If your Instagram feed is not updating, then you are in the right place. In this article, we will address one of the common issues on the social network – the absence of updates in the news feed. We will describe a special scheme on how to fix such malfunctions and examine the reasons why this is happening to your profile.
What is Instagram feed and why is it impossible to refresh it?
So what is the feed in the Instagram app? It’s simple, it’s a regular news feed that you’ve probably seen on many other social networks (VKontakte, Facebook). It displays fresh posts from your subscriptions, and sometimes promotional campaigns from bloggers are also broadcasted.
It happens that you pick up your smartphone, make a habitual movement with your hand, go to the page, open the news, and there you are met with an unpleasant error from Instagram: “Failed to update feed.” And that’s it, you can’t read or like anything.
What are the reasons for this bug? Why now and why you specifically? It’s simple, it could be because of:
- poor internet connection;
- unscheduled technical work;
- server reboot;
- outdated program version;
- smartphone malfunction.
For a better understanding, let’s take a closer look at each of them.
Slow internet speed
Nowadays, having a good mobile plan is rare, but there are still places where there is no network coverage, and therefore Instagram does not update the feed. It doesn’t have to be remote areas, like forests or highways. It could even be a regular apartment building without a tower from the operator whose SIM card you are using.
In addition, the speed decreases because the customer uses up the gigabytes provided by the provider. To restore it, you will have to use “auto-renewal” for an additional fee.
Conducting technical work
The second issue that causes the service to display “failed to update feed” is unscheduled maintenance on the servers. This is quite normal – the developer noticed some internal system bug and decided to deal with it immediately. After all, who needs unhappy complaints from users.
To make sure that it is indeed technical work, you can do the following:
1. Take another smartphone (or tablet) in your hands.
2. Launch the Instagram app and log in to your account.
3. Go to the feed and swipe down to refresh it.
If you still can’t see new posts from your idols, it means that the system is currently being handled by administrators.
Server reboot
Sometimes it’s impossible to refresh your social media feed due to a glitch in the app. It may “block” certain options, causing them to stop working or work with some deviations. It’s impossible to influence this, but it’s possible to help with a quick server reboot by writing to technical support. Here’s how to do it:
1. Launch Instagram and log in to your account.
2. Tap on the “person” icon and go to settings.
3. Select “Help” and click on the “Help Center” tab.
4. Click on the “Report a Problem” option.
5. Briefly describe the error that appeared and attach screenshots.
Outdated version of the application
If the previous reasons do not explain why Instagram stopped working, then perhaps this will suit you. Lag and crashes often occur because the application version on the phone is very outdated. This, in turn, happens when the user turns off “auto-updates” and forgets about the social network in the Market for a long time. It is also quite possible that he simply downloads a certain version from sites and uses it. For example, if he liked it more before the update.
The problem is with the mobile gadget
The last reason for malfunctions on both iPhones and Androids can be an outdated version of the operating system. Instagram simply does not release new features for such “oldies” and often has compatibility issues with such OS.
How to fix the problem with updating Instagram feed
What to do if you can’t update your Instagram feed? It’s simple: find the cause and fix it. If you understand the reasons for errors, let’s now figure out how to solve these problems.
First. If your internet connection is slow, you need to increase the speed. You can do this by:
- Turning off your mobile network.
- Connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
- Remembering the connection.
Note. If you’re working on a personal computer, it’s better to connect directly to an ethernet cable.
Second. If there are technical works being carried out on the servers, you just have to wait. This can be 20 minutes, an hour, or even two. During the wait, calm yourself by knowing that after the intervention of Instagram developers, the app will work three times better.
Third. In case of an app crash, as mentioned above, you need to report the known error to a specialist in the user support service through “Settings”.
Fourth. If you don’t know how to update the communication program to the latest version, follow these steps:
- Take your smartphone and unlock it.
- Go to Google Market or AppStore.
- Swipe left and select the “My games” tab in the menu that appears.
- Scroll down to the “requiring updates” column and find the Instagram app.
- Click on the “Update” button.
- Wait for the procedure to finish.
- Launch the social network and check how the feed works.
Useful to know. Check the “Update automatically” box to avoid doing it manually.
Fifth. If you’re not receiving offers to upgrade your OS version, look for them yourself. You need to:
- Go to your smartphone settings.
- Click on the “About phone” section.
- Tap on “System update”.
- Download the file and agree to install it.
What to do if the problem has not been resolved
If all of the above did not help you, use more “hard” methods.
First (device reboot):
- Press and hold the power button of your phone.
- Confirm the reboot.
Second (reinstallation of the app):
- Go to Google Play and swipe the screen from left to right.
- Open the “My games” section.
- Scroll down and select “Instagram”.
- Click on the “Uninstall” button.
- Wait a few minutes.
- Install the social network again.
If even at this stage everything remains the same, use the third method (contacting a specialist):
- Take screenshots of the error.
- Go to the Instagram program settings (through the “person” icon).
- Tap on “Help” and go to the user support section.
- Describe your question in two sentences and attach photos as evidence.
- Wait for a response.
Within 2-3 days, the operator will send you a response email with instructions on how to fix the problem.
To sum up, if the feed in Instagram is not updating, repeat all the steps from our instruction. Thanks to it, you will again be pleased with interesting publications from your friends.