Still using older Windows OS? You won't be able to access Gmail from today

Those using Windows XP and Windows Vista will not be able to use Gmail starting today. Due to new security measured being implemented in Gmail, the site will only fully load on Chrome versions above Chrome 53, anything versions below will be redirected to a basic HTML version as early as December 2017. Also, these users will not have access to new features and bugfixes.

Gmail will continue to function on Chrome Browser v53 and below through the end of 2017. 

Google in a blog said, "Google does not typically announce when we discontinue support for older versions of Chrome browser because of our current supported browser policy, which states that only the most recent version of Chrome is supported. This announcement was made given the expected impact on Windows XP and Windows Vista users and known security risks."

Here is the full text of what it said: 

Starting February 8, 2017, we will show a banner at the top of the Gmail interface for users who are still on Google Chrome Browser v53 and below to encourage upgrading to the latest version of Chrome, currently on version 55. Chrome Browser v55 contains several important security updates.
 

Gmail users that are still on Windows XP and Windows Vista are the most likely to be affected, because v49 was the last released version which supported those operating systems. As previously announced in April 2015 and November 2015, these systems are no longer maintained by Microsoft, and we strongly encourage you to migrate to more secure and supported systems.
 

What happens if users continue to use Chrome Browser v53 and below?

Gmail will continue to function on Chrome Browser v53 and below through the end of the 2017. 
 

If you continue to use older versions of Chrome Browser now that support has ended, Gmail will be more vulnerable to security risks and users will not have access to new features and bugfixes.
 

Users who remain on Chrome v53 and below could be redirected to the basic HTML version of Gmail as early as Dec 2017.
 

Recommendation

If you manage Chrome Browser for your users, we strongly encourage you to update users to the latest version of Chrome. Depending on what operating system your users are on, you may need to migrate them to a supported system to get the latest version and features.

Please note: Google does not typically announce when we discontinue support for older versions of Chrome browser because of our current supported browser policy, which states that only the most recent version of Chrome is supported. This announcement was made given the expected impact on Windows XP and Windows Vista users and known security risks.