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 decade old—that can no longer meet the current technical and security requirements of the evolving digital landscape. Users on these outdated phones are being advised to upgrade their hardware immediately to maintain access to the popular app.
The impending change will particularly impact users still utilizing devices running on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or older or specific older iPhone models. While the scope is broad, it is focused on smartphones that have long since stopped receiving operating system updates and security patches from their original manufacturers.
Whatsapp explains that the end of support is a technical decision, not an arbitrary one. WhatsApp has progressively incorporated advanced features, new encryption protocols, and heightened security layers that older hardware and software struggle to accommodate. According to the company, continuing support for these vulnerable devices compromises the security and user experience for the platform’s billions of users.
“The withdrawal of support is not due to isolated failures but a planned technical decision to prioritize security and service continuity for millions of users,” an internal source indicated. Affected users will initially experience progressive errors, such as slow chat loading or message delivery failures, before the application fully blocks access.
List of affected devices
Android Models
Samsung: Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Core, Galaxy Trend, Galaxy S5
Motorola: Moto G (1st generation), Moto E (2014)
LG: Optimus G, Nexus 4, G2 Mini, LG G3
Sony: Xperia Z, Xperia SP, Xperia T, Xperia V, Xperia Z2
Other Brands: Huawei Ascend Mate 2, HTC One M8
iPhone: 5, 5c, 5s, 6, 6 Plus
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CDN
30 October 2025