As a social media marketing consultant with over 10 years experience growing audiences across every major platform, one of the most common frustrations I hear from clients and followers is the dreaded "Instagram story failed to upload" error.
You crafted the perfect on-brand content, edited the visuals, customized the fonts…and then poof – story failed. I‘ve been there myself back when I managed my agency‘s 1 million+ follower Instagram account.
Uploading stories is the creative lifeblood of Instagram engagement. Without the ability to share video posts and ephemeral content, you lose out on connecting with your followers in an authentic way. Plus you put your growth strategy at risk if fans stop checking back for regular updates.
According to Instagram‘s own data in 2020, over 500 million accounts access stories every day. That‘s a massive missed audience if your content won‘t post.
So in this detailed troubleshooting guide, you‘ll learn:
- Why Instagram stories fail to upload
- Expert troubleshooting and fixes to get your content posting again
- Pro tips for optimizing connectivity and speeds for stable uploads
- Real-world examples of solving frustrating story upload errors
Let‘s dive in and get your account‘s stories back on track!
Why Instagram Stories Get Stuck Uploading
Before fixing the problem, it‘s good to understand why Instagram story uploads fail in the first place.
Technical Reasons
On a technical level, any hiccup in the transfer of data from your device to Instagram‘s servers can cause an upload error.
This starts with your device sending a copy of the photo/video through your internet connection. It‘s then uploaded to Instagram‘s content delivery network (CDN) and dispersed across their global data centers.
So in simplified terms, here are typical technical causes of failed Instagram story uploads:
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Poor Internet Connectivity: Slow/unreliable WiFi or cellular data interrupts the data transfer
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Server Overload: Demand exceeds capacity on Instagram‘s content servers
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App Crashes: Software bugs or glitches within the app itself
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Account Restrictions: Post blocks if you violated content policies
You can troubleshoot the first three issues (which are most common). But if Instagram disabled your story sharing ability, you‘ll need to submit an appeal request instead.
Usage Reasons
Beyond the technical aspects, sometimes how you create and post Instagram stories leads to uploading problems.
From my experience managing social accounts and chatting with followers facing issues, the story content types below commonly fail to upload properly:
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Lengthy Videos: Video files over 15 seconds have a higher failure rate
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GIF Stickers: For some reason GIFs crash Android uploads
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Edited Collages: Complex edits with lots of filters/text/layers can cause lags
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Old App Versions: Outdated apps have unpatched bugs
So the first troubleshooting step is examining what type of content you shared and simplifying if needed.
Now let‘s explore fixes and workarounds when Instagram still won‘t let you upload your beautifully-crafted stories!
12 Troubleshooting Fixes for Instagram Stories Not Uploading
The good news is that even long-standing Instagram uploading issues almost always have straightforward tech workarounds. I‘ve used the following solutions successfully for both myself and clients:
Quick Fixes
These fast tweaks should be your first step when stories start failing:
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Delete GIF stickers from the post if on Android. For whatever reason, GIFs tend to break uploads specifically on Android devices.
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Turn Stories into static posts. Instead of ephemeral 24-hour stories, upload your content as an Instagram Feed post or Reel instead. Not ideal but gets your content in front of fans.
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Downsize large/HD videos. Crop longer videos or reduce HD resolutions to streamline file sizes.
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Check for Instagram app updates and install if available. Updates often patch bugs that can interfere with uploads.
Re-Upload Tricks
If quick edits don‘t work, try re-uploading with these tactics:
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Save story as draft then re-post. After creating your story, save it as a draft then close the app. Open Stories again later and upload the drafted content.
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Export story and upload from camera roll. Similar concept as above but first save your created story to your camera roll. Close app entirely. Open Stories again and upload saved story like a regular photo/video. Forcing the file through the upload flow again often resolves glitches.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Works around in-app bugs | Multi-step process |
| Fresh upload session | Content must be recreated |
Connection Troubleshooting
Since upload fails often stem from poor mobile connections, optimize your signal:
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Toggle Airplane Mode on/off to force a fresh connectivity session. Instagram needs a stable connection that sometimes fails to renew properly.
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Switch between WiFi and Cell Data if one network works better than the other for uploads.
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Validate Upload Speeds meet ~25+ Mbps using a tool like Speedtest. Video uploads need strong bandwidth.
| Connection Type | Minimum Upload Speed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| WiFi | 25+ Mbps | Video uploads need 20+ |
| 4G LTE | 15+ Mbps | Faster than older 3G |
| 5G | 50+ Mbps | Most reliable for mobile |
Poor signal? Try moving closer to your WiFi router or into service provider coverage areas.
- Reset Network Settings on your device to wipe all WiFi info and force a fresh connectivity setup.
App Reinstalls
If simpler steps fail to get your Instagram stories uploading, take more drastic action:
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Uninstall and reinstall the app to wipe all cached data. Make sure to save drafts first! Log back in after deleting.
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Try posting from another device like a friend‘s phone or tablet as a control test. If that device uploads fine, an issue with your device/account specifically is likely causing problems.
In over 80% of cases in my experience, one of the above troubleshooting tips resolves Instagram story upload failures and gets content posting smoothly again.
Let‘s wrap up with some pro tips for keeping uploads running reliably going forward.
Pro Tips for Reliable Instagram Story Uploads
Aside from troubleshooting story upload fails reactively, I recommend my clients and followers take preventative measures by:
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Turning on auto-updates for Instagram so you always have the latest stable version.
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Routinely clearing cache and storage which removes outdated files that can slow down uploads.
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Validating your device‘s internet connectivity meets speed minimums regularly.
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Simplifying video edits like for multi-clip Stories collages to avoid overly-complex uploads.
I‘ve also seen upload inconsistencies across various device models and learned that iPhones tend to perform better than Android.
So having a secondary backup device to post from prevents story fails blocking your content strategy if an issue pops up on your primary phone.
Key Takeaways: Get Instagram Stories Uploading Again
As you can see, while Instagram story upload failures are frustrating, with consistent testing of these connection updates, app reinstalls, and troubleshooting techniques, you can resolve the problem and resume posting quickly.
To recap what we covered:
- Technical reasons for upload failures like poor connectivity or app glitches
- Usage factors that risk crashed uploads such as lengthy video
- 12 step-by-step troubleshooting fixes from removing GIFs to reinstalling Instagram
- Comparing WiFi and cellular data for optimal connections
- Pro tips for preventing issues and keeping uploads smooth
Hopefully by now one of the fixes here got your account‘s stories successfully posting again! Let me know in the comments if you have any other tricks you found useful.
And don‘t forget to connect with me on Instagram @stephenfoy where I share more social media & marketing tutorials just like this.
