DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

WhatsApp is pulling the plug on vintage smartphones. This will impact many in the DR.

In the Dominican Republic, it is a general practice that dependants and househelp inherit smartphones when these are changed by the owners. Some smartphones are so good they continue to work for years after the makers remove tech support.

The suspension will hit popular, older lines from major manufacturers, including Samsung, Motorola, LG, Huawei, Sony, and HTC. Users with any of the following models are urged to check their chat backups and plan for an upgrade.

CDN reminds its readers and listeners that Whatsapp, the most used communication via in the country, is withdrawing support on 31 October 2025 through November on cell phones mentioned below. Whatsapp explains this is to prioritize modern security and performance standards.

The measure primarily targets legacy devices—some more than a...