Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps to be blocked by Google on these Android phones

While the majority of Android phone users might upgrade to new handsets after three or four years of use, there are some people who like to use them till the devices actually die. If you are one of those old Android users, the end of road is finally here. Google will be blocking several of its major applications like Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and more on the older version of Android. The company has confirmed plans to block users from signing in with their Google Account on these Android phones. To recall, WhatsApp has already stopped working on this ageing Android version.

The latest development is for smartphones running Android 2.3. For reference, Android 2.3 was launched as Android Gingerbread back when Google used to use dessert names for each major iteration of Android. It was introduced in December 2010. Now, after 11 years, Google is finally abandoning its Android 2.3. The company said that it is now withdrawing support for Android 2.3 "as part of our going efforts to keep our users safe".

Again, to recall, in February 2017, the company suspended the Google Pay contactless payments from working on any handsets running Android 2.3. Now, from September 27, Google has confirmed plans to block all users from signing in with a Google Account. The users who try to login to their Android device will receive a username and password error – even though the details they have entered will be correct. The same error will be triggered if you try to add a Google Calendar or Gmail account to the settings menu of the device. Moreover, the other popular Google apps that rely on the Google Account like YouTube, Google Play Store, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Calendar, and more, will also stop working.

To continue using these apps, you will need to upgrade to Android 3.0. Assuming that your smartphone hasn’t been updated to the OS yet, it is unlikely that you will be able t update it to the later version of Android now. Hence, you are better off buying a new Android smartphone. However, if you can't upgrade to a new device, Google does offer a workaround. It will be possible to access some of these Google services using the browser on Android. However, the apps will be permanently blocked on your handset.