Android 12 end of life and support dates
Ended 3 Mar 2025
Android 12 (Snow Cone) stopped getting security updates on 3 Mar 2025 and is no longer supported.
Android 12 key dates
| Date | Android 12 |
|---|---|
| Released | |
| Security updates | Confirmed[1] |
What this means for you
Android 12 no longer gets security updates. It keeps working, but vulnerabilities found from now on stay open, so it is not a safe choice for anything connected to the internet, used for banking or work, or covered by compliance rules.
Upgrade options:
- Android 14 (Upside Down Cake): supported until 1 Mar 2027
What happens when support ends
Will it still run?
Nothing stops on the day a version leaves the bulletins. The phone works, apps already installed keep running, and the Play Store keeps serving apps that still support that version.
Will it get security fixes?
New vulnerabilities found after that point are not fixed for that version in AOSP, so phones that stay on it remain exposed unless the manufacturer backports fixes itself. Your phone's "Android security patch level" (Settings > About phone) stops advancing.
What stops working?
App and service support follows later and is version-based. Chrome for Android has required Android 10 or later since Chrome 139 (August 2025). Google stopped updating Play services on Android 5 in 2024 and on Android 6 in 2026, and its Play services client libraries have required Android 7.0 (API 24) since September 2026, so new app versions built on them will not install on older phones. Many banking apps also block phones whose security patch level is too old.
What are my options?
First check whether your phone can install a newer Android version: Settings > System > Software update (or Software update on Samsung). If it cannot, check how long your manufacturer still patches the phone. Once both have ended, plan to replace the phone, keep apps updated from Google Play, avoid installing APKs from outside the store, and keep banking and work accounts off it.
What else stops working, and when
The end of Android updates is only part of the story. Browsers, Office and apps set their own cut-offs for older versions:
| Date | Software | Affects | What stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmed[2] | Google Chrome | Android 6.x Marshmallow | No more Chrome updates on Android 6; Chrome 106 is the last version. |
| Estimated[3] | Google Play services | Android 4.4 KitKat | Google Play services stopped updating on KitKat (last version 23.30.99), so new app features and security fixes stop arriving. Day picked within August 2023. |
| Confirmed[2] | Google Chrome | Android 7.x Nougat | No more Chrome updates on Android 7; Chrome 119 is the last version. |
| Confirmed[2] | Google Chrome | Android 8.x Oreo and 9 Pie | No more Chrome updates, including security fixes; Chrome 138 is the last version and Chrome now needs Android 10. Android WebView updates on these versions ride on Chrome too. |
| Confirmed[4] | Google Play services (client libraries) | Android 5.x Lollipop | Google raised the minimum Android version of its core Play services libraries to API 23 (Android 6), so app updates built on them stop installing on Lollipop. |
| Official[5] | Mozilla Firefox | Android 7.x and older | No more Firefox updates; Firefox 143 is the last version and Firefox 144 needs Android 8.0. |
| Official[6] | Microsoft Outlook | Android 9 and older | Outlook for Android stopped supporting Android 9.x and earlier: no new features, bug fixes or security updates. |
| Confirmed[4] | Google Play services | Android 6.x Marshmallow and older | Play services' base library now needs API 24 (Android 7.0); Google's Play help says Play services is only supported on Android 7.0 and up. |
For businesses and auditors
As of 11 Nov 2026: Android 12 (Snow Cone) stopped getting security updates on 3 Mar 2025 and is no longer supported. Source: https://www.itechtics.com/eol/android/android-12-snow-cone/, verified 11 Nov 2026.Get Android end-of-life alerts
We email you 90, 30 and 7 days before a Android version loses support, and when a vendor moves a date. One email at most per day, unsubscribe in one click.
Prefer your calendar? Add Android end dates to your calendar (subscribe to the link in Outlook, Google or Apple Calendar).
Frequently asked questions
When does Android 12 support end?
Android 12 (Snow Cone) stopped getting security updates on 3 Mar 2025 and is no longer supported.
Is Android 12 still supported?
No. Android 12 stopped getting security updates on 3 Mar 2025.
What happens when Android 12 reaches end of life?
Nothing stops on the day a version leaves the bulletins. The phone works, apps already installed keep running, and the Play Store keeps serving apps that still support that version. New vulnerabilities found after that point are not fixed for that version in AOSP, so phones that stay on it remain exposed unless the manufacturer backports fixes itself. Your phone's "Android security patch level" (Settings > About phone) stops advancing.
What should I upgrade to from Android 12?
The newest supported option is Android 14 (Upside Down Cake), which gets security updates until 1 Mar 2027.
Sources
- source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/2025-03-01
- support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/12239814
- android-developers.googleblog.com/2023/07/google-play-services-discontinuing-updates-for-kitkat.html
- developers.google.com/android/guides/releases
- blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2025/09/15/raising-the-minimum-android-version-for-firefox/
- support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-version-of-android-does-your-app-support-1d9418c5-d53c-439f-90f2-1c2f681f1b9e
Dates are labelled Official (published by the vendor), Confirmed (we saw the updates stop) or Estimated (our forecast, with the rule shown). How we date things · Report a wrong date