Mobile devices with older Android software versions are set to lose access to Google apps like YouTube and Gmail today, 27 September 2021. This is thanks to a move by Google to officially halt support for Android 2.3 that was launched in 2010.

According to Google, the mass block is “part of Google’s going efforts to keep our users safe”, as older versions of operating systems are way more vulnerable to bugs and hackers.

Some of the devices that will be part of the lockout list include Samsung Galaxy S2, Sony Xperia P, Sony Xperia Advance, Lenovo K800 and Sony Xperia Go that are still stuck with Android 2.3. The popular apps set to stop working on these devices include Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Play Store, Google Calendar and more.

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This had been made public by Zak Pollack, Community Manager on the official Android Help forum saying, “Sign-in on Android devices running Android 2.3.7 or lower will not be allowed starting September 27″ and made everything clear in a rather short post.

Currently, the latest Android version is version 11 as 12 still runs in beta. So, it could be seen as an effort to phase out version 2.3 for the full launch of version 12. As for the users, they will have no choice but to upgrade their mobile phones to newer models that have no lower than version 3.0. Otherwise, they will be logged out from their accounts.

The other workaround would probably be using a web browser to access those services, including the Google Account, which is available via myaccount.google.com.