WhatsApp is dropping support for older Android phones this week, with iPhones also facing a new minimum software requirement later this year.
Android users on Android 5.0 or 5.1 will lose access to WhatsApp from September 8, while iPhone owners have until November 30 to make sure they’re running a supported version of iOS.
The Android cutoff is the more significant of the two. WhatsApp is raising its minimum Android requirement to Android 6.0, meaning phones still stuck on Android 5.0 or 5.1 will no longer be supported. Unlike newer devices, there’s no software update that can bring these phones up to the required version, so affected users will need to move to a newer handset if they want to keep using WhatsApp.
Android 5.0 was released back in November 2014, with Android 5.1 following in March 2015. While some phones that launched with those versions received later Android updates, devices that never moved beyond Lollipop are now too old to meet WhatsApp’s requirements.
iPhone owners have a little longer, and the situation is much easier to fix. From November 30, WhatsApp will require iOS 15.5 or later, up from iOS 15.1.
That doesn’t necessarily mean older iPhones are being abandoned. Apple released iOS 15.8.8 in May 2026 for devices including the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, first-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. That version is already newer than WhatsApp’s upcoming 15.5 requirement.
So, if you have an affected iPhone, simply head to Settings > General > Software Update and install the latest available update.
Android users facing the September 8 cutoff should back up their WhatsApp chats before switching phones. WhatsApp supports Google Drive backups, while a local backup can also be transferred to a newer Android device.
The change may be inconvenient for a small number of users, but it’s hardly surprising. Android 5.1 has been out of security support for years, and WhatsApp regularly reviews which older operating systems still have enough users to justify continued support.
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