On Wednesday morning, Android users worldwide reported that their WhatsApp app crashes on launch. Nothing seemed wrong on iOS.
The problem seems to be gone now thanks to a server patch that Meta rolled out. An issue was reported on Reddit in particular two days ago and the responses have continued to pour in over the past few hours.
Users also did their own research and came up with a provisional solution. That’s how WhatsApp for Android did it again after they turned off Wi-Fi and cleared the app’s cache. Turning WiFi back on turned out to be a trigger for the crash. Redditor ArnyminerZ also came up with a solution: he installed an older version of WhatsApp by sideloading the app after downloading it from APKMirror.
It is striking that the problem did not occur on all Android devices and versions. It is not known how many users worldwide (and in our region) were affected by the problem. Meta has not yet provided an explanation about the breakdown, which has now been resolved.
More later.