You have a beautiful picture that you want to share with your followers on Instagram, but you can’t post it. This could be even more frustrating if you’re an influencer on this social media platform. Why Instagram won’t let me post? This question could be doing rounds in your mind. If you are struggling to post a photo, video, reel, or story on Instagram, we’ll tell you how to fix it.
Instagram is a hugely popular social media platform with over a billion active users. It’s the go-to platform for millions of people to share their memories. But often, Instagram runs into problems. One of the common problems users have reported is that they can’t post a photo, video, story, or reel on Instagram. Many of them are greeted with the “Something went wrong” error message.
Let’s quickly go through the reasons and then we’ll move on to the troubleshooting methods.
Why Won’t Instagram Let Me Post a Photo, Video, Reel, or Story?
These are some common reasons why won’t Instagram let you post.
[Reason #1] Server issues: Instagram has over a billion active users. It’s not easy to maintain a huge number of users on any platform. And therefore, the servers often get too busy. While servers are busy, you may face issues while posting, scrolling reels, or using the app.
[Reason #2] Slow or unstable internet connection: For the Instagram app to run smoothly, you need to have a fast and unstable internet connection. Not having so can result in various issues like reels not showing, photos not uploading, and more.
[Reason #3] The app may have issues: The Instagram app on your phone may be running into problems. Sometimes these are caused by the app cache. Or, if you have started to face issues after updating the app, the latest version may have some bugs.
Now that we have some understanding of the problem, let’s dive into the ways to fix it quickly.
Instagram Won’t Let Me Post, Try These Fixes
Try the below solutions and start sharing your favorite memories on Instagram.
1. Check Instagram Servers
Instagram servers may not be working properly and that could be causing the issue you’re currently dealing with. It does not happen frequently, but it has happened many times in the past.
Instagram does not have an official page that can tell us their server status. But, you can use a third-party website such as Downdetector.com to check if other users have also reported issues with Instagram.
When there’s an outage, many of the services get affected. In such a situation, you can’t do anything other than wait for the engineers to fix the issue.
2. Restart Your Phone
You may be facing issues with Instagram due to minor software glitches on the device. These can occur anytime and you might not be able to notice them. Restarting the device is likely to fix the issue.
To restart an Android phone, press and hold the power button until the power menu appears. Select the Restart option.
On iOS, you should press and hold the power button and drag the slider to turn off the device. Then, press and hold the power button for a few seconds to turn it on.
3. Check the Internet Connection
Often the internet connection is the source of the problem when you can’t post anything on Instagram or any other app. Run an internet speed test via speedtest.net to check the network stability and upload/download.
If you observe internet issues, try rebooting the router. To quickly reboot the router, unplug the router’s power cable for a minute and then plug it in again.
After rebooting the router, connect your device to the internet and try uploading a photo or video on Instagram.
If the issue persists, you can perform a network reset as mentioned in the next solution.
4. Perform a Network Reset
Your device may have network issues due to which it can’t upload a photo or video on Instagram. Try resetting the network to fix the issues. You can find the network reset option within the Settings app on your phone.
5. Check Your File Size
Instagram puts a restriction on the file size you can upload on the platform. For videos of length 10 minutes or less, the maximum file size is 650MB. For up to 60 minutes of videos, you have a 3.6GB maximum upload size limit.
Make sure your video is below the maximum upload size limit. Otherwise, you won’t be able to upload it.
6. Clear the App Cache
Instagram, like any other app, stores temporary data (called cache) to improve the user experience by preloading some assets. While it’s useful, it can cause problems if the cache data is too old or corrupted. You should clear the app cache to check if it can fix the problem. Here’s how to do it:
On Android:
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to the Apps section.
- Find Instagram and tap on it.
- Tap on Clear cache.
On iOS:
- Open the Settings app and go to General.
- Tap on iPhone storage.
- Find Instagram and tap on it.
- Tap on Offload App to clear the cache.
These steps differ from brand to brand. All you have to go to the Instagram app info page and clear the cache.
7. Update the App
The current version of the Instagram app on your phone may have issues. The app regularly gets new updates that include stability improvements and bug fixing. You should therefore update the Instagram app.
To update the Instagram app on Android, open Google Play Store, search for Instagram, and click the Update button. On iOS, you can update the app via App Store.
8. Reinstall the App
If you’re still struggling to post something on Instagram, try reinstalling the app. A fresh installation is likely to offer you a problem-free experience.
Uninstall the Instagram app and before you install it again, reboot your device once. Now, install the Instagram app again, log into your account, and start sharing your memories.
Why Won’t Instagram Let Me Post Multiple Photos?
You can’t upload more than 10 photos or videos in a single post. Make sure to keep your Instagram post within this limit and you should be able to post multiple images.
If the issue persists, there are likely network issues on your phone. Check out the solutions above to fix the network issues.
Why Won’t Instagram Let me Post Videos?
If you can’t post videos on Instagram, make sure you have a good internet connection with a good uploading speed. Next, check if the video size is under the maximum file size allowed by Instagram. You can find more details on this in solution number 5.
Wrapping It Up
While Instagram is an easy way to share your memories, it can be frustrating sometimes when issues start to surface. After reading this post, you should have a clear idea of why Instagram isn’t letting you post anything. We hope you could fix it with the help of the above solutions.
Also Read:
1. Instagram Reels Not Monetizing, What to Do?
2. What to Do if Your Instagram Account Is Suspended
3. Reels Option Not Showing In Instagram, How to Fix?
