Don’t worry. There are some simple troubleshooting tips and tricks you can use to resolve most problems with Instagram. In this guide, we will take a look at these methods to solve Instagram Not Working problem.
A Brief Note on Instagram
Instagram is a free-to-use photo and video sharing app. Users need to sign up with an e-mail ID or your existing Facebook account. You can post photos and videos on Instagram. If you have subscribers, they can watch the photos you post and like them or add comments. Instagram is primarily a smartphone app. You can use it on iPhones as well as Android Phones. If you want to use Instagram on a regular web browser, you can but the functionality is very limited. The culture of “Instagram Influencers” is extremely popular nowadays. Several popular individuals are making their livelihood with their Instagram presence.
Is Your Instagram Not Working?
Being a popular social networking app, Instagram must be up and running at all times. But there will be situations where Instagram will not work. This may be due to a problem on the Instagram side or your device. Some common problems users experienced with Instagram are broken share links, messages not delivering, etc. If Instagram is not working due to a server or any other issue at Instagram, then we have nothing to do but wait till they fix the issue. But if the problem is in our devices (smartphones), then we can try to fix the problem. Let us see different ways you can resolve the issue of Instagram not working on your smartphone.
Basic Troubleshooting
1. Check the Internet Connection
The first and simple solution to fix Instagram not Working is to check if you have a proper internet connection. There is a chance that Instagram is working fine but your internet is not.
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Whether you are using cellular data or Wi-Fi, check and see the internet connectivity. You can use other apps that require internet or simply search for something on Google to check for a working internet connection.
2. Try Instagram on a Web Browser
To confirm that the problem is with the Instagram App and not the Instagram Service, you can try logging in to Instagram’s website from any web browser. If you can log in to the web version of Instagram, then chances are there is no problem with Instagram’s servers but with your Smartphone or the Insta app.
3. Is Instagram Not Working or Down?
Instagram has a huge number of servers all over the World. They are very reliable with excellent redundancy. But if for some reason there is a network problem at these servers, then Instagram will not work. To check whether Instagram is down, you can use the Downdetector website. On the Downdetector’s home page, search for ‘Instagram’. It will report if there are any outages with Instagram. Downdetector also gives additional information such as the number of outages in the last 24 hours and if the problem is in the app, login, or website.
4. Relaunch the Instagram App
Modern smartphone operating systems keep the apps in memory so that we can quickly launch them. If there are many apps like that in the memory, then there is a chance that memory isn’t sufficient for apps to load. Another problem with apps in memory is that if there is any memory corruption, then some apps will not work. A simple trick to solve this issue is to clear the memory, close Instagram, and relaunch it.
5. Logout and Re-Login
Some users reported that logging out of Instagram, clearing the memory, and logging back in solved the issues with Instagram. You can also try this method and see if it is working for you.
6. Update Instagram App
App updates usually fix user issues and other bugs. If your Instagram is not up to date, then chances are the latest version will have the issue resolved. So, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and update the Instagram App. This is one of the simplest solutions to fix the Instagram not working issue.
7. Clear Up Storage
Instagram uses a lot of your phone’s storage. In fact, all apps on your smartphone need some storage to work normally. Junk files, cache files, duplicate files, and other unnecessary data will hoard the storage and won’t leave any space for other apps to function. Delete all these junk files from your phone’s storage and clear up space. If you have an Android phone with a micro-SD Card slot, make use of it by adding additional storage
Advanced Troubleshooting
Till now, we have seen the basic troubleshooting methods. From now onwards, we will try some advanced methods to fix problems with Instagram.
1. Restart Your Devices
Sometimes, the Wi-Fi Router and Smartphone will have connectivity issues. This can be related to the internet connection, valid IP Addresses, or other network problems. The simplest solution is to restart all the devices i.e., your Wi-Fi Router as well as your Smartphone. While restarting the router, switch off the router, wait for 10 – 30 seconds and then switch it back on. Coming to the smartphone, you can restart it normally. While the devices are restarting, make sure that all the ethernet and/or fiber cables are properly inserted.
2. Clear Instagram App’s Data and Cache
Restarting the phone (and Wi-Fi router) usually works in the majority of cases. But if for some reason that didn’t work for you, we need to dive a little bit deeper. The moment you start using an app on your smartphone, the OS will store data (username and password) and cache (frequent files) from time to time. If there is any data corruption here, then Instagram (or any other app) will not work in a proper way. A simple solution to this problem is to clear the App’s data and cache. In Android smartphones, you can do this by going to settings and looking for Apps (or something similar where all your Apps are listed out). From the list, select Instagram. Different smartphone makers have different terminology but the essential thing to do is to clear data and cache. Note that clearing only the cache will not clear your credentials, but clearing data does. On iPhone, go to settings and then click on General. Now go to ‘iPhone Storage’ and look for Instagram. Select Instagram and then click on ‘Offload App’. This process will only clear the app’s storage but not the data and documents. To clear everything, you have to delete the app and re-install it.
3. Check Permissions (and Enable Necessary Ones)
Instagram App on your smartphone needs several permissions to work without any issues. These permissions include access to storage, contacts, location, camera, microphone, etc. If for some reason you disabled or denied access to any of these permissions, then you will face problems with Instagram as it will not work properly. Enable all the necessary permissions and see if the issue is resolved.
4. Are You Using VPN?
VPNs are very useful for accessing regionally restricted content. If you are using VPN, then it might cause a problem with the Instagram App on your smartphone. Turn off VPN and see if Instagram is functioning correctly or not. If VPN is the culprit, then make sure to restrict Instagram from using VPN services in the settings of the VPN Service.
5. Uninstall Instagram and Reinstall it
Sometimes uninstalling the app and reinstalling it will resolve all problems. We can apply the same to Instagram as well. On Android Smartphones, go to settings and then apps. From the list of apps, select Instagram and click on uninstall. Some Android Phones allow you to directly uninstall the app by long pressing the app icon. Coming to iPhone, go to settings and select General. Now go to iPhone Storage and click on Instagram. At the bottom, there will be a “Delete App” button. Click on it to uninstall Instagram from your iPhone. An alternative way is to go to App Library and Touch and Hold the Instagram App icon. This will bring a pop-up menu with a “Delete App” option on the top. After uninstalling, go to the App Store if you have an iPhone and Google Play Store in case of Android Phone and install the Instagram app.
What to Do if Instagram is Still Not Working?
If Instagram is not working even after following all the troubleshooting methods, then there isn’t much to do but report directly to Instagram. You can do it from your Instagram App by navigating through Settings, Help, and Report a Problem. Here, you have to enter the problems you are facing and submit the report. Another thing you can do is identify the error messages and numbers and look for solutions to similar errors on Insta’s official help page.
Conclusion
With more than 2 billion active users, Instagram is an extremely popular Social Media Platform. Users can post photos and videos and share them with their subscribers. It is a unique way of interacting through photos rather than text. Despite its popularity and user base, Instagram, like other major networking apps, faces issues from time to time. We see users reporting problems such as being unable to send messages, errors while logging in, or cannot share with links. It is annoying and frustrating if you find that Instagram is not working. So, in this guide, we saw some common troubleshooting methods to fix the problem of Instagram not working. We hope one of these methods worked for you and you can use Insta’s App normally again. Comment * Name * Email * Website
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