WhatsApp no longer works on these older phones – is yours affected?
Apps stopping support for older hardware is a normal occurrence – but it's still inconvenient for those affected. WhatsApp has announced it's stopping hardware support for three key iPhones and numerous Android phones stuck on older operating systems.
WhatsApp will now require iOS 15.1 or later or Android 5.1 or later.
That means that three iPhones are now no longer supported – the colorful 2013 iPhone 5s as well as 2014's iPhone 6 and the first larger iPhone, the 6 Plus. Some have suggested this also includes the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and the iPhone SE (1st gen) but as those are newer devices they are OK for the moment. However, it's highly likely things will change when the app next drops support for certain devices.
Android phones running 5.0 Lollipop or earlier are now no longer supported including some popular models from around a decade ago such as the 2012 Samsung Galaxy S3 and 2013 HTC One X.
These phones are obviously all rather old now, so nobody should be surprised at the dropping of support, but they may still be in use as second devices or by those who have had no need to upgrade.
You're still able to back up your chats to iCloud for the iPhone or Google Drive for Android before you move to a new device. Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
If you don't know what operating system you're running go to Settings > General > About on iOS or Settings > About phone on an Android device.
It's certainly been a busy time for WhatsApp – the Meta-owned app recently debuted its iPad app….. 15 years after the device first launched.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Stuff.tv
2 hours ago
- Stuff.tv
All I want from WWDC25 is for iCloud to finally sync my photos
Hello and welcome to the latest thrilling instalment of Craig's First World Problems. WWDC25 is looming, and the Apple faithful are limbering up their necks for a week of vigorous nodding and whooping at whatever Tim, Craig and the gang decide to unveil. Me? I'm here to smash out some words bellyaching about a long-standing iPhone niggle until my editor drags me kicking and screaming from the keyboard. It's the number-one item on my personal WWDC25 wish list. Which, because this issue is so infuriatingly annoying, contains precisely one item: for Apple to fix my iPhone sporadically point-blank refusing to sync photos to iCloud. Look, I get it. This is no world-shattering crisis. Sync is a luxury. And I do remember the dark days of film. Prising the roll from a camera in a pitch-black room, lest the merest glimmer of sunlight nuke my precious memories. Then trudging to the local pharmacy to drop off the film, waiting a few hours, and then picking up an envelope of blurry disappointments and a sticker that basically said, 'Don't quit your day job.' Fortunately, digital then arrived, which was terribly exciting until the point you realised all your photos now lived on a computer. Which was a tad inconvenient to lug around to a friend's house when you wanted to enrapture them with snaps of a beach holiday that felt like magic to you but looked like piles of sand to them. A decade later, sync promised to make all such problems go away (except for your friends, who you'd continue to inflict holiday snaps on), at least when it works. Which it often doesn't. * endless screams * Wishful syncing My iCloud Photos sync dance goes much like this. I'll take a photo or screenshot on my iPhone and wait for it to sync. After staring at the Photos app on my iMac for some minutes like an idiot, I'll head back to Photos on my iPhone. I'll tap my profile pic, and be greeted with the familiar (and deeply annoying and unwelcome) message 'Optimising System Performance'. Or, if my iPhone fancies a bit of a change, 'Optimising Battery Performance'. I'll go through the motions. Turn sync off and on. Grumble. Reboot the phone. Wait for it to inexplicably take ages to reconnect to Wi-Fi. Open Photos (again). Wait some more. Override the apparently eternal 'optimisation' prompt. All while wondering what, exactly, is being optimised. Because whatever it is, it's not photo sync. Now, I do understand uploading photos and videos can drain a battery. I don't want my iPhone attempting to throw massive videos at iCloud when I'm in the middle of a city, desperately trying to locate a train station, with my iPhone's battery level hovering at 2%. But when my phone is fully charged, connected to home Wi-Fi, and doing absolutely nothing else, it's reasonable to assume I'd like a photo uploaded right away, please. Not at a random moment overnight when the stars align and the Apple gods decree my request acceptable. So, sure, there are all kinds of things Apple could announce at WWDC for iOS 26 that would make me smile. Meaningful design changes. AI integration that's not mere gloss atop a creaky foundation. App Library sort options. Stage Manager for iPhone that finally transforms it into the one device to rule them all. Even Apple Games. All those would be fab. But really, I'd just like iPhone photos sync fixed. Now read: The best upcoming iOS feature has nothing to do with your iPhone
