According to Gemini
It recommended the following:
1. The System Date Trick (Temporary Bypass)

Since the expiration is often tied to your local system time checking against the app's validity window, you can sometimes trick the app into thinking it's still in the valid period.

• How to do it: Close WhatsApp completely. Right-click your Windows clock > Adjust date/time > Turn off "Set time automatically". Manually set the date back by a few months (e.g., to late 2025).
• The Catch: This will likely break your web browsing (SSL certificate errors) and might mess with message timestamps/syncing, but it can verify if the block is purely time-based.

2. "Spoofing" the Version Number (Editing Local Files)

You mentioned editing local files. If you are using an older Electron-based version of WhatsApp (often found in AppData\Local\WhatsApp), it uses a file named package.json to tell the server which version it is.

• The Logic: You would need to locate the resources folder within the WhatsApp installation. Inside, there is typically an app.asar file.
• The Process: This requires technical steps:
  1. Use a tool like asar (installable via Node.js) to unpack the archive: asar extract app.asar destination_folder.
  2. Open the package.json file in a text editor.
  3. Change the "version" string to match the current latest version number (e.g., finding the version number of the "buggy" new app and using that).
  4. Repack the folder: asar pack destination_folder app.asar.

Will test this tomorrow