WhatsApp will stop working on devices running on Windows 10 Mobile from December 31.- Devices running on Android 2.3.7 and iOS 8 and below will not be supported after February 1, 2020.
- WhatsApp has asked users to export their chats and upgrade their phone to continue using the app.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps and has over 1.5 billion monthly active users. Over the past few years, the Facebook-owned app has stopped supporting some devices. In 2016, the company stopped supporting BlackBerry devices and in 2017, support some Android, iOS and Windows devices running on older versions was discontinued.
Who will be affected now?
Microsoft is scheduled to stop support for its Windows 10 Mobile OS on December 31 and on the same day, WhatsApp will end support for these devices. The app was removed from the Microsoft Store back in July 2019.
Apart from this, some Android and iOS users will also be affected by this. WhatsApp, in its $4 has revealed that it will end support for all Android smartphones running on 2.3.7 and older versions and iPhones running on iOS 8 and older versions after February 1, 2020.
This means that users who have devices running on Android 2.3.7 or older and iOS devices running on iOS 8 or older will no longer be able to use WhatsApp from February 1 on these devices. Additionally, users will not be able to create new accounts or re-verify existing accounts on these devices.
While this does move will not affect many users, if you are someone who will be affected by this decision and want to backup your chats before support is withdrawn, follow the below steps.
How to export your chats
- Open the chat you wish to export.
- Tap the overflow button (three dots).
- Click on ‘More’ and then click on ‘Export Chat’.
- Now, you will have the option to include or exclude media while exporting the chat.
- You can import these chats after you upgrade to a new device.