Stuff.tv
a day ago
- Stuff.tv
The best upcoming iOS feature has nothing to do with your iPhone
As Apple's WWDC 2025 developer conference approaches, all eyes are on iOS, macOS, and Apple's other software releases. We expect a huge redesign in the next major iPhone update – either iOS 19 or iOS 26 if a new naming scheme comes into play– which is very exciting. But I think that the best upcoming iOS feature has nothing to do with your iPhone, and rather is all about AirPods. You see, different versions of iOS introduce new AirPods features. Adaptive Audio came as part of iOS 17 and Head Gestures for Siri Interactions came as part of iOS 18, as some examples. And a new report from 9to5Mac suggests that the next version of iOS will introduce some huge new AirPods features. Read more: I think iOS 19 will be the biggest free iPhone upgrade yet Apparently Apple is set to expand those head gestures I mentioned. You'll soon be able to end Conversation Awareness with a subtle shake of your head, rather than swiping away at the stem like you've got an itch you can't reach. And then there's the sleep feature, which is very interesting. Apple's reportedly adding automatic sleep detection to pause your audio when you doze off mid-podcast. Camera Control is one of the most controversial iPhone 16 features, and now it's set to be heading to AirPods. Apple might add the ability to take a photo with a tap on your AirPods stem. It would absolutely ruin the aesthetic of your selfie, so makes the most sense for group pictures on a timer. Since, you know, your phone is otherwise in your hand. It seems like a pretty niche feature to me. Apple's also expected to simplify how AirPods pair with shared iPads in classroom environments. If you've ever watched a group of kids try to connect their headphones to a school device without any adult intervention, you'll understand why this one matters. Fewer steps, less shouting. Then there's Audio Mix, a feature that might help people to record videos all by using AirPods. In fact, I think this might be the most useful of all the new features. This new mic mode would turn your earbuds into makeshift lav mics, which could be a game-changer for creators. Whether it'll rival an actual lavalier mic is yet to be seen, but if it's decent, that's one less bit of kit in your bag. All of these are expected to be announced during Apple's WWDC 2025 keynote, which kicks off on Monday 9 June.
Stuff.tv
2 days ago
- Stuff.tv
The Glastonbury 2025 app includes this one gamechanging new feature
It's nearly time for Glastonbury 2025 and mobile network Vodafone has revealed its updated Glastonbury phone app (available for iOS and Android) which is obviously a must-have if you're going to the festival. The app includes a few new features, but crucially there's one that's going to be a bit of a gamechanger for groups split across the vast 900 acre site. You're now able to live share your location with your friends, which is a huge improvement. OK, so apps like Apple's FindMy can do that already of course, but speaking from experience this is going to be very useful to be able to do this across friend groups when you split off to see different bands and other acts. And in particular it's going to be handy to work out where people are within a crowd in a situation where 'we're by the bar at the left of the stage' won't quite cut it. Another new feature is step count tracking which will be part of the 'My Highlights' post-Festival wrap, so you'll be able to compare to see who covered the most ground around the site. Vodafone is also making donations to its campaign depending on how many steps festival goers do. As before the app includes a customisable festival lineup so you can create your own schedule of acts to see and you'll get reminders before the various sets begin if you add an artist. There's also an interactive map so you can get to all the stages over the vast site that straddles Worthy Farm. This is now fully searchable, so you can find everything from water and the nearest toilets to different types of food on site. Naturally, you can also search for artists to find out when they're playing as well as browse an A-Z of them, too. And you can toggle between a timeline as well as a list view. Features including Spotify integration, shareable Line-Ups, and map pinning also return to help you make the most of the festival and find your tent/car. In an update, Shared Line-ups will now automatically update, so your friends will see the latest version. You can also get directions to Vodafone's Connect and Charge tent so you can keep your device juiced up. Speaking of power, Vodafone also has a plan there, too – you can pay £20 (plus £10 deposit) for a battery pack that you can exchange daily for a new one at three locations – the Connect and Charge tent in the Leftfield market as well as opposite San Remo and in the Worthy View Campsite. Vodafone says last year's version of the app saw 226,215 total downloads. 88.9% of downloads were from festival-goers attending Worthy Farm, while 11.1% were from people viewing at home. Data consumption at the festival hit over 225 terabytes last year.
