Old Android versions will lose access to Google services in September

It’s not big news to anyone that Google and other developers, from time to time, remove older versions of Android from their support line, thus dedicating special attention to the latest versions available on the market. In addition to Google companies such as Facebook do the same. WhatsApp is a recent example. In this regard, Google has officially begun notifying users who have smartphones and tablets running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread or earlier that support for Google-signed apps will be inaccessible, preventing login to the account and related services.

According to a post by Zak Pollack, Community Manager on the official Android Help forum, the exclusion of support is related to concerns about the security of users’ data. Moreover, it states that errors in the username or password are expected to appear soon. Users will try to access services such as Gmail and YouTube but will receive error messages.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to keep our users safe, Google will no longer allow logins on Android devices running Android 2.3.7 or lower as of September 27, 2021. If you log in to your device after September 27, you may get username or password errors when trying to use Google products and services such as Gmail, YouTube, and Maps.”

The big problem behind this move is that by performing this block, Google will make it almost impossible to use these devices. It will prevent updates to all apps from being made by the Play Store, contact syncing, and more. The devices will lose some of their “smartness” and will be limited to simple tasks. For instance, users will only be accessing the web through the browser or executing simple apps.

For that reason, Google recommends users check if their devices have any pending updates available. The update should bring Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and above. Some devices can restore to custom ROMs to not lose access. However, we don’t know if there are many custom ROMs out there for devices that died with Gingerbread 2.3.

Android Gingerbread being cut off may not be a big deal for many users out there. However, in the past, it was the main Android version of many users across the world.

This lights up a red alert for certain uses. Ater all, the newer Android version can get blocked in the upcoming years. For that reason, in 2021 you need to prioritize smartphones that will have a clear update program.