Instagram Stories Not Uploading: A Complete Troubleshooting Guide

Are your Instagram stories getting stuck on the loading screen? Photos uploading fine but videos fail no matter what you try? Don’t panic – I’ve got you covered.

As a long-time Instagram power user and tech geek, I’ve battled my share of Instagram upload failures. In this detailed guide, I’ll walk you through all the insider tricks I’ve picked up to fix those frustrating “Stories aren‘t posting” errors for good.

By the end of this, you’ll not only get your stories uploading again – but also understand what’s causing Instagram upload problems in the first place. Let’s get started!

Why Your Stories Aren‘t Uploading

First things first, let‘s look at the key reasons your Instagram stories may not be uploading:

Buggy App Updates

As a fellow tech nerd, I’m sure you’ve noticed that apps nowadays seem to be released with more bugs than ever!

Instagram is no exception. With the app updating every 1-2 weeks, some releases inevitably contain bugs that break things.

Usually when stories or feeds start glitching after an update, it’s a sign the latest version has issues. Instagram will put out fixes in subsequent updates, but in the meantime, users suffer the consequences!

Weak Internet Connections

Uploading videos requires high bandwidth, especially for longer stories. Instagram recommends at least 25 Mbps upload speeds for stability.

But in reality, I‘ve found you need speeds closer to 100 Mbps upload to smoothly upload HD videos – otherwise stories get stuck buffering mid-upload.

So before you blame Instagram, do a quick internet speed test. If your upload speeds are less than 100 Mbps, that’s likely causing upload grief.

Using GIFs

Here‘s a weird one. Adding GIF stickers to stories can completely crash the Instagram app and cause all sorts of uploading issues, especially on Android.

It‘s tied to the way GIFs hog memory and resources. Once the app crashes from a GIF, uploading stops working until Instagram recovers. Pretty bizarre bug!

Outdated App Version

Finally, not running the latest version of the Instagram app can also lead to uploading problems.

Each new version of Instagram contains bug fixes, performance upgrades and compatibility changes.

So if your app is outdated after a recent update, all it takes is one tiny compatibility issue to break story uploading. Upgrading to the newest version squashes such bugs.

Now that you know why Instagram story uploading fails, let‘s look at how to fix it for good!

Top Fixes for Instagram Stories Not Uploading

1. Hold Off on GIFs

Since GIFs can crash the Instagram app and cause upload failures, try creating a story without any GIFs first.

Use only images, videos, text and vanilla stickers. See if your story now uploads smoothly without GIFs hogging resources.

If that fixes it, you’ve found the culprit! Avoid adding animated GIFs to stories until Instagram patches this bizarre bug.

2. Save and Repost Story

If keeping stories GIF-free doesn’t work, attempt this workaround:

1. Create your story as usual and tap ‘Save’ when done.

2. Exit Stories and tap ‘Discard‘ to avoid auto-uploading.

3. Open Stories again and upload the saved story from your camera roll.

Forcing Instagram to process your story a second time often resolves glitchy uploading – almost like a “hard refresh”.

It’s an extra step but avoids having to rebuild the story from scratch, so worth a shot before nuke options!

3. Update Instagram to Latest Version

Make sure you’re running the most recent version of Instagram:

On Android

• Open the Play Store app
• Tap the ≡ menu icon
• Tap ‘My apps & games’
• Check if Instagram has an ‘Update’ button. If so, update!

On iPhone

• Open the App Store
• Tap your profile icon
• Scroll down to available updates
• If Instagram is there, update it!

Updating gives you any bug fixes, boosts in speed or compatibility changes that address upload issues.

If Instagram has no update, your app is already up-to-date.

4. The Nuclear Options

If you still can’t upload stories, it’s time to pull out the big guns!

Uninstall and Reinstall Instagram

This wipes the app data clean, forcing all caches and settings to reset. A fresh install often fixes stubborn bugs.

Clear Cache

Deleting old cached images and videos makes the app forcibly reload them from scratch.

On Android: Settings > Apps > Instagram > Storage > Clear Cache

On iPhone: Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Instagram > Offload App

Switch Devices

Try uploading on another phone. If it works fine there, it confirms something is misconfigured on your original device.

Check Internet Speed

Use Speedtest.net to check your upload speed is 100+ Mbps, the bare minimum needed for HD video stories.

Toggle Airplane Mode

Turning airplane mode on and off resets all network connections, which can resolve temporary glitches.

These nuclear options are cumbersome but very effective at forcing Instagram to rebuild corrupted data causing upload failures.

Fixing Stuck Stories

Seeing your story stuck at the "posting…" stage when you try to share means there‘s an issue mid-upload.

This happens because of unstable internet connections or buggy Instagram updates messing up the upload process.

To delete a stuck story:

1. Turn on Airplane Mode to cut off internet
2. Turn off WiFi as well for full isolation
3. Open Instagram and delete the stuck story
4. Force close the Instagram app

This isolates Instagram from the internet so the glitched upload cancels itself. Then you can re-upload a fresh copy after fixing any internet or app issues.

Stories Not Showing on Profile

There could be a different issue at play if your stories are uploading successfully but aren‘t visible on your profile.

Here are two things to check:

Delete any Instagram Music stories from a desktop browser.

The music feature is quite buggy, so uploading music-backed stories from mobile then deleting from desktop can fix visibility.

Check your date/time settings.

Make sure your device‘s date and time are set to automatic mode to sync correctly with Instagram‘s servers. Out of sync settings lead to problems.

Why Instagram Story Uploading Fails

Now that you know how to fix Instagram stories not uploading, let‘s do a quick recap of what causes this pesky issue in the first place:

• Buggy app updates – coding errors in new Instagram releases break uploads

• Slow internet – stories get stuck buffering if your connection lacks bandwidth

• GIFs – animated stickers hog resources and crash Instagram

• Outdated app – new versions have fixes for upload issues

Understanding the root causes lets you tailor your troubleshooting approach and fix the issue once and for all!

Key Takeaways and Prevention Tips

Hopefully by now your Instagram stories are uploading seamlessly again!

Let‘s wrap up with some key takeaways:

• Update Instagram regularly – stay on latest versions to prevent bugs

• Avoid GIFs – skip animated stickers if uploads stall

• Check internet speeds – aim for 100+ Mbps upload for stability

• Reset app – reinstalls and cache clearing fix stubborn bugs

• Swap devices – uploads working on other devices pinpoints faulty config

• Toggle airplane mode – reset connections to resolve temporary glitches

Following these tips will help avoid frustrating "Instagram stories not uploading" errors in the future. Share this guide with any friends who have issues too!

Now get back out there and start sharing those viral story posts and reels. Tag me @technerd if you have any other Instagram troubleshooting questions!