WhatsApp has officially ended support for Android devices running versions 5.0 and 5.1 (Lollipop) as of September 8, 2026. The new minimum operating system requirement is Android 6.0 or later .
The change was previously announced and is part of the company’s regular review of supported platforms, aimed at focusing on newer features and maintaining security standards . Users on affected Android 5.0 or 5.1 devices will no longer be able to send messages or make calls through the application .
The restriction applies to both WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business . Meta has stated that the move is necessary to implement modern security updates and protocols that older operating systems cannot support .
Users of devices running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or newer versions are not impacted by this change . For those on Android 5.0 or 5.1, the recommended course of action is to check for a system update that may upgrade the device to Android 6.0 .
If no such update is available, users will need to switch to a newer smartphone to continue using WhatsApp . Affected users are advised to back up their chat history before losing access to the service .
This Android cutoff follows a similar pattern of periodic support terminations by the company, with iPhone users having until the end of November 2026 to meet the new requirements .
