OK, firstly in my defence, I don't speak Android, only IOS My father in law (85yrs) has a Galaxy A12 phone here in Spain ( not sure if region can affect this.... ) We've been having issues getting hold of him recently on WhatsApp and have finally found what we think is the problem. It appears that the Android software in his phone no longer allows popup notifications due to some mismatch between Android, WhatsApp and probably Samsung The phone still rings when we try a WhatsApp call, but the number of steps to get from the Home Screen of the phone to where he can actually answer the call in WhatsApp is just too complicated for him. We've tried updating his phone's software but the issue remains and you still cannot select popup notifications in the settings menu - it's greyed out. I've also found that since January 2025 his phone no longer benefits from updates from Samsung. Is it just a case of getting a more modern phone that is still supported by Samsung or do any of you out there have any pointers or am I just being dense and there's a simple answer? Thanks all
From wats app About supported operating systems Currently, we provide support for and recommend using the following devices: Android running OS 5.0 and newer iPhone running iOS 12 and newer* *Starting May 5, 2025, only iOS versions 15.1 and newer will be supported.
As far as I can see, a Galaxy A12 phone should be able to run Android 13 so shouldn't have any limitations on WhatsApp.
The A12 stopped being supported with Samsung updates at the start of 2025. WhatsApp is compatible with Android v5 and above although I’m not sure how much functionality v5 supports. Obviously the higher version you can run, the better, the current is v15. Whatever you end up doing, WhatsApp messages doesn’t transfer to a new phone automatically, the app only lets you have history on one at a time so you need to do the transfer manually. Andy
We bought him an iPhone last year. After numerous tries at getting him to use it he threw a wobbly and demanded his Samsung back......... He now can't find his iPhone.........
Thanks for all the responses, it's difficult working through this as he's got a habit of randomly pushing buttons, changing settings all over the place, then denies he's ever touched them His phone is on Android 12, going to try to get it up to 13 to see if that makes a difference otherwise does anyone know of a good android phone application with which I can password protect all of his settings to stop unnecessary changes??
Ah, luckily Apple have a solution to that as well. Get him an Apple watch, which will locate and then guide him to the iphone, everytime he throws it!
I’m pretty sure when I updated to an S25 a month ago, yes, you can password protect individual apps … but don’t hold me to that Andy
When you find the answer Write it in big letters for him to follow on a laminate and stick to fridge door or similar
It's an old person thing, my mother-in-law was the same; once wiped all 40 presets from a Walkman & said it was nothing to do with her, despite being the sole user.
