Using Telegram desktop but noticing your images aren’t downloading? This frustrating issue can prevent you from viewing all the great media others are sharing.
The good news is this problem can often be easily fixed with a few simple troubleshooting steps.
In this post, we’ll walk you through how to get Telegram desktop downloading images again, so you don’t miss out.
Reasons Telegram Desktop Images May Not Be Downloading
Before we look at solutions, let’s first understand why Telegram might stop downloading images in the desktop application. Here are some of the most common culprits:
Internet Connectivity Issues
An unstable, weak, or very slow internet connection can disrupt or prevent downloads in Telegram desktop. Always first check you have a strong, high-speed internet connection.
Try loading a website in your browser to verify connectivity. Or run a speed test. If your speeds are low, resetting your modem/router can help.
Telegram Outages
Like any service, Telegram can occasionally suffer partial outages that stop certain features from working correctly. Checking their Twitter account @telegram or visiting telegram.org can reveal if downloads are being impacted by a wider issue.
App Glitches
Minor Telegram desktop app glitches can sometimes break image saving. Simply restarting the app often resolves one-off hiccups.
Restrictive Settings
If you have notifications, background app usage, battery optimization or data saver features enabled, these may block Telegram desktop from downloading images properly. Adjust these settings.
Software Conflicts
Other programs like VPNs, firewalls and antivirus software can sometimes interfere with Telegram and cause issues. Temporarily disabling them reveals if they are the culprit.
Corrupted App Files
Corrupted cache files or app data inside Telegram desktop can stop images from being saved correctly. Clearing this data fixes most Telegram corrupted file issues.
Fixes For Telegram Desktop Not Downloading Images/Photos
Now that you know what’s causing it, here are all the steps to try to get Telegram desktop downloading images again:
1. Check Your Internet Connection
It’s always smart to first confirm your internet is working normally before troubleshooting Telegram itself.
Run a speed test at speedtest.net to check your connection speeds.
If speeds are very slow, or webpages won’t load, you likely have an internet connectivity issue preventing Telegram downloads.
First reset your modem and router to refresh your connection. Unplug them from power for 60 seconds, then reconnect them. You can also try connecting another device to confirm the issue only impacts your computer. Switching wifi networks or using a wired ethernet connection can help too.
Once your internet connectivity has improved, attempt to download images inside Telegram desktop again.
2. Check Telegram’s Status for Outages
Before troubleshooting your app, it’s worth checking if others are facing the same image download issues.
Visit Telegram’s outage status page on the Down Detector website to see if they have reported any service issues or outages.
If they haven’t reported any known issues, you can be confident something on your side is causing the problem. But if many others are also commenting about download failures, it indicates an outage is preventing downloads globally.
The best option is to wait for Telegram to resolve the outage. Keep an eye on updates from their Twitter page. Once service returns to normal, Telegram desktop image downloads will automatically start working again.
3. Restart the Telegram Desktop App
Sometimes closing and reopening the Telegram desktop app can fix temporary glitches that stop images downloading properly in chat windows.
Completely quit out of Telegram desktop by right clicking its icon in the system tray and selecting ‘Quit’.
Wait a few seconds, then reopen Telegram desktop again to essentially reboot it.
Once Telegram has restarted, go back into a chat where an image wouldn’t download previously. Check if selecting that image now downloads successfully.
A simple restart clearing any app issues in the background that were blocking downloads.
4. Check for App Updates in Telegram Desktop
An outdated version of Telegram desktop could be causing your “can’t download images” issue. New versions frequently add fixes and improvements to handle problems like this.
Inside Telegram desktop, click the hamburger menu (top left) > Settings > Advanced.
Go to the Updates section and click ‘Check for updates’.
If an update is available, download and install it. Keep Telegram desktop updated to always have the latest fixes that prevent problems downloading images.
5. Make Sure Automatic Media Download is Enabled
By default, Telegram desktop is set to automatically download all images and videos when you receive them in chats and channels.
But if someone has disabled this at some point, it will stop downloading new media you receive.
Go to Settings > Advanced and select the Data and Storage tab. Scroll to the Automatic Media Download section.
Ensure “In Private Chats”, “In Groups” and “In Channels” are all enabled with the switches colored blue.
If any were disabled, turn them back on. Now images should download automatically again when receiving them going forward.
6. Check Data Usage Settings
Telegram may have issues saving images if you have restrictive data usage rules applied.
Inside Telegram’s desktop settings, go to the Data and Storage tab > Using Cellular Data section.
Make sure Telegram has cellular data permissions enabled for downloading media, or ensure it is allowed to use a reasonable amount of data each month like 5GB+.
If data is restricted, ease these limits or connect to wifi instead. With enough data, Telegram can download all the images successfully again.
7. Temporarily Disable Proxy Connections or VPN
Proxies and VPN connections often cause interference breaking downloads in apps. If you normally route Telegram activity through a proxy or VPN, try disabling it as a test.
On Windows 10, click the Network icon by the clock > Network & Internet Settings > Proxy. Toggle your proxy setup to Off.
