Okay, so the other day I was trying to slide into someone’s DMs on Instagram, and boom – “message failed to send.” What the heck? I tried again. Same thing. My internet was working just fine, I could scroll through my feed, watch Stories, everything else was perfect. So, what gives?
First, I did the classic “turn it off and on again.” I closed the Instagram app completely, swiped it away from my recently used apps, and then re-opened it. Tried to send the message… still no luck. Frustrating!
Next, I thought, maybe it’s my Wi-Fi being wonky. So, I switched over to my mobile data. Nope, still getting that dreaded “failed to send” message. Okay, so it’s probably not my connection itself.
Troubleshooting Time
- Check Instagram’s Status: Sometimes, it’s not you, it’s them. I went on Twitter(I mean, X) to check if other people are facing the same issue. But, there were no mentions on downdetector or twitter’s trending.
- Update the App: Maybe I was running an old, buggy version of the app. I went to the App Store (I’m on an iPhone), and checked for updates. Sure enough, there was one! I updated the app, crossed my fingers, and tried sending the message again. Still failed!
- Clear Cache (Android Only): I don’t have android, but I heard that clearing the cache could solve this problem.
- Restart my phone: The last thing that came to my mind was completely restarting the phone.
Guess what? It worked! After the reboot, I went back into Instagram, and the message went through instantly. I have no idea why a full restart fixed it, but hey, I’m not complaining! Sometimes technology is just weird like that.
So, if you’re ever pulling your hair out because Instagram won’t send your messages, try these steps. Hopefully, one of them will do the trick for you, too!
