Instagram Stories Not Loading? A Troubleshooting Guide

Can't see what's going on in someone's life? Here's how you fix that.

Stories make up a huge part of the Instagram experience—over 500 million people use them daily. So if your Instagram Stories aren't loading, it can be a real bummer. If you're having trouble loading Instagram Stories, here's a troubleshooting guide to help you get your Stories back up and running.

1. Check Your Internet Connection

The first thing you should do if your Instagram Stories are not loading is to check your internet connection. If you're on a cellular data connection, try turning on Wi-Fi and see if that helps.

If this doesn't work, try opening a different app that requires an internet connection—like YouTube or Safari—and see if it loads properly. If it doesn't, the problem is most likely with your internet connection and not with Instagram.

2. Restart Your Device

If restarting your router didn't work, the next step is to restart your device. This can often fix minor software glitches that might cause problems with Instagram.

3. Check if There's a General Instagram Glitch, Again

Sometimes, the reason your Instagram Stories aren't loading is that there's a general glitch with the app, which unfortunately seems to happen more frequently lately.

If you think this might be the case, go to DownDetector.com and search for "Instagram." Here, you will see if there are any reports of an Instagram outage in your area.

Better yet, you can check Twitter to see if there are any reports of Instagram being down. Just search "Instagram down" or the hashtag "#InstagramDown" and see what comes up.

4. Force Close and Restart Instagram on Your iPhone or Android Phone

If Instagram is up and running, but your Stories still aren't loading, the next thing to try is force closing and restarting the app. This process will vary depending on what device you're using.

On Android, you can do this by going to your Settings > Apps. Find Instagram on the list and tap on it. Then, tap on Force stop.

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On iOS, you can force close an app by swiping up from the bottom of your screen and holding your finger on the app for a few seconds. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. Once you've done that, try loading your Stories again and see if they work.

5. Log Out and Back Into Instagram

Another thing you can try is logging out of your account and then logging back in. To do this, go to your profile page, tap the hamburger icon, and select Settings. From there, scroll down and tap Log out.

Once you've logged out, close the Instagram app, reopen it, and log back in with your username and password.

6. Clear the Instagram App's Cache

If you're still having trouble loading Instagram Stories, the next thing to try is clearing the app's cache. This will remove any temporary data stored on your device, which could be causing the problem.

To clear Instagram cache, go to your phone's Settings and tap Apps. From there, find Instagram in the list of apps and tap it. On the next screen, tap Storage and then Clear Cache. Once you've done that, try loading your Stories again and see if they work.

7. Update or Reinstall the Instagram App

If none of the above solutions work, the next thing you can try is updating or reinstalling the Instagram app. Bugs and other technical issues can usually be fixed by simply updating the app to the latest version.

To update Instagram, go to the App Store (on iPhone) or the Play Store (on Android) and check to see if there are any updates available. If so, update the app and then try loading your Stories again.

If you're already on the latest version and your Stories still aren't loading, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app.

8. Contact Instagram Support

A final thing you can try if your Instagram Stories are still not loading is to contact Instagram support. You can do that right within the app by going to your profile page and tapping the hamburger icon. From there, tap Settings > Help > Report a Problem.

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There, you can explain what's wrong, and Instagram will help you troubleshoot the problem.

Instagram Stories Not Working, Fixed

There are several reasons Instagram Stories might not be loading on your device. But, by following the troubleshooting steps in this article, you should be able to fix the problem and get your Stories loading again in no time.