This includes the oldest Android OS versions, such as Android 1.0, 1.5 Cupcake, 2.0 Eclair, and 2.3 Gingerbread. All of which are over a decade old. This decision first was revealed to device owners through an email from the company, posted by a user on Reddit. The email states that the affected phones no longer will be able to sign into Google Apps starting in late September, and recommends that users update their devices to Android 3.0 or higher to continue having access. That doesn’t mean these old smartphones will be completely useless. The devices can be used, but without the ability to sign on to a Google account. Day to day usage, such as making calls and browsing, still will be available. However, users will not be able to sign onto services like Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps directly, and will encounter a username or password error if they try to use those apps. Other actions, such as performing a factory reset, creating a new account, or changing the password, will result in the same error popping up. The Google Play Store also will be inaccessible. If, for whatever reason, the smartphone cannot update its operating system to Android 3.0, users still have the option to use their device’s web browser to log in to their Google accounts. Google claims the reason for this hard push is to improve the security for all of its customers, because old devices become increasingly more vulnerable over time. Google offers detailed instructions on how to check and update a device’s Android operating system.