For VPN users, right click the VPN icon in system tray and select Disconnect.
With the proxy disabled or VPN turned off, launch Telegram desktop and check if images now save properly in chats.
If disabling proxy/VPN connectivity fixes it, you can enable it again afterwards. The VPN/proxy needs reconfiguring to prevent it blocking Telegram downloads.
8. Clear Local App Caches & Storage
Corrupted cache data or saved media files could prevent Telegram desktop from correctly fetching images from the Telegram servers.
Clearing this local data forces Telegram desktop to start fresh. Go to Settings > Advanced > Data and Storage. “Click Manage Local Storage”
Click on the “Clear” button next to “Media Cache” to wipe corrupt Telegram data.
With local data deleted, all your Telegram chats and data will remain intact. Only temporary files are removed.
Try saving an image from any chat window again. If corrupted caches were the issue stopping downloads, clearing them should resolve it.
9. Check Available Storage Space on Your Computer
If your computer’s storage is completely full, Telegram desktop can struggle to successfully save any images or media to disk. Always maintain at least 15%+ free space.
In Windows, click the Windows key and type ‘storage settings’ then select the Storage Settings result. This shows total drive space vs free space.
Make extra room by deleting old unwanted files from your Downloads, Documents and Pictures folders. Uninstall unused programs freeing up space on Program Files.
With enough disk space freed up, Telegram can download without storage constraints blocking it.
10. Disable Background Restrictions on Telegram
To reduce battery drain or data usage, operating systems often restrict apps running background tasks or using the internet in the background.
But this can inadvertently break critical functions like downloading images.
On Windows 10, search for ‘background apps’ in the taskbar search box and select Background apps.
Make sure Telegram desktop has background activity permissions enabled here and isn’t restricted.
Similarly, check any battery optimization or data saving tools. Add Telegram to allowed apps so its background image saving ability isn’t limited.
11. Turn Off Battery Optimization Impacting Telegram
Android, iOS and Windows 10 include battery optimization and battery saver tools for improving device runtimes. But they can also disrupt downloads by limiting Telegram desktop background activity to save power.
On Windows 10, search for ‘battery saver settings’ then select Battery Saver Settings. Make sure Battery Saver isn’t automatically turning on.
You can also add Telegram desktop to theBattery optimization exempt apps list if needed. This prevents Windows from ever restricting it when running on battery power.
On Android devices, go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > Special App Access > Battery Optimization. Tap Telegram and select Don’t Optimize to exempt it from battery saving restrictions.
Disabling these battery focused limitations ensures Telegram desktop can freely download images worry-free.
12. Fully Reinstall the Telegram Desktop App
Despite trying the usual troubleshooting steps, some will find their “can’t download images” Telegram desktop problem persists without explanation. This indicates an underlying app fault.
When core files, processes or hooks in Telegram desktop get corrupted, broken image saving can happen permanently in some chats. Often a full reinstallation is required to fix it in these situations.
First fully uninstall Telegram desktop through Windows Settings or your usual software removal process. Delete all associated Telegram app folders and files too.
Next head to the official telegram.org downloads page and grab the latest Telegram desktop installer.
Finish by cleanly reinstalling Telegram desktop. Run setup like normal. When opened again after the reinstall, downloading images should work successfully again.
A clean slate with a fresh Telegram desktop install avoids importing old corrupted files that may be causing the stuck downloads issue.
13. Test Telegram Web Version
To help diagnose if the downloading problem is isolated to your Telegram desktop application specifically, test the Telegram web version to compare.
Open any web browser and head to web.telegram.org. Login with your existing Telegram credentials exactly the same.
Attempt to save the same images that won’t download inside the desktop Telegram app version when receiving them here.
If Telegram web successfully saves them each time, it indicates something corrupted in your local Telegram desktop install causing it exclusively. Sticking with web access is one temporary workaround.
But for a proper long term fix, follow the reinstallation steps above to ultimately resolve the desktop specific issue.
14. Contact Telegram Support
After exhausting all typical troubleshooting solutions, reach out to the Telegram support team directly for additional assistance fixing your persistent image downloading problem.
In Telegram desktop itself, go to Settings > Ask a Question.
Detail when Telegram desktop downloading started failing and what fixes you’ve attempted already. Provide screenshots of any error messages shown too.
This gives Telegram support all the context needed to investigate why your desktop app specifically has stopped saving images successfully.
The Telegram team can offer personalized troubleshooting advice tailored to your unique situation. They may request log files from you to inspect for odd activity breaking downloads behind the scenes.
Stick with it until Telegram support can get your desktop image downloads functioning normally again.
Conclusion
It’s super frustrating when the Telegram desktop inexplicably stops saving images. But hopefully, with this comprehensive troubleshooting guide, you’ve now restored full image downloading capability.
Saving and sharing pics or videos is a huge part of the Telegram experience. By methodically trying each fix above, you should get downloads working once more.
The next step is understanding what caused the issue originally. Review your system logs and keep an eye out for patterns. If problems reappear, contact Telegram support to investigate for you. They can issue permanent solutions for recurring download failures happening without clear reason.
