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WhatsApp minimum operating system requirement updates

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-02 21:46 UTC → 2026-09-08 05:49 UTC · added removed

Meta has announced that WhatsApp will update its implemented new minimum technical and security requirements, requirements for WhatsApp, resulting in the service becoming unavailable on several older smartphone models. The company stated these updates are necessary to implement “advanced privacy tools, data encryption, and artificial intelligence features.” The phase-out will occur in stages, beginning features” and to keep pace with a loss security protocols. As of technical support and updates, followed by messaging and calling errors, and eventually total inoperability. For Android users, the changes take effect on September 8, 2026, requiring support for older Android 6.0 Marshmallow or higher. This affects devices has officially ended. Users running Android 5.0 or 5.1 (Lollipop) can no longer send or receive messages, nor can they make voice or video calls. The platform now requires at least Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) to maintain service. This affects both WhatsApp Messenger and earlier, including WhatsApp Business, impacting older hardware such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 Mini, and Note 2, as well as older alongside various Motorola, LG, Huawei, and Sony Xperia models. The update impacts both WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business. For Similar restrictions for Apple users, the deadline is users are scheduled for November 30, 2026, requiring 2026. To ensure continued access, iPhone users must be running iOS 15.5 or later. This excludes older hardware a more recent version. Older models that cannot support these updates, including the iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, and the iPhone 6 family. family, will lose access. Some reports indicate that access may be lost if devices cannot update to at least iOS 15.1. Users on unsupported devices are advised to back up conversations and media via Google Drive Drive, iCloud, or local storage to prevent data loss.

Versions

  1. 2026-09-08 05:49 UTC WhatsApp minimum operating system requirement updates
  2. 2026-09-02 21:46 UTC WhatsApp minimum operating system requirement updates
  3. 2026-08-31 18:25 UTC WhatsApp minimum operating system requirement updates

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