Instagram Videos Not Playing on Android? Here’s The Fix!

One of the best pastimes that you can do on your phone is to watch cool, interesting videos on Instagram. 

However, the Instagram app is having an issue on Android devices where Instagram videos are not playing. This can be really frustrating especially if the person you are following recently uploaded a video and you can’t find a way to watch it since the Instagram app on your Android device is not working properly.

But don’t lose hope, you have come to the right place. Today, we are going to show you a few steps that you can easily follow to try and fix the issue on Instagram videos not playing on Android.

Let’s begin!

• 1. Restart the Instagram App.
• 2. Check Your Internet Connection.
• 3. Clear Instagram’s Cache.
• 4. Update the Instagram App.
• 5. Disable Power Saving Mode or Data Saving Mode.

1. Restart the Instagram App. 

The first thing that you should do if Instagram is not working properly on your device is to restart it. 

This could be a very basic thing to do, but restarting the Instagram app would ensure that all of its system resources are initialized properly on your Android device. 

To restart the Instagram app, you can follow the guide below.

1. On your Android device, go to the App Drawer and tap on Settings to launch it.

2. Next, scroll down and find the Apps tab inside the Setting’s main page.
3. Now, find the Instagram app and tap it to open its System Settings.
4. Lastly, you will find a Force Stop button on the app’s settings page. Tap on it to force the app to stop running in the background. Keep in mind that the position of the Force Stop button may vary depending on the Android device that you are using.

After force stopping the Instagram app, reopen it and try watching several videos on your feed to check if restarting the app fixed the problem.

If restarting the Instagram app did not work, the second thing that you should do is to check your internet connection.

2. Check Your Internet Connection.

If you are unable to play videos on the Instagram app, there’s a high possibility that you have a slow internet connection. 

When your router is running for long periods of time it can heat up which causes internet slowdowns. It is also possible that it is having difficulties communicating with your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

To ensure that you have a stable network connection, you can try doing a speed test using Google’s built-in speed tester on your browser to check if you are reaching the maximum speed bandwidth of your internet connection.

If the result of the speed test comes out to be slow or below your internet subscription speed, you can try restarting your internet router. You can do this unplugging the router’s power cable and let the router rest for about 10 – 15 seconds. Now, plug the power cable back into your router and wait for it to boot up.

After restarting your router, connect your device to the wireless network and try to watch a few videos on Instagram to see if the issue with playing videos has been fixed.

3. Clear Instagram’s Cache.

System cache on Android devices helps a lot to speed up loading times of applications and websites. However, if your system cache gets bigger it can also cause performance issues on your Android device. 

If the Instagram app has a lot of app cache stored on your device’s memory then, this can cause slow down which results in videos not being able to play on the app. In this case, it is a good practice to clear your device’s cache at least once a month.

Here’s how you can clear the cache for the Instagram app:

1. Go to the App Drawer and tap on the Settings app to launch it. 
2. Now, scroll down and find