WhatsApp confirms cutoff date for Android 5.1.1 and other Android 5.x phones

WhatsApp has officially confirmed it will stop supporting Android 5.x devices starting September 8, 2026. From that date, the app will only work on Android 6 and newer, according to the company’s Help Center page.

That gives users still on Android 5.0, 5.1, or 5.1.1 roughly five months before WhatsApp stops working on their device altogether.

I spotted this September 8 date through a Reddit thread posted today in r/whatsapp, where a user asked about finding a version of WhatsApp that would still work on an Android 5.1.1 phone.

A commenter pointed to the official FAQ, which now clearly reads: “Starting September 8, 2026, only Android version 6 and newer will be supported.”

From what I was able to find on that same page, WhatsApp says it will notify affected users in advance and send multiple reminders before pulling support. But going by the thread, at least some users are only finding out now, without having received any heads-up.

Android 5.x is genuinely old. Android 6.0 Marshmallow launched in 2015, which means any phone still running 5.1.1 today is at least a decade behind on software. For most people, upgrading is an easy call. For users in markets where older budget devices stay in circulation longer, it is a bit more of a real problem.

Last year, WhatsApp dropped support for phones running versions older than Android 5.0, with a cutoff of June 1, 2025, as reported by Neowin. September 8 is just the next step in the same direction.

For users on Android 5.1.1 with no upgrade path, using WhatsApp Web through a mobile browser could be a short-term workaround. It’s not a permanent fix, but it works for now.

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