How to Fix Instagram Stories not Loading or Uploading

Instagram Stories have become a popular way to share quick updates and creative content. However, sometimes you might encounter issues where your Stories fail to load or upload properly.

This can be frustrating, especially if you rely on Stories to connect with your audience.

In this post, we’ll delve into the common reasons behind this problem and provide effective solutions to get your Instagram Stories back on track.

Whether you’re using the app on your phone or accessing it through a web browser, we’ve got you covered.

Reasons for the Instagram Stories not Uploading or Loading

Many a time, Instagram users all over the world wonder about the reason for the sudden error they encounter trying to upload or load videos. It is only funny that there are very common questions that all these Instagram users either ask themselves or go on the net to seek answers.

They want to know “why Instagram stories not uploading in order”, “why Instagram stories not uploading with video”, “why Instagram stories not uploading today?”, or “why Instagram stories not loading”.

It is only good news that most of these errors we see concerning Instagram stories malfunctioning are self-inflicted. Why then don’t we check out the reasons for the sudden errors that confront you in the comfort of your homes or wherever you are trying to use the Instagram story feature?

Below are the reasons that account for Instagram stories not loading or uploading.

1. Poor network connection
2. The account might have been logged in on another device unrecognized by the Instagram app.
3. Outdated version of the device you’re using to access the app.
4. Outdated version of the Instagram app you are currently using.
5. Instagram app cache or data.
6. The Instagram app system down
7. Wrong communication between the device and the Instagram server.
8. Instagram account suspended.
9. Incompatible media

How to Fix Instagram Stories not Uploading or Loading

1. Check Your Internet Connectivity

As soon as the story you are uploading or loading fails, then you should know that it may be a cause of a low internet connection to load the Instagram stories. You have to check and make sure that you have enough internet connection to access the app.

Lack of a strong internet connection gives you very little or no chance to access the app, hence giving you problems like “Upload failed. Try again“. To rectify this, you should not hesitate to check the strength of your internet connection and this can easily be done by using fast.com to check how fast or slow your internet connection is.

Upon checking the strength of your internet connection and you realize you have a speed of your network ranging below 3Mbps, then you should find your internet connection very problematic.

2. Relaunch the Instagram App

One of the quickest and simplest ways to deal with such issues concerning Instagram stories not loading or uploading is by quitting the app abruptly and relaunching it. For this, you must leave the Instagram app and clear all running apps in the background.

If you are using the browser to access the Instagram app, then you should clear the Instagram web tab and open it on a new tab.

After quitting the app, relaunch the app and check if you still cannot upload or load Instagram stories.

3. Check the Type of  Media You’re Uploading

The Instagram app does not accept any kind of file or media to be uploaded. For that matter, not every media you try to upload on the app is accepted.

If the type of media you are uploading is not compatible with the Instagram app, then you should not waste your precious time trying to upload on the app.

The problem may either be the format of the media (picture or video), size, and storage. You must ensure that the video or picture you are trying to upload is not more than 50MB.

Having a media size of more than 50MB can result in freezing of the Instagram app which may lead to further complications. If you find out that is the issue, then you should endeavor to compress the size of the video.

4. Check your Instagram account status

Instagram does not permit users to upload stories or even feeds if their account has breached Instagram community guidelines. Instagram has community guidelines that you should try as much as possible to avoid as a user just so you don’t violate the set guidelines.

If you have violated some of the Instagram community guidelines, then you should expect a suspension from using the app or permanent removal of your Instagram account. For that matter, you should check and know if your Instagram account has currently been banned or not.

This is how to check whether your Instagram account has been suspended or removed. If your account has been disabled by Instagram, you will see a message telling you that your account has been disabled when you try to log in to the app.  If the account has not been disabled but suspended too, you will be notified.

5. Check if the Instagram System is Down

Sometimes the fault of these Instagram stories not uploading or not loading in the archive may not be your fault. This is because there are sometimes general glitches that happen in the systems of Instagram, causing all users to get stuck accessing the app.

This may happen when you are trying to log in to the app, upload a feed, upload Instagram stories or load Instagram stories. It happens once in a while but if you are unfortunate and it happens, you may not be too sure if it’s just you or a general problem.

For that matter, you should not hesitate to check using Down Detector to check if the system is actually down or not. Search for “Instagram” and check if they serve you with Instagram outage reports in your area.

Aside from this, you can also check Twitter or Facebook to find out if there has been an official communique from Instagram about their app malfunctions.

