Google Will Kill Off Very Old Versions of Android Next Month (arstechnica.com) 47
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google has started emailing users of very old Android devices to tell them it's time to say goodbye. Starting September 27, devices running Android 2.3.7 and lower will no longer be able to log in to Google services, effectively killing a big portion of the on-rails Android experience. As Google puts it in an official community post, "If you sign in to your device after September 27, you may get username or password errors when you try to use Google products and services like Gmail, YouTube, and Maps." Android is one of the most cloud-based operating systems ever. Especially in older versions, many included apps and services were tied to your Google login, and if that stops working, a large chunk of your phone is bricked. While Android can update many core components without shipping a full system update today, Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread, released around 10 years ago, was not so modular.
The individual Google apps started to be updatable through the Android Market/Play Store, but signing in to Google was still a system-level service and is frozen in time. Any Google services wanting to allow sign-ins from those versions would have to conform to 2011-era security standards, which means turning off two-factor authentication and enabling a special "allow less-secure access" setting in your Google account. Really, these old Android versions have to die eventually because they're just too insecure. Google shows active user base breakdowns for Android versions in Android Studio, and Gingerbread has such a low device count that it doesn't even make the list. It's less than 0.2 percent of active devices, behind 14 other versions of Android. Users of these old devices could still sideload a third-party app store and find replacements for all the Google apps, but if you're a technical user and can't get a new device, there's a good chance you could load a whole new operating system with an aftermarket Android ROM. After September 27, the oldest version of Android you'll be able to sign in to is Android 3.0 Honeycomb, which is only for tablets.
The individual Google apps started to be updatable through the Android Market/Play Store, but signing in to Google was still a system-level service and is frozen in time. Any Google services wanting to allow sign-ins from those versions would have to conform to 2011-era security standards, which means turning off two-factor authentication and enabling a special "allow less-secure access" setting in your Google account. Really, these old Android versions have to die eventually because they're just too insecure. Google shows active user base breakdowns for Android versions in Android Studio, and Gingerbread has such a low device count that it doesn't even make the list. It's less than 0.2 percent of active devices, behind 14 other versions of Android. Users of these old devices could still sideload a third-party app store and find replacements for all the Google apps, but if you're a technical user and can't get a new device, there's a good chance you could load a whole new operating system with an aftermarket Android ROM. After September 27, the oldest version of Android you'll be able to sign in to is Android 3.0 Honeycomb, which is only for tablets.
Google cannot kill Android! (Score:2, Insightful)
Google cannot "kill" Android because it is not a living thing!
The proper title should be "Google services will stop supporting very old versions of Android next month".
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Someone's not a Linux user. ;)
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In any case - if you have such an old device I doubt you use any of the services anyway - you have it for other reasons.
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Use an old development environment.
Why should Google be able to kill Android versions (Score:2)
Did the editor change the title of the story on you? But I think the more significant question is who gave Google so much power?
And as usual, I tend to fixate on solution approaches. I think if there are enough people who want to use the old version of Android and are willing to cover the costs for supporting it, then that version should continue to be supported. My solution approach towards that objective is a cost-recovery system using a charity share brokerage. Have you got a better idea?
And apologies if
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Devices running Gingerbread aren't going to suddenly stop working. Google services just won't support them anymore.
I got a phone running 2.3.6 back in 2013, but I never put a Google account on it. Mind you, the battery doesn't hold much of a charge anymore, and I haven't actually used it since 2017, but it will work exactly the same after Google's change.
There are still some apps on F-Droid that will run on Gingerbread, but not all that many.
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Hmm... I see the lack of support for security updates as disqualifying. Maybe you can console yourself with the hope that the bad guys won't try the old exploits? But I'm too paranoid. (Actually, for a special purpose, I'm still running an obsolete version of Ubuntu on one ancient machine--but it never touches the Internet these years. And I'm still paranoid about exporting data from that machine via a USB memory stick.)
Actually, as I've evolved the CSB (Charity Share Brokerage) idea over the years, I've co
So, to be FAIR... (Score:2)
...how many other mobile OS can still login into their own after 10 years?
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I would ask the opposite question: how long has it been since these ancient versions of Android were really usable? How many devices running Gingerbread are still connecting to Google services anyway?
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Usable? They still work, still doing the same basic functions, so they're definitely "usable" today. If someone just uses their old phone as a phone and not much else then it's still perfectly useful. Until the battery failed last year I believe that my Nexus 7 was still running Gingerbread, connecting to Play Books and Gmail.
