Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. In fact, it has been reported that it has over 1 billion active users.
If you’re having trouble sending or receiving messages on Instagram, you’re not alone. Many users are reporting that Instagram DMs are not working for them.
It’s quite annoying when you want to send someone a message on Insta, and it either doesn’t send or doesn’t come through properly.
The good news is that this issue can be fixed very easily. Read on to find out what’s causing it and how to solve it!
Why are Instagram DMs Not Working? Reasons.
There could be a few reasons why your Instagram DMs are not working. The photo-sharing app is currently down for many users, with widespread reports of outages across the globe.
Yes! the site is experiencing technical difficulties, the cause of this issue is unclear, but it appears to be affecting users worldwide. Users report that they are unable to use the app properly, or send messages.
The problem wasn’t only in the United States but also in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico.
However, a Meta spokesperson clarified that there was a technical issue with Instagram DMs that has been fixed.
If still, you are having problems using DMs on Insta, you should first verify whether or not it is experiencing an outage in your specific area or technical problems, you can do so by visiting DownDetector.
If the site shows that Instagram is down, there’s nothing you can do but wait for the issue to be resolved.
If Insta is not down and you are still experiencing the same issue, it could be caused by one of the following factors:
- One of the reasons may be your internet connection is slow or poor.
- Another reason could be that either there is something wrong with the Instagram message settings of the person you’re trying to message or vice-versa.
- Additionally, it’s possible that you’ve been blocked by the person you’re trying to message.
However, if the photo-sharing app is up and running, it’s more likely that a technical problem is occurring at your end; there are a few things you can try.
Fix1# Restart your device!
If you’re having trouble with Instagram Direct Messages not working, the first thing you should try is restarting your device. This can often fix small software glitches that may be causing the issue.
To do this, simply power off your device and wait a minute or two before turning it back on again.
Once it’s turned back on, try opening the app and see if DMs are working as normal. If they’re still not working, move on to the next troubleshooting step.
Fix2 # Force-close Instagram and other active apps:
Instagram DMs may not work if the app is open for a long time. Force-close your app. This has worked for several users. Apps running in the background, like text messaging or email, can use up a lot of your phone’s processing power.
It’s also possible that one of the buggy apps running in the background is interfering with Instagram’s operation.
Forcing these apps to quit can free up some of your phone’s resources and avoid the risks associated with one of the problematic apps, allowing Insta to work properly.
Here’s how to force close;
- Tap on the Home button twice to see all active apps.
- You can then swipe up on Insta and close it immediately,
- Similarly, you can close all other apps one by one running in the background.
- Open the app again and check if the DMs are working.
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Fix3# Check internet connection:
If you’re still having trouble sending or receiving Instagram DMs, the next thing you should try is to check your internet connection.
If you’re on a mobile device, try restarting your cellular data or switching to a different network.
If you’re on Wi-Fi, try restarting your router or modem. If that doesn’t work, try disabling any firewall or security software that might be blocking Instagram.
Fix4# Log out and log back in:
One of the important things you can try if your Instagram DMs are not working is to log out of the app and then log back in.
This often fixes small bugs or glitches that may be causing the issue.
- To do this, simply go to your profile picture at the bottom right corner.
- Tap Settings in the top right.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Log out.
- Once you’ve logged out, restart the app, then log back in with your username and password.
Fix5# Clear app caches:
DMs may not be working due to corrupted cached data in the app. To fix this, you can clear the app caches on your device. This will force the app to reload fresh data from the server. Here’s how to do so:
On iOS:
- Launch Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down to the bottom to click iPhone Storage.
- Choose Instagram.
- Tap on OFFLOAD Cache or Cached Data.
- Confirm the action when prompted.
On Android:
- Launch Settings.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Internal Storage below the Device Storage option.
- Tap Cached data.
- Tap OK to clear caches.
Fix6# Update app:
Make sure you’re using the most recent version of the app. To do this, open the App Store on your iOS device and tap Updates.
If there is an update available for Instagram, tap Update. Sometimes updates can fix certain glitches that might have been present in previous versions of the app.
Fix7# Delete and reinstall app:
If the issue still persists, deleting and reinstalling a program usually helps when it has a bug or if it’s been acting up for a while.
The way deletion works are that when you delete an app from your phone, all of the data stored on that phone is deleted as well.
So when you reinstall an app, there’s nothing stored on your phone to keep old files from reappearing. That means if there was something wrong with how Instagram was acting before, then deleting and installing should make everything work as intended!
So, to fix the issue, the next thing you should try is deleting and reinstalling the app. These actions often help address the problem at its source.
To do this, simply go to your app store and delete Instagram. Then, re-download it and log back in. This should fix the problem!
Fix8# Try disabling the ad-blocker:
If you’re using an ad blocker or similar extension, it may be interfering with Instagram’s ability to load DM messages.
To fix the problem, try disabling the extension, or ad-blocker feature, then reloading Instagram in your app or website. We all know that ads can sometimes slow down the loading time of a website.
How to disable extensions:
- Go to iOS settings.
- Tap Safari.
- Tap extensions.
- Tap the toggle on the extension to turn it off.
How to disable content blockers;
- Open Settings on iPhone.
- Select Safari.
- Tap General.
- Select Content Blockers.
- Turn off the ad blocker by sliding the toggle.
Fix9# Sync time and date settings:
If your phone is displaying the wrong time, you might have some problems with Instagram. For example, when someone sends you a DM, it might show up as sent on the wrong day or hour.
To fix this issue, open Settings > General > Date & Time. Now make sure that your device’s clock and date are set correctly.
Fix10# Enable location services:
Some Instagram users may be encountering an error message while trying to send a DM, as they might have their Location Services disabled. The app is not able to determine your exact location and, as a result, may generate this error message.
To fix this issue, open your device settings, scroll down and tap on Location Services or Location.
Next, find Insta and make sure that it is enabled and you are granting access.
Fix11# Report a problem to the Help center:
If you’re still having trouble sending or receiving messages on Instagram, you can report the problem to the Help Center. To do this;
- Open the app and tap the three lines in the top-right corner.
- Then, scroll down and tap Help, then Report a Problem. On the next screen, you can write to explain your problem to Insta.
- Be sure to include as much detail as possible so that Instagram can help you fix the issue.
Fix12# Instagram DMs are not showing up? Here is how to fix?
You’re not alone if you’re wondering why your Instagram DMs aren’t showing. Many users have reported the same issue.
There are a few possible reasons for this, but luckily, there are also a few solutions.
One reason Instagram DMs aren’t showing is that the person you’re attempting to message has made it essential via settings to message anyone who follows him or her.
To message someone on Insta, you must first follow them.
As a next solution, you can try messaging your friend through his or her profile instead of their DMs. This has worked for many. To do so, follow the steps given below:
- Search the name of your friend in the search bar.
- Access his profile.
- Tap Message and write text to send.
- Now you go back to your direct messages to see if the sent text shows in DMs.
Conclusion:
Hopefully, one of these solutions will fix the problem so you can get back to messaging your friends on Insta! If you have tried all the methods above with no success or are experiencing a different issue altogether, you may want to try contacting Instagram.
The bottom line is that there are several ways to fix this issue, but if they don’t work, contact their help center, and they’ll take care of it from there.
Please comment to us in the comment section below if you’ve had any trouble following our instructions or have found another solution! We would love to hear your experiences and respond to your query as soon as possible.