6. Log Out of Instagram and Sign in Again

After checking to see if the fault is from Instagram and if you realize it is not their cause, then you should consider logging out of Instagram and signing in again. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Go to your Instagram profile.
2. Tap on the three horizontal lines at the top right of your profile
3. Search and tap on settings
4. Scroll down to tap on log out of account
5. After you’ve been successfully logged out, insert the correct password and username to log in to Instagram.

After logging in, check out if you can now upload videos or load Instagram stories.

7. Save the Instagram Story and Re-upload

When you try uploading the video and after a long wait, it is still very difficult to upload the Instagram story successfully, then you should try saving the story you tried to upload and upload it again.

If you want to try this, tap on the “try again” option and save the post so that you can reupload it.

Reuploading the same Instagram story post you just saved does not really require you to add media icons, emojis, music, or any add-on things anymore.

Try this and check if you still face the issue of Instagram stories not uploading posts.         

8. Clear Instagram App Cache and Data

Many a time these issues we face such as the Instagram stories not loading or uploading errors is as a result of glitches caused by the app cache or data on the device. It may also be a result of browser cookies and data. Below is how to clear the Instagram app cache.

1. Close the Instagram app on your phone
2. Long press the app till a sub-window shows and tap on “App info.”
3. Scroll down to look for storage and tap on it
4. Go down to tap on clear cache to clear the Instagram app cache
5. Go back to relaunch the app to check whether the issue has been resolved.

If you are using the browser to access your Instagram account, you should try clearing cookies on the browser. To do this, follow the steps given below:

1. Launch the browser (Either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge)
2. Tap on the three horizontal dots located at the top corner.
3. Click on settings.
4. Click on Privacy & Security and select clear browsing data.
5. Tick the boxes next to Cookies and other site data as well as cached images and files.
6. Click on clear data.
7. All the cache and cookies will be cleared and you can access Instagram on the browser again.

9. Clear Your Browsing History or Data

After you have tried to clear the cache on the Instagram web and it is still to no avail, then you should try clearing browsing data or browser history. To do this, go by the steps given below:

1. Tap on the three horizontal dots located at the top corner
2. Go to settings.
3. Click on Privacy & Security and select Clear Browsing Data.
4. Tick the box next to browsing history.
5. Click on clear data.

Using the Safari OS to do this, follow the steps below:

1. Select Safari on the menu bar.
2. Select the option, “ Clear History”
3. This will wipe off all browsing history from the Safari OS.

10. Update the Instagram App or Reinstall the Instagram App

One of the most common reasons for Instagram Stories not loading or uploading is an outdated app. To resolve this, follow these steps:

Update the Instagram App

1. Open the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).
2. Search for “Instagram.”
3. Tap “Update” if an update is available.

Reinstall the Instagram App

If updating the app doesn’t work, try reinstalling it:

1. Delete the Instagram app: Long-press the app icon and choose “Delete” or “Uninstall.”
2. Restart your device: This can help refresh the system.
3. Reinstall the Instagram app: Search for “Instagram” in the App Store or Google Play Store and install it again.

Note: Reinstalling the app will remove your account information. You’ll need to log in again after reinstalling.

11. Log into Instagram on a Different Device or Browser

This troubleshooting works because most of the time we find out that the device or browser we use to access the internet may be problematic, hence leading to problems such as Instagram stories not loading or uploading.

For that matter, it is advised that you log out of Instagram if possible and log in to another device or another browser. When using a browser to access the social media platform, it is advised that you use browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Microsoft Edge or Safari browser.

It is highly possible that your Instagram account will work now perfectly on another device or browser as a result of different conditions your devices may have.

12. Contact Instagram Support Centre

All of the above options on how to fix Instagram stories not loading are very possible ways to curb the issue and therefore if you still find it very worrying to face the challenge “We couldn’t connect to your Instagram. Make sure you’re connected to the Internet and try again”, even after going through all the processes highlighted above, then you should not hesitate to contact the Instagram Support Center.

They aid you to resolve the issue in the best way, answering questions like, “why can’t I login to Instagram”? or “why won’t Instagram log me in?”. You can do this by contacting them on the app, using the steps below:

1. Go to your Instagram profile.
2. Tap on the three horizontal lines at the top right of your profile
3. Search and tap on settings

4. Tap on help

5. Report a problem.

6. Wait for a response or try loading or uploading Instagram stories after some time.