Instagram video stuck on sending? Here’s the reason

Although Instagram is more famed for the image-sharing side of the platform, you can also share video content across the site/app.

In fact, the Instagram Stories section of the app is more commonly used to share videos than images. This is largely because the stories section lends itself to short-form videos, and Instagram enforces a 60-second limit on video content posted to the feed.

A common issue that Instagram users face when trying to send or post videos on the platform is them getting stuck during the publishing process.

When this happens, the video just never ends up publishing, leaving users frustrated and confused. Here’s a few reasons why this happens and how to getting around the issue.

Instagram video stuck on sending – The most common reason

The most common reason for Instagram videos being stuck on sending is all to do with connectivity.

To be able to post new content on Instagram, regardless of whether it’s on to the feed, your story or via DMs, you need a strong and secure internet connection.

Therefore, if you go to post a video on Instagram and it’s stuck on sending then the first thing you should do is check your connection.

To do this on an iOS device, please follow these instructions:

  1. Navigate to the settings app.
  2. Select ‘Wi-Fi’.
  3. If there is a tick next to one of your available networks then it means you have a secure internet connection.
  4. If there isn’t a tick anywhere on this page then it means you aren’t connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, meaning you should go back to the settings app and select ‘mobile data’.
  5. If the bar next to ‘mobile data’ is slid to green then it means your phone is open to mobile data connections. Check the header bar on your device to see if you are connected to the internet via 3G, 4G or 5G.
  6. If the bar next to ‘mobile data’ is switched off then a mobile data connection is impossible.
  7. If you aren’t connected via Wi-Fi or mobile data then this is almost certainly causing your video sending issues.

Check the strength of your internet connection

Just because you are “connected” to the internet doesn’t necessarily mean that you can rule out connectivity as the root cause of videos not sending on Instagram.

It may well be that your connection isn’t strong enough to publish video content.

The best way to test your internet connection is to visit Broadband Speed Checker. From here, you will be able to run a speed test free of charge on both mobile devices and desktop computers.

If your speeds are slow then this is likely the reason for videos struggling to send on Instagram.

Of course, there are many other explanations for this Instagram issue. Let’s take a look at two more common reasons:

Instagram app requires an update

Instagram is forever adding new features and amendments, meaning there are often new updates that need to be installed on to your phone.

If you are running the Instagram app on an old version then problems can occur such as videos and/or images getting stuck when you are trying to post them.

To check to see if Instagram needs updating on an iOS update, please follow these instructions:

  1. Head to the App Store.
  2. Select your profile icon on the top right-hand side of the screen.
  3. From here, scroll down until you see the list of apps which require an update.
  4. If you see Instagram on here, then select the ‘update’ button next to its name. If you don’t see Instagram, then it is all up to date.

To ensure that updates are never an issue going forward, you are able to turn automatic updates on. To do this, head to the settings app on your iOS device and select ‘app store’.

From here, ensure that the toggle next to ‘app updates’ is turned on within the ‘automatic downloads’ section.

Clear Instagram app cache

Making sure you clear data and clear cache is a good idea if you find an Instagram post stuck on sending.

You can do this by going into the settings of your iOS or Android device and finding the Instagram app then clearing the saved cache.

You may also want to checked you’re signed into your account properly if you switch between accounts often (you can’t merge Instagram accounts, unfortunately!).

Reset your device

Sometimes, apps are just bugged for no reason and need resetting. Other times, your phone can be the one that’s bugged.

One way to ‘clean up’ both your phone and all your apps is to restart your phone. With batteries being so good nowadays, it is very rare that your phone resets so it’s good to do from time to time.

To reset an iOS device, simply hold down the button on the upper right-hand side of your device at the same time as the upper volume button.

Keep them pressed down until you see a pop-up telling you to slide to turn your phone off. Follow the on-screen instruction, then wait 30 seconds before pressing those same two buttons again to turn your phone back on.

Hopefully, the issue will now be resolved meaning you’ll be able to post videos as normal on the Instagram app.

Conclusion

To conclude, there are multiple reasons why you might be struggling to post a video on Instagram, some of which you can’t do a great deal about.

However, we do believe that by following our advice in this article that you will get around the issue swiftly and get back to posting video content on Instagram in no time.

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Author

Andy

Andy is a Professional Content Editor with expertise in a whole host of areas (or so he tells us anyway). His main interests are sports, tv/film and social media. He has reviewed over 100 apps so far for Apps UK.

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