Google to end sign-in support for devices running on old Android versions

Google will be ending sign-in support for multiple devices running on the old versions of Android in September 2021. In an email to existing users with Android 2.3.7 and older devices, Google has announced that "signing in to your account on Google Apps will no longer be supported." For continuing to use Google's applications, the users affected shall upgrade to Android version 3.0 or higher. Keep reading to know more details about the Android version that would not be able to access Google's application.

Android Version that will not support Google Apps after September 2021 

• Android 1.0
• Android 1.1
• Android 1.5 Cupcake 
• Android 1.6 Donut
• Android 2.0 Eclair 
• Android 2.2 Froyo
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread 

Using an older Android version might put the user's account at risk

Google mentioned that the change is meant to "help protect your account's security." The Android versions that are losing support were launched as early as 2008, with the last version being Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which was launched in 2008. The change will impact application and system sign-in. However, using Google search, Gmail, Drive and other such services will continue to work. According to a Google support page, the following actions will lead to a sign-in error:

• Performing a factory reset and trying to sign-in 
• Changing a password and trying to sign in with the updated password 
• Removing and re-adding the account 
• Creating a new account on an old device that runs on any of the above mentioned Android versions

Users running Android 3.0 Honeycomb and above will be able to sign-in

Android 3.0 Honeycomb or later version will be required to sign in and use Google applications on devices. Only a limited number of people will be affected by this change, most of which will be Android device collectors or occasional users. The devices that still run on Android versions will lose sign-in support to Google Apps stopped receiving operating system updates a long time ago. Most of them must have even stopped functioning. On a related note, Google will stop providing Play services updates to Android 4.1-4.3 Jelly Bean users from next month. Stay tuned for more updates.