Google will no longer allow 10-year-old Android phones to log in with the Google account from Tuesday. This stops many popular Google services from working, and that on Android versions 2.3.7 Gingerbread or an older version.
Andorid phones stop working
In September 2011, users could get started with the then new Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread. At the time, the software felt better in every way than Android 2.2 Froyo and older versions of the operating system, but today you can call the software really old.
From Tuesday it will therefore no longer be possible to log in to Google services if you use such an older device. Google explains that in a support page. You lose access to apps such as YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail and Calendar. It is a job for Google to keep its services working on such outdated devices, which is why such devices now show the notification urging users to replace their smartphones. Google had also previously announced that the devices will lose access.
6 to 9 million smartphones
About 0.2 to 0.3% of Android devices today still run on Android 2.3.7 or an older version. So there don’t seem to be that many, but if you know that there are more than 3 billion active Android phones, you quickly notice that there are still quite a few. This concerns 6 to 9 million smartphones. Google does say in its support article that certain services can still be used via the browser.
We recently wrote an article on Androidworld in which we discuss how long a phone lasts. In it we state that the battery is usually the element that wears out first. However, many of these smartphones that are more than 10 years old are still relatively easy for users to replace the battery. You can then simply remove the back yourself.
Do you still have a 10-year-old Android device that you run on Android 2.3.7 or an older version? Do you know someone who has been using their phone for so long? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.
– Thanks for information from Androidworld.