Google is asking users to update their Android devices. Mountain View has announced that it will no longer support devices running Android 2.3.7 and older versions. This covers Android 1.0 and 1.1 (unnamed), 1.5 Cupcakes, and 1.6 Donuts and Android 2.0 Eclair, Android 2.2 Froyo, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
Google informed people with the dated devices that they will not be able, starting September 27, to sign in for Google apps, such as Gmail and YouTube. The company claims this is done to protect the privacy of user accounts. Google services will be discontinued if the user does not upgrade to Android 3.0.
Google’s email states that signing in to your Google Apps account won’t work on Android 2.3.7 phones or lower on September 27. This will impact the system and app sign-in, including Google Play Store. According to Google support pages, the following actions will cause a “username and password error.”
Sign in to Google products or services such as YouTube and Gmail. Register for a Google Account or create one. Try to sign in by performing a factory restore. Sign in again by changing your Google Account password. Take your account off the device and then try to add it again.
Users will continue to access Google Drive, Google search, and Gmail, among other Google services, via the mobile web browser. Chrome is not supported in the Android web browser. Google said that the decision to remove app support from Android 2.3.7-based devices is made to improve customers’ security. You’ll need to upgrade to a different mobile phone if you can’t find a system update that will allow you to run Android 3.0. This should only be an issue for a small portion of users.
