Reports of WhatsApp not working properly took the internet by storm on January 13. Several WhatsApp users have been reportedly facing a new bug that prevents them from using the messaging app, claiming the version being used is ‘obsolete.’
Several users took to Twitter to report the issue. Meanwhile, WhatsApp has acknowledged the issue and said it is working to fix it. The company in a statement said that "it was a problem with how our app is distributed, which is not under our control.”
When I woke up today morning and opened whatsapp, it said The version became obsolete on 13 Jan 2018 and update the app. When I checked in Google play, it says app is updated. Then I re-installed the app, but same message is appearing. What is happening?#whatsappdown pic.twitter.com/STYMuFqwLE
— Rahul Rampure (@RahulRampure) January 13, 2018
Unable to use WhatsApp. A message shows "WhatsApp version is obsolete from today". @WhatsApp
— Amit Sanghavi (@sanghaviamit) January 13, 2018
Some users reported that WhatsApp is asking them to update the app to resume the service. The option to update the app comes after opening the app and the message that they see on their screen claims "This version of WhatsApp became obsolete on 13 January 2018. Please go to the Google Play Store and download the latest version." Moreover, even after visiting the Google Play Store, users were not able to download the latest version of the app, as there were no updates available.
Users who are still facing the WhatsApp “obsolete” issue on their smartphone; here's a solution. Users need to enable the ‘Allow installation of apps from unknown sources’ option under Settings on their smartphone. Then download the latest version of the app from WhatsApp.com/android. The popular messaging service WhatsApp will be updated without needing to uninstall the app.