Not everyone wants to live their entire lives through a four inch screen.
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Well, to be completely fair, 2FA has been known about for at least two decades now, so why Google was at least a decade behind in security practices 10 years ago certainly makes one wonder. Considering they're an internet facing company, it becomes even more problematic.
You know, I find it very interesting that as much as programmers have been harping about security for the past, oh, several decades, we still have ages-old security problems introduced by corporations (don't blame the coder - this is a d
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Many things "have been known about" long before they reach the point where the various risks vs rewards result in them becoming mainstream and ubiquitous.
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other mobile OS
That's setting the bar very very low. There's nothing special about "mobile" other than user hostile, locked down and destined for the landfill. Somehow my 11 year old laptop is running recent versions of everything (well whatever ubuntu 18.04 provides). Because it's unlocked and I can upgrade freely.
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Who cares about logging in with old devices?
You probably use them for other reasons. I sometimes bring up an Ericsson R250s as alternative device just because I can.
Wait! What? (Score:2)
YouTube and Maps
Does anyone actually log into these services (or Google) to use them? I've had an Android tablet (WiFi only) for years that I picked up at a garage sale. I cleared all the previous users data and I've been using it without telling Google that I even exist.
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Some people like to keep records of locations. :/
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Bookmarks?
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In map apps? Where like in Google's without logging in?
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In map apps?
Those are like the web version, but with less features. And you have to put up with ads. And sell your soul (and your data) to Google.
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I do - it's handy for syncing data between phone and computer
This is outrageous (Score:3)
First, HBO discontinued its app support for my PlayStation3, now Google is abandoning Android 2 and leaving its users in the cold.
What Phones? (Score:2)
I was wondering which phones this impacts, so I looked some up.
My oldest Android phone is an HTC Evo 4G, my only phone with Sprint, and I only had actual 4G service once when I traveled to San Francisco. This was the alternative 4G technology that lost out to LTE.
My next phone was a Galaxy S III, which ran Android 4, so it's still good. That was really a good solid phone, so I'm glad it can still work.
Looking up on Wikipedia, the Galaxy S II would be impacted with the original software, but Samsung releas
Browser access to Google services still OK? (Score:2)
Most Google services can be accessed through the browser. I canno0t see any reason why this would be blocked when the Google apps no longer work.
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And I can't find any browser on F-Droid that will run with an Android before 4.0.
Who gives a turkey (Score:2)
Aurora Store [f-droid.org]
F-Droid [f-droid.org]
Aptoide [aptoide.com]
Apkpure [apkpure.com]
Yes, you can actually make use of an Android device without daddy Google's dictating what you can and cannot do with it - assuming the app you want runs on such old versions of Android that is. But you can often find older releases that do on those alternative stores.
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F-Droid requires 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and Aurora Store requires 4.4 KitKat.
Or, more simply ... (Score:3)
MOD PARENT UP (Score:2)
MOD parent funny/insightful because it's true.
I remember it well.... (Score:1)
How quickly the dreams die.
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It's less supporting older Android versions that's the problem, it's locking phones so you can't upgrade the base OS that's the problem. Ubuntu 10.04 is long out of support (what this laptop first had for years), but who cares? It runs 18.04 just fine.
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Too insecure? Who's insecure? (Score:2, Insightful)
"Really, these old Android versions have to die eventually because they're just too insecure."
So old hardware must perish. Recycling rates are only around 12% in the UK, with most of the remainder eventually becoming landfill.
So too insecure to do what? Serve ads securely? Most of these devices can live a good second life as a home-stereo/radio, remote control, or even surveillance camera.
Right to repair should cover the access to make such modifications.
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So old hardware must perish.
No, keep reading. There's nothing here saying that hardware must perish, in fact TFS gives several alternatives including sideloading non-Google apps / app stores.
Not just mobile devices (Score:2)
My old Freemotion treadmill still runs Android 1.6 . Not easy to upgrade the OS on that. Don't think there has ever been a single update.
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The moral of this story is that all those interested in saving the planet should force manufacturers to release the complete technical spec, including bug lists, for all chips in the devices, or be faced with supporting them for as long as the CxOs responsible for the release remain alive (else they go to jail).
Yes, this requ
nt (Score:2)
Then they came for the gingerbread... (Score:2)
and I said nothing because I had finished that and was eating Oreos...Oreo may be a bit old and stale, but it works fine for me.
I was hoping for a milk upgrade, but Google moved on from there.