Google will stop supporting sign-ins on Android phones running on version 2.3.7 and below. This development will come into effect from September 27, an email sent by Google to users reveals. The email mandate users to update to at least Android 3.0 Honeycomb in other to use Google apps even after September. This will impact system and app level sign-in, but users should continue to be able to sign in Gmail, Google Search, Google Drive, YouTube, and other Google Services via the phone’s browser.
In its report, 9to5Google shared a screenshot of the email sent to users who are likely to be impacted by this change. Users on very old versions of Android are likely to be very few and Google is obviously doing this to help protect user data and maintain account security. Beginning September 27, users running on Android version 2.3.7 and lower will get a “username or password error” whenever they try to sign-in to any Google apps loaded on the phone.
These emails look to be a warning sign for these few users who are still using the archaic software versions, urging them to either update their software or switch phones.
After September 27, the report says that old Android version users will get an error if they try to sign in to Google products and services like Gmail, YouTube, and Maps. Error will continue to appear if they try to add or create a new Google Account or perform a factory reset and try to sign in once again. lower Android version users will get an error if they attempt to change their Google Account password, that signs users out on all devices, and try to sign in again. A username and password error will continue to pop up even after you remove the account from the device and try to re-add it.