Have you ever recorded and posted what seemed like a perfectly framed TikTok video, only to view it later and discover an unwelcome zoomed-in framing? This frustrating experience is more common than you may think on the popular short-form video platform.
The good news is there are several troubleshooting techniques you can try to resolve TikTok zoom issues both before and after posting.
In this post, we’ll explore why TikTok videos may zoom in unexpectedly as well as actionable solutions to fix them.
Why TikTok Videos Get Zoomed In After Posting
Before diving into the step-by-step troubleshooting, it’s helpful to understand potential reasons a TikTok video can wrongfully zoom in when posted:
Buggy App Issues
Like any app, TikTok can suffer glitches from time to time. An outdated version or temporary software hiccup during the upload process may ultimately manifest as an unpredictably zoomed recording.
Updating the app and restarting your phone can alleviate many minor bugs causing zoom problems.
Camera Default Settings
Depending on your smartphone camera settings, your device may automatically zoom in on subjects in the frame. While helpful in some recording scenarios, this auto-zoom can unintentionally throw off framing in TikTok.
Video Resolution Differences
Subtle differences in video resolution from your phone’s camera settings versus TikTok’s expected formatting can also lead to unexpected zooming issues. Tweaking your phone’s video resolution may avoid this problem.
User Error
In some cases, minor user error before posting is the culprit behind a zoomed-in TikTok video. Accidentally selecting the wrong zoom level in the preview or inadequate framing during the initial recording can easily cause frustrations later.
Thankfully, catching these mistakes early or re-recording entirely solves most user error issues.
How to Fix TikTok Video Zoomed In After Posting
Now that you know why TikTok recording and uploads don’t always go as planned, let’s explore step-by-step solutions to eliminate unwanted zooming and framing problems in your videos.
1. Check Video Preview Before Posting
The best time to catch an accidentally zoomed-in TikTok video is right before you share it with the world. Before tapping the “Post” button, carefully review your content in the preview window first.
Check the framing, check edges of the shot for any unwanted close-ups, and ensure all subjects are a desired distance from the camera. If everything checks out, then congratulations – you have a properly framed video ready for posting!
However, if you do spot errant zooming in the preview, all is not lost. On Android devices, tap the scissors icon to access editing tools. On iOS, navigate to “Edit Video” from the preview window.
Here you can adjust the zoom slider until your subjects are correctly framed in the shot. Compare to your original filming footage if needed to match the intended composition.
Once zoomed out to your desired framing, review the adjusted preview once more. Verify the zoom fix corrected the issues and your video flows as originally intended. With the ideal framing complete, you can now confidently hit “Post” knowing your TikTok viewers will see a properly composed shot instead of a zoomed mishap.
2. Restart the TikTok App
If you already posted your TikTok video before noticing some inexplicable zooming, don’t panic. A quick and easy troubleshooting tactic is closing and restarting the TikTok app on your device.
App glitches can sometimes be the culprit behind unusual formatting issues like unintended zoom. When closed entirely, the TikTok app resets, clearing out any problematic caches causing confusion.
To restart the app on iOS:
- Double tap the Home button to view open apps
- Locate TikTok app and swipe up to close
- Tap TikTok app icon to relaunch fresh instance
To restart TikTok on Android devices:
- Tap Recent Apps button to view open apps
- Locate TikTok in app carousel and swipe left or right to dismiss
- Tap TikTok app icon on Home screen to restart
Once done, pull up the posted video in question. Does it still exhibit that unwelcome zoomed framing? Or did the app restart clear the gremlins allowing proper formatting?
If the latter, congratulations again! With this simple trick, you resolved the bothersome zoom issue. No further troubleshooting steps required.
However, if your TikTok video remains stubbornly zoomed despite an app restart, read on for additional solutions to finally correct the problem.
3. Update Your TikTok App
Besides transient app glitches, an outdated TikTok version can also introduce video recording and uploading quirks like inexplicable zooming. To rule out a buggy, old application as the culprit, ensure yours is updated to the latest release.
On Android gadgets:
- Navigate to the Google Play Store
- Tap profile icon to access your apps & games
- Scroll to the TikTok listing and tap
- If an Update button displays, tap it to download most recent version
- If no update available, your app is already current.
To update TikTok on an iPhone or iPad:
- Navigate to the App Store
- Tap profile icon in upper right corner
- Scroll down to view apps needing updates and releases
- Locate TikTok in listings
- If an Update button displays beside it, tap to install revised version.
- If Open or cloud icon instead, no updates currently available.
Once updated – or verified already current – reopen TikTok and examine your posted video again. Did the fresh app fix the zoom anomaly? If not, and the video still looks incorrectly magnified, a buggy app is likely not to blame.
While frustrating, this does help narrow down the culprit. Move to the next troubleshooting steps to continue investigating odd zooming occurrences in posted TikTok videos.
4. Re-Record Your TikTok Video
If you posted an accidental zoomed-in video on TikTok, sometimes the easiest fix is simply re-recording the footage properly. Rather than digitally adjusting after the fact, create a brand new video with ideal framing right from the initial shoot.
When filming your replacement TikTok, pay extra close attention to your device’s zoom levels. Verify it does not automatically magnify or track focus on subjects. You can also enable your smartphone’s camera gridlines to precisely frame up edges and centerpoints before recording.
With your phone camera grid as a guide, adjust subjects in the frame until satisfactorily composed. The grid divides footage into even squares, making it easy to centralized individuals and elements.
Once ready to film, double check the shot for any signs of zooming once more. Maintain this ideal framing as you record your replacement TikTok video. The clean footage should now upload without any unexpectedly magnified areas.
However, don’t immediately post this attempt either. Thoroughly examine the new video in the TikTok preview first, scrutinizing the zoom. Make any final tweaks before publishing.
Only if completely zoom-free in the preview should you share this video. With pristine, purposefully composed recording footage eliminating auto zooming, you can feel confident the posted version looks fantastic!
5. Edit Published TikTok Within 3 Days
Recently TikTok introduced a super helpful editing feature for already-posted videos. Previously adjustments post-upload were impossible on the platform. But now TikTok permits editing in a limited window – within the first 3 days after publishing your video.
If you catch a worrying zoom issue shortly after posting your TikTok video, strike while the iron is hot. Hop into editing while your upload still qualifies.
Access your drafts folder labeled “Posted” by tapping the + icon as if to create a new video. Instead select “Drafts” in the popup menu, then tap “Posted” to view your recent uploads eligible for editing.
Select the problematically zoomed piece, then navigate into TikTok’s video editing screen. Utilize the helpful zoom slider to adjust magnification down to appropriate scale. Ensure subjects are correctly framed before saving changes.
This zoom fix will automatically override the errant original on your TikTok profile. Furthermore, because you edited within 72 hours of posting, the revised version also supplants any shares, keeps, or downloads from followers.
So with one easy edit, you simultaneously replaced the blooper on your profile and in circulation – correcting all instances of the accidentally zoomed video cleanly and completely. Nice work!
Just be sure to act fast whenever possible. If caught too late, this TikTok video edit window permanently closes. But review your recent posts regularly, and the feature offers a hugely helpful way to fix minor but irritating issues like unintended zooming.
6. Download, Edit & Re-Upload Video
If previous troubleshooting steps fail to reduce zoom, or you notice issues outside the 72 editing window, there is still hope. You can manually download the TikTok video file, adjust zoom in a third party editing program, and reupload the fixed version in its place.
While more effort than a simple in-app edit, downloading and re-uploading gives you unlimited time to correct zoom problems. This approach works even months or years later if you suddenly notice old videos exhibiting formatting quirks!
Follow these steps:
- Download the problematically zoomed video from TikTok either on mobile or desktop. Video downloads are enabled from the Share menu.
- Open the video file in your preferred video editing app. We recommend VN Video Editor, PowerDirector, or Adobe Premiere Rush for excellent mobile editing capabilities.
- Utilize the zoom adjustment tools in your chosen editing program to scale back magnification to intended framing. Other helpful fixes include adjusting crop, adding letter or pillar boxes, and tweaking output resolution.
- Export your downsized video from the editor app. Ensure output resolution matches TikTok’s expected 1280×720 dimension ratio for proper splicing.
- Return to TikTok to delete the originally published piece exhibiting zoom issues from your profile. This prevents duplicate versions appearing.
- Finally, upload your expertly re-formatted, properly zoomed edited video to your TikTok feed as you normally would a new video post.
While more complex than a routine TikTok upload, working externally gives you unlimited editing windows, tools, and precision to permanently resolve stubborn zooming dilemmas. Rely on masterful video editing apps to craft a tailored fix for your unique zoom situation.
And moving forward, leverage preventative best practices covered earlier to record desktop-worthy TikToks the first time!
7. Clear TikTok App Cache
As discussed previously, gremlins in the TikTok app itself occasionally manifest as quirky video artifacts like unintended zoom. If updates and restarts haven’t sufficiently exorcised these glitches, clearing cached data might banish any remaining hiccups.
Over time, apps accumulate temporary usage files in a storage clearing called the “cache.” While helpful for reducing strain on your phone’s CPU and RAM, cache data can sometimes become bloated or corrupted.
When this happens, funky app behavior including video encoding errors can occur. Clearing this temporary cache gives apps like TikTok a fresh start, eliminating any problematic remnants.
On Android gadgets:
- Access your device Settings then navigate to Apps > TikTok > Storage
- Tap Clear Cache button to safely delete temporary usage files.
- Open TikTok app again to build a fresh cache improving video reliability.
For iPhones and iPads:
- Launch the Settings application
- Scroll down and tap General > iPhone Storage
- Search listings until you locate TikTok’s entry
- Tap app title to access management options
- Select Offload App to safely clear app cache
- Relaunch TikTok from your Home screen to start anew.
With this refresh, TikTok rebuilds necessary caches required for smooth operation, while ditching any troublesome remnants possibly causing video zoom defects.
Review your posts again after clearing caches to hopefully view properly framed recordings once and for all.
8. Adjust Camera App Settings
Rather than an issue with TikTok itself, unintended zooming when recording videos for the app could originate from your smartphone’s camera defaults.
Many native camera apps boast sophisticated options for tracking movement, auto-centering on faces, maintaining consistent exposure, and yes – even automatically zooming in on subjects.
While amazing technology when appropriately applied, auto-zoom and active tracking can throw off intended compositions for more casual videos like TikTok posts.
Diving into your particular phone model’s camera settings menu allows tailoring its behavior to best suit TikTok filming needs. Here are some helpful adjustments if encountering excessive zoom:
Disable Auto Zoom
Turn off any intelligence video zoom, zoom tracking, or auto-centering on subjects. These can react too strongly panning and adjusting mid-shot.
Reset Auto Focus
Ensure auto focus doesn’t inadvertently magnify on subjects based on algorithms. Use Fixed or Macro modes instead for consistent sharpness without digital zoom.
Disable Face Focus
Similarly, switch off face detection and prioritization features which often auto zoom to highlight discerned faces.
Lock Exposure
Prevent brightness tracking from subtly zooming to maintain consistent lighting readings.
With your smartphone camera tailored to manual settings only, Zoom More mindfully using physical controls while filming TikToks. This better prevents unexpected jump cuts or illustrations mid-video from overly enthusiastic device AI.
9. Adjust Video Resolution
Besides overeager camera software inadvertently throwing shots out of whack, another more subtle technical culprit could be conflicting video resolutions.
Specifically the sensor and formatting settings deep within your smartphone’s camera options versus TikTok’s expected defaults during upload.
When slight mismatches occur, the app attempts to normalize footage to fit mandatory dimensions. However compression and processing required in this conversion can manifest as apparent zooming or fishbowling.
Thankfully, manually matching your device’s video resolution and aspect ratio to TikTok’s eliminates this potential formatting hiccup. For proper splicing, TikTok necessitates:
Dimensions: 1280 x 720 pixels
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
File Type: .MP4 or .MOV
Frames Per Second: 30 or 60
Check your phone’s current video settings by opening its Camera app, tapping the gear icon to access Settings, and navigating to the Video section. Note resolutions listed which likely differ somewhat from TikTok’s mandatory specifications above.
Now explore available options to tweak associated output dimensions and quality to better match. For example, choosing 720P HD or Full HD 1080P resolutions will deliver videos scaled to render correctly on TikTok without artifacting side effects like zoom.
With your device emitting properly sized video dimensions natively, file uploads will seamlessly fit TikTok parameters without the need for potentially problematic post-processing and compression. Say goodbye to bizarre zoom and hello to perfectly optimized shoots!
10. Uninstall and Reinstall App
After exhausting all preceding troubleshooting tips, a final Hail Mary tactic remains: fully removing and reinstalling TikTok wholesale.
While an undertaking, this scorched earth procedure eliminates any possibility of lingering corrupted data or caching issues within TikTok that could cause video encoding glitches.
When you built the foundations anew by installing a fresh TikTok instance, all previous settings are erased including any latent software gremlins which could prompt problems like unintended zooming upon video uploads.
11. Avoid Zooming While Filming
Often the simplest solution is the best when dealing with a problem. In the case of accidentally zoomed TikTok videos, not using device zoom capabilities at all during initial filming prevents the issue cleanly from the start.
Many smartphones and apps allow pinch-zooming footage by digitally cropping and enlarging the image. However, this alters framing in ways that can throw off final viewed compositions once uploaded.
When recording raw footage destined for TikTok, make sure to disable any digital zoom features in your phone’s camera app settings. Likewise, refrain from physically pinch-zooming with your fingers mid-capture.
Instead lock down angle and perspective, use your feet to adjust subject distance from the camera lens, and maintain this fixed framing throughout filming. The resulting zoom-free capture should cleanly upload to TikTok sans sudden shifts in magnification messing with viewer experience.
12. Use TikTok’s Built-In Editing Before Posting
Rather than digitally zooming raw footage during filming, TikTok provides in-app editing tools to tweak framing after capture instead. Access these by tapping “Edit Video” during examination of new recordings.
Options like “Fit to Frame” auto-center and crop shots without zooming to fill the canvas cleanly. Additional selections including “Zoom” and “Pan” give manual control over adjusting what areas of your video fill the frame.
With these customizations, fix slight framing quirks that inadvertently concentrate on unimportant elements without actively zooming anything. The resulting smoothed out, beautifully composed recordings are now ready to hit audiences’ For You pages without fear of excess magnification.
So explore TikTok’s built-in editing suite before uploads rather than relying on camera zoom during filming to adjust shots. Maintain original footage integrity while improving compositions where needed to share fantastic creations.
13. Double Check Video Aspect Ratio
Besides manually zooming footage itself, mismatches between your video’s intrinsic dimensions and TikTok’s expected aspect ratios can also generate unintended zooming when uploaded to the platform.
If your raw mobile footage doesn’t match required specifications, TikTok automatically crops and consolidates to fit. But this behind-the-scenes tinkering leads to seemingly zoomed videos playing back.
Avoid this by intentionally matching your camera app’s aspect ratio output setting (e.g., 9:16 or 16:9 etc.) to the 1:1 dimensionings TikTok’s algorithmic processes prefer. This keeps videos optimized for the platform from the start.
Double check camera app video settings on your iPhone, Android or other devices and manually select the option which outputs closest to a 1:1 ratio for proper TikTok alignment. Simplify uploads by pre-configuring framing fitting dimensions natively in capture.
14. Utilize Third-Party Editing Tools
For maximum control over adjusting zoomed footage, specialized video editing mobile apps provide advanced tuning options not possible within TikTok. Leverage these professional tools to tweak clips before ever uploading to the platform.
Apps to download include Adobe Premiere Rush for precise multi-track editing capabilities on iOS or Android plus desktop convenience, and KineMaster offering deep video customization features across devices.
Dial in perfect custom zoom levels, manually pan shots with greater freedom, layer in image stabilization, leverage keyframing for dynamic movements – whatever needed to creatively adjust your footage’s framing and composition. Once edited to perfection externally, output to device camera roll then upload to TikTok.
The process requires slightly more effort than TikTok’s built-in tools. However third party mobile editors offer unparalleled control for fully customizing your video zoom, eliminating unintended magnification, and owning end results.
In some cases, issues with TikTok zooming may stem specifically from photos rather than videos. To troubleshoot image magnification issues on the platform, check out this in-depth post on how to stop TikTok from zooming in on photos.
With tailored solutions, you can prevent unwanted cropping and framing problems when uploading images to the popular social app.
