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Many Websites Will Not Work on Older Android Versions in 2021

many websites will not work on older android versions in 2021
Android versions prior to 7.1.1 Nougat may no longer support certain websites. Let’s Encrypt has announced that its partnership with IdenTrust CA will end on September 1, 2021, and that it has no plans to renew its partnership. This will in turn reduce the compatibility with Let’s Encrypt certificates, which will affect users and website owners, as well.

So if you own an old Android mobile phone that runs on versions previous to 7.1.1 Nougat, you will need to consider an upgrade. People using older versions of Android will not be able to access many secure websites. Over 200 million websites will not be recognized as secure to users who own Android devices that run older Android versions.

One of the leading certificate authorities, Let’s Encrypt has issued SSL certificates to over 30 percent of all websites. According to Let’s Encrypt, more than 30 percent of Android devices are currently running on the older Android version. Such old devices will encounter certificate errors when the user tries to visit such websites using Let’s Encrypt certificates starting from 2021.

However, there are ways to access such websites and there are certain options. People using such devices can access these websites using Firefox, according to Let’s Encrypt. While they can temporarily solve their problem by switching to Firefox, it is important to update the software to avoid certificate errors.

“For an Android phone’s built-in browser, the list of trusted root certificates comes from the operating system – which is out of date on these older phones. However, Firefox is currently unique among browsers – it ships with its own list of trusted root certificates. So anyone who installs the latest Firefox version gets the benefit of an up-to-date list of trusted certificate authorities, even if their operating system is out of date.”
The agreement between Let’s encrypt and IdenTrust will expire only in September 2021, but the former will stop cross-signing on January 11, 2021. Websites can continue to generate cross-signed certificates until September 2021 but not after that. Android devices running on older versions of Android prior to 7.1.1. will need to consider an upgrade or download Firefox that uses its own certificate which includes the ISRG root to access websites using Let’s Encrypt certificates.
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