error TS2531: Object is possibly 'null' when using | operator (strictNullChecks are off)

[sweko]

I'm getting errors compiling after an update to 2.2.1.
The tsconfig.json file does not specify strictNullChecks, and the problem persists even when strictNullChecks are explicitly set to false.

TypeScript Version: 2.2.1

Code

console.log( 3 | null);

Expected behavior:
Successful compilation
Actual behavior:
error TS2531: Object is possibly 'null'

[mhegazy]

did you mean 3 || null ?

[sweko]

3 || null works as expected, but 3 | null does not.

In the specific case where I've encountered the issue, it was indeed an error where I've meant to do || but did | instead.
Nonetheless, I've gotten a build error on upgrading typescript, and this is not mentioned anywhere as a breaking change.

[gcnew]

It's caused by #13483 and is mentioned in What's new in TypeScript - Better checking for null/undefined in operands of expressions. Sure, it can be seen as a breaking change although the better interpretation would be an error that hadn't been previously caught.