11 Ways to Fix Instagram Reels Not Working
Instagram launched Reels in 2019, and it quickly became the app’s fastest-growing feature worldwide, with nine out of ten users watching Reels every day. But its popularity doesn’t make the feature error-free, and sometimes it stops working.
If you’ve run into problems when uploading or watching Instagram Reels, we’ve listed multiple solutions to help you get Instagram Reels working again.
How to Access and Check for Instagram Reels
First, visit another Instagram account and check if you can watch that account’s reels. If you can do it, you should have the feature as well.
The Instagram Reels icon might’ve escaped your attention. Here’s where you can find Instagram Reels inside the app:
How to See Reels on Instagram’s Browser Version
If you like scrolling Instagram on your browser, you’ll notice that Instagram displays Reels on your feed. If you want to check out more of them, click theReelsbutton in the left-hand menu.
To watch an account’s Instagram Reels, visit that account and select theReelsbutton. This will show you every Reel posted by that account
1. Check If Reels Are Available in Your Country
Before going through the other troubleshooting steps, confirm the feature is available in your country. This way, you don’t try fixing a problem that doesn’t exist.
If you’re not sure the feature is available where you live, you can checkInstagram’s support pagefor a list of countries where Reels ads are supported. Where these ads are supported, Reels are available to users.
Are Instagram Reels Not Available in Your Region?
If Instagram hasn’t yet made the Reels feature available in your region, there’s a trick for you to try.
You could try using a VPN and set your virtual location to a country where Reels are available. If you own an Android device, there are a fewfree VPN services available for Android. Keep in mind that you should connect to the VPN every time you open Instagram if you don’t want Instagram Reels to disappear.
2. Check Your Internet Connection
If you’re able to’t watch Instagram Reels on your phone, there might be a problem with your internet connection, especially if you see the message: “Couldn’t refresh feed”.
You can try to reconnect to the network and check if this fixes the problem. However, if there are a lot of devices sharing the same network, you may be dealing with slow internet speed.
It might be worth it toreset your routerand see if that fixes your connectivity issues.
3. Clear the App’s Cached Data
Modern apps use cached data to ensure a smooth user experience. But if the cached data gets corrupted, it can create all sorts of problems, including Instagram Reels not working.
To get the app’s feature working again, you should manually clear its cache data.
4. Update Instagram to the Latest Version
Using an outdated Instagram version might be the reason why Reels are not working. To update the app to the latest available version, launch the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, search for Instagram, and tap theUpdatebutton.
5. Update Your Device
Another reason why you can’t watch Instagram reels is an outdated OS version. If other apps or features are malfunctioning as well, you should manually revise your phone.
On an Android device, go toSettings > Software update,and tapDownloadand install. Then, choose if you want to update your device now or schedule to update.
To update an iPad or iPhone, head toSettings > Generaland selectSoftware Update.
6. Log Out and Log Back In
If updating the app didn’t make Reels available, logging out and logging back into your Instagram account is another quick fix you can try. Launch Instagram and tap your profile icon from the bottom-right corner. Then, head toSettingsand tapLog Out.
Now, log in with your credentials and check if Instagram Reels are available.
7. Turn Off Instagram’s Data Saver
Instagram has a data saver feature that will stop content from loading in advance. While it may have a positive impact on your data usage, Instagram Reels will take longer to start playing. But if you’ve exceeded your internet data plan, your phone will stop playing Instagram Reels.
If you suspect that the feature is interfering with Reels playback, here is how you can turn off the data saver on Android:
The process is similar for iOS. Tap your profile icon and go toSettings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Options. There, disableLow Data Mode.
8. Switch to Instagram Lite
If you constantly have to clear your phone and Instagram’s cached data, you should switch to Instagram Lite.
Instagram Lite doesn’t take that much space on your phone and uses less mobile data. While there are somedifferences between Instagram and Instagram Lite, you can still watch Reels on the Lite version.
At the time of writing, Instagram Lite is available only for Android phones.
9. Reinstall the Instagram App
If you’ve tried every solution that we’ve listed and still can’t use Instagram Reels, you should reinstall the app—especially if you notice that other features stopped working as well. No matter if you’re using an iOS or Android phone, reinstalling the app should get it back to working as usual.
10. Report the Issue to Instagram
If you still can’t figure out why you can’t watch Reels on Instagram, you should report it to Instagram Support directly.
11. Try The Instagram Beta
If you still can’t watch reels on Instagram Lite, there’s one more version that you could try. On the Instagram Beta, you’ll get early access to upcoming versions, which might fix the issue. At the time of writing, Instagram Beta is available only on the Google Play Store, so it’s available only for Android owners.
Go toInstagram Beta’s pageand apply to become a tester. Then, you should receive an update to the Instagram app.
While installing Instagram Beta might fix the inability to watch Instagram Reels, you should keep in mind the early version might experience bugs or frequent crashes. Unfortunately, you can’t have Instagram and Instagram Beta running simultaneously on the same device.
What to Do If Instagram Reels Sound Isn’t Working
Most of the time, Instagram Reels have no sound because the creator muted the audio, possibly as an artisticway for their Instagram account to stand outor because they prefer to not use sound. If you scroll down to the next Reel, and it has audio, there’s nothing wrong with the app or with your phone.
However, if you notice something unusual, the tips that we’ve mentioned should help you bring Instagram Reels back up and running.
Enjoy Instagram Reels
There are several reasons why Instagram Reels have stopped working and sometimes, there’s nothing you can do, except be patient.
But the problem is limited to your device, the above tips should help you fix the issue. If you plan on going viral with your own Instagram Reels, make sure you stay consistent and engage with your audience. Also, there are a few apps that will help you stand out within the Instagram feed.
Being a content creator on Instagram is a lot of hard work. Fortunately, there are several apps you can use to make things easier.
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