Have you noticed that the cover text is not showing up on your TikTok videos? This text usually appears at the bottom of the video thumbnail and gives viewers a preview of what the video is about.
If your TikTok cover text has stopped working, don’t worry – here are some troubleshooting tips to help fix it.
Why Your TikTok Cover Text May Not Be Showing
There are a few reasons why your cover text may not be displaying properly on your TikTok videos:
Character Limit
TikTok only allows up to 100 characters in the cover text field. If you’ve written more than that, the extra text will simply be cut off and not shown. Double check that your cover text is 100 characters or less.
Using Emojis or Special Characters
While emojis and special characters are supported in TikTok video titles, they cannot be used in cover text. Stick to regular letters, numbers, punctuation, and spaces only.
Text Placement Setting
TikTok has a setting that allows you to choose whether cover text appears at the top or bottom of the video thumbnail. If your text is not showing, make sure this placement toggle is actually turned on and not set to “None.”
Uploading from Camera Roll
If you uploaded a pre-recorded video from your camera roll instead of recording directly in the app, the cover text may not save properly. Try recording directly in TikTok next time.
App Issues
Like any app, TikTok can have intermittent technical issues that affect certain features. If your cover text won’t show up even after troubleshooting other causes, it may be a temporary app problem on TikTok’s end.
How to Fix TikTok Cover Text Not Working or Showing
If your TikTok cover text is not appearing, try these troubleshooting fixes:
1. Remove Emojis and Special Characters
While you can use emojis and special characters in TikTok video titles, cover text supports only basic letters, numbers, punctuation, and spaces:
- Open your cover text
- Check for any emojis or special characters, like: ® © $ # @ % ^ & *
- Delete any emojis or non-standard characters
- Save the text again without emojis/special characters
Sometimes an emoji or odd character can cause issues displaying cover text properly. Stripping them out often fixes the issue.
2. Confirm Text Placement Is Turned On
TikTok allows you to choose whether cover text appears at the top or bottom of the video thumbnail – or not show at all. Verify this placement toggle is actually enabled:
- Go to your TikTok profile
- Tap the 3-dot “Settings and privacy” menu
- Choose “Settings”
- Tap “Upload default settings”
- Check that “Text position” is set to Top or Bottom (not None)
If cover text placement is disabled here but you still add text, it simply won’t be shown on your video thumbnails. Turn this placement setting back on.
3. Record Directly in the TikTok App
Uploading prerecorded videos from your camera roll can sometimes cause issues with cover text saving properly. Try recording your next video directly in the TikTok app instead:
- Tap the “+” icon to start a new TikTok
- Select “Record video” instead of uploading from camera roll
- Record your video clip within TikTok
- Add cover text as usual
Recording videos directly in the TikTok app eliminates any upload issues that could interfere with cover text saving correctly on the thumbnail.
4. Update the TikTok App
Like any app, TikTok releases periodic bug fixes and performance improvements with app updates. If cover text still isn’t working after trying the above steps, updating TikTok to the latest version may help resolve any lingering issues:
- Go to the App Store on your iPhone or Play Store on Android
- Search for “TikTok”
- Check if there are any pending TikTok app updates
- Update TikTok to the latest available version
- Restart the app and try adding cover text again
Installing the most up-to-date TikTok app will ensure you have the latest code enhancements and stability improvements, which often resolve annoying text bugs.
5. Log Out and Back Into TikTok
If all else fails, try fully logging out of your TikTok account and logging back in. This essentially “resets” the app and will load a fresh copy of your profile data:
- Open TikTok and tap the “Me” tab
- Tap the 3-dot menu in the upper-right
- Choose “Log out” to sign out of your account
- Close and re-launch the TikTok app
- Log back into your account
- Try adding cover text again
Logging out and back in forces TikTok to reload your profile information. After signing back in, cover text issues sometimes resolve themselves.
6. Force Close and Reopen the App
Sometimes simply closing and reopening the TikTok app is enough to reset things and get cover text working again.
- Completely close TikTok (swipe it away from recent apps)
- Reopen TikTok
- Try adding cover text again
Force closing the app gives it a fresh start which can dislodge stuck text issues.
7. Delete and Reinstall TikTok
If cover text problems persist, try fully deleting and reinstalling TikTok on your device. This wipes the cache and locally stored data.
- Uninstall or Delete the TikTok app
- Redownload TikTok from app store
- Log back into your account
- Attempt to add cover text
A clean reinstall often irons out quirky issues like uncooperative cover text.
8. Try Alternate Devices
See if cover text works properly by logging into your TikTok account on alternate devices:
- Install TikTok on another phone or tablet
- Log into your account on the second device
- Attempt to add cover text on that device
If text works fine on the other device, an issue with your original device could be the culprit.
9. Leverage TikTok Text Features
As a workaround, try using TikTok titling features if the cover text remains problematic:
- Add main details in the video caption
- Use the longer 100-character title for context
- Include #hashtags for discovery
While not exact cover text replacements, these alternative text elements can supplement your videos.
10. Contact TikTok Support
If no fixes resolve your cover text issues, reach out to TikTok support:
- Open TikTok > Me > Settings > Report a Problem
- Request help with missing cover text
- Provide details on troubleshooting attempts
- Include your device type and TikTok version
TikTok can investigate issues on their end and provide specialized support advice tailored to your stuck cover text.
Hopefully, these extra troubleshooting tips help! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Preventing TikTok Cover Text Problems
Once you get your cover text working again in TikTok, follow these tips to help avoid issues in the future:
- Always record videos directly in TikTok instead of uploading from camera roll
- Keep cover text under 100 characters – TikTok does not allow more!
- Avoid emojis and special characters in your cover text
- Double check text placement is enabled in your default upload settings
- Update TikTok regularly to get enhancements and bug fixes
Following these best practices will help ensure your TikTok cover text keeps working properly in the future.
Most of the above troubleshooting will also enable you to fix issues with TikTok cover photo not working.
Get Your TikTok Cover Text Working Again
These detailed troubleshooting tips should help you get your TikTok cover text to show correctly again. Just remember to stick to plain text, check your settings, record directly in the app, and update TikTok regularly.
If you follow this advice but still can’t get your TikTok cover text working, it may require contacting TikTok support or waiting patiently for an app update to resolve your specific issue.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
