IT Services support statement - Google Android
IT Services support statement for Google Android
This page gives information on the versions of the Android operating systems supported by IT Services for use on the Trinity data network.
This information is relevant to staff and students using a smartphone or tablet running Android.
We also recommend you read through our information on protecting your mobile device.
Supported versions of Android
Google provides security updates for the versions of Android listed below. Google no longer provides security updates for older versions.
To help ensure the security of College systems and your data, IT Services will only provide support for the same versions.
Although it may be possible to connect to our network and access certain apps and services from devices running older, unsupported versions, this is not recommended by IT Services.
Supported versions
- Android 11
- Android 10
- Android Pie 9
- Android Oreo 8.1
- Google’s support for version 8.1 will end with the release of Android 12
Google are expected to provide Android 12 on general release in September or October 2021.
IT Services will not provide support and network connectivity for Android 12 until we complete compatibility testing with our network and core IT services.
Once this process is complete, we will update this web page with the latest supported version information.
Our advice in the meantime would be to not upgrade to this newer version of Android.
Rooted devices and sideloading apps
IT Services cannot provide support for any devices that have been rooted.
Also, we cannot provide support for apps that have been 'Sideloaded'. Sideloading is the process of downloading and installing apps from an unofficial source; for example from outside the official Google Play Store.
We can only provide support for Android devices which use the official Google Play store natively; we cannot support devices that use their own app store, or which do not ship with the Google Play store as the default app store.
Third-party app support on Android
Certain third-party app providers will only support the use of their apps on the versions of Android supported by Google. For example, Microsoft will only support the use of the Teams and Outlook apps on the versions of Android supported by Google and will not guarantee the security or operation of these apps on unsupported versions of Android.