Many people who use KaiOS phones for texting rely on WhatsApp. Recently, WhatsApp has stopped working for some KaiOS users, and it looks like this might be the end of the road for WhatsApp on these devices.
WhatsApp Says Goodbye to KaiOS Phones: What It Means for You
What Happened?
Reports started appearing online from people who said their WhatsApp wasn’t working anymore on their KaiOS phones. This seemed to be happening mostly on phones with KaiOS version 2.5.4 or later. People would try to log in and get a message saying “Something went wrong,” but with no details about what the problem was. This mainly affected new users who hadn’t used WhatsApp on their phone before. Logged-in users can still access the feature, but for now only.
Some people found a temporary solution by installing an older version of WhatsApp and changing the date on their phone. But this didn’t last. WhatsApp checks the date and version information when verifying phone numbers, and this trick stopped working.
The Official Word (Sort Of)
Someone who works with KaiOS support shared some information online that explains what’s going on:
Gizchina News of the week
- Limited Time for Existing Users: If you logged into WhatsApp on your KaiOS phone before June 25, 2024, you’ll be able to keep using it until early 2025. After that, it won’t work anymore.
- No More Updates: WhatsApp won’t be making any more updates or bug fixes for the KaiOS app. This means your phone might not be as secure in the future, and it might not work well with future versions of KaiOS.
- App No Longer Available: You can’t download WhatsApp from the KaiOS app store anymore.
- Official Announcement Coming Soon: WhatsApp is expected to make an official announcement about this on their website, but they haven’t said exactly when.
What Phones Are Affected?
This change affects a lot of popular KaiOS phones, including the JioPhone series, many Nokia feature phones (like the 2720 Flip, 2760 Flip, 2780 Flip, 6300 4G, 800 Tough, 8000 4G, and 8110 4G), and some Alcatel and Energizer models. Even if you have a KaiOS 3.0 phone, you can only use WhatsApp if you were already logged in before June 25, 2024, and it will stop working in early 2025 too.
What Now?
We don’t know exactly why WhatsApp decided to stop supporting KaiOS phones, but it’s clear that they’re moving on. This leaves people who use KaiOS phones looking for other ways to text. There might be other messaging apps that work with KaiOS, but they might not have all the same features or as many people using them as WhatsApp.
Security Concerns
Since WhatsApp won’t get updates anymore, this could make KaiOS phones more vulnerable to security risks. This situation makes it even more important for KaiOS and phone makers to focus on keeping their software up-to-date with security patches.
The Future of KaiOS Phones
Maybe this change will be a good thing for KaiOS phones in the long run. It could push manufacturers and developers to create new features and apps that are specifically designed for KaiOS users. Maybe we’ll see new, secure messaging apps made just for KaiOS phones.
Change in Mobile Communication
WhatsApp leaving KaiOS shows a shift in how people use mobile phones to communicate. While this is a big change for many KaiOS users, it’s also an opportunity for the KaiOS market to grow and improve. In the next few months, we’ll likely see how KaiOS, app makers, and other companies respond to this situation and find ways to keep KaiOS users connected.
