Instagram is the most popular photo and video sharing website after getting owned by Facebook. Everytime you open Instagram on your smartphone then you see some posts from your friends. These posts include photos and videos and if you are using Wi-Fi or high speed network then videos will autoplay.

However you can directly tap on the videos to start playing it. But sometimes it may happen when the video doesn’t even play. So in this article we will discuss the possible reasons of Instagram videos not playing and their possible solutions.

instagram videos won't play

 

Part 1: Why Instagram Videos Won't Play?

Instagram videos start playing automatically when you scroll down within the app. By-default the video sound is mute but tapping the volume button will enable it. As you scroll down further then the previous video will stop and the current video in view will start auto playing. However, sometimes Instagram videos won’t even play. We are presenting some reasons below for this problem.

Reasons why Instagram videos won’t play.

·         Slow network.

·         App cache gets full

·         Low storage space

·         Deleted Instagram video

·         Power saving mode on your smartphone

·         Older app version

·         Smartphone firewall

 

Part 2: How to Fix Instagram Videos Won't Play?

Part 1 discussed the possible reasons of Instagram videos not playing. Now in this part we will discuss the possible fixes.

1. Slow Network.

If your network is slow then Instagram video won’t play at all. So, if this is the reason then connect your smartphone to a faster cellular network or Wi-Fi. When Instagram finds itself running on a slow network it automatically limits the data usage.

2. App Cache Size

Smartphone apps create a lot of cache data. This cache data is used by the app for faster access of recent data. If this cache data is full then Instagram won’t be able to store the new video cache. This is why videos won’t play because their temporary data isn’t getting stored on your smartphone’s storage. To solve this problem simply clear the app cache from Android or iOS settings.

3. Deleted Video

When an Instagram user deletes a video then it may be temporarily available as a thumbnail if shared by a link. When you click the link the video will not show and finally won’t even play. You cannot do anything about this because you don’t have any control over it. However you can look for other sources to find that same video.

4. Low Storage Space

When smartphones start running out of storage then apps don’t run smoothly. When the storage gets full then apps won’t be able to store new data. You should release some storage space. When there is enough storage then the apps get back to their normal operation. Once you sort out this problem then the Instagram videos will start playing again.

5. Power Saving Mode

If power saving mode is enabled on your smartphone then you should disable it. Power saving mode actually limits the app’s full functionality.Just please turn off the power saving mode.

6. Update Instagram App

If you regularly use Instagram then you should update it regularly. When you stop updating it then after sometime the app stops supporting new features. So if your Instagram videos won’t play then you should update your app to the latest version.

7. Smartphone Firewall

If you’re using Instagram on a rooted Android phone and are using a firewall app then do check that Instagram isn’t blocked by the firewall. If Instagram is blocked in the firewall then unblock it to resolve the problem.

8. Re-install Instagram

If any of the above solutions fail to fix the problem then try uninstalling and re-installing the Instagram app. Re-installing the Instagram app will automatically clear any bad data that is preventing the Instagram app from functioning normally.

 

Bonus tip: How to Disable the Autoplay of Videosin Instagram

Disabling the autoplay of Instagram videos will save your network data. Also you will be able to load more Instagram posts faster. And finally you can save yourself from watching irrelevant Instagram videos. Actually Instagram doesn’t provide a direct way to disable autoplay of videos. You can only limit the data usage. When the data is limited then Instagram won’t use data unnecessarily to play videos. This is the only way through which you can disable autoplay of videos in Instagram. Please follow the steps below to disable autoplay.

·         Open the Instagram Android app and tap the ‘Profile’ icon button.

·         Then tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner and tap ‘Settings’.

·         Find ‘Mobile data use’ in ‘Account’ options.

·         Enable ‘Use less data’. This is it. You have successfully disabled autoplay of Instagram videos.

solution to instagram videos wont play

·         Now whenever you scroll down in the app the videos won’t play automatically.

 

Conclusion

This article discussed the possible reasons and solutions to the problem which is Instagram videos won’t play. We hope after applying these solutions this specific problem will be fixed instantly. The bonus tip we gave tells to indirectly disable the autoplay of Instagram videos.
If you often like posting videos on Instagram, you sometimes may want to edit the videos before uploading them. Considering this, we recommend you to have a look at how to edit videos for Instagram.