Old Android phones to lose Google sign-in support soon

The Google sign-in support will be blocked from September on the decade-old Android Gingerbread software owing to security reasons.

The aging Android phones and tablets having Android 2.3.7 or older will soon prevent users from signing in to Google apps and services, Google announced.

Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread, had been released in 2010, introducing support for features like NFC, multi-camera setup, and also the first Android Easter egg.

Earlier in 2017, the devices running Android 2.3 had lost access to Google Play Services back, and it will soon lose access to more functionalities and services due to security reasons as the version is no longer receiving security updates, making it vulnerable to malware and attacks.

The move will push the users to either update their phone’s software (if possible) or switch to a new device with a newer version of Android having security features to prevent the user data and passwords on phone from hackers.

According to the company, logging in to Google apps and services that require a sign-in won’t be possible due to security requirements from starting September 27 this year.

Losing sign-in access essentially means Gmail, YouTube, and Maps will be out of reach. Once the deadline hits, users will see username or password errors when they try to sign in to any of these Google apps and services.

After the blockade, some actions will be no longer possible on devices running Android 2.3.7 or older versions:

• Perform a factory reset and try to sign in.
• Change the Google account password on the device or on another device, which signs you out everywhere else. You will receive an error message when you try to sign in again.
• Remove your Google account from the device and re-add it.
• Create a new Google account on the device.

This restriction also extends to adding new accounts on Android phones running Android 2.3.7 or a previous build.

According to Android Central, the change will only affect a small number of users since Google’s Android distribution numbers claim there are less than 1% active devices running Android versions older than Jelly Bean.

The current stable Android version is Android 11 that was released last year on September 8, 2020.