
GreenMe
Ltd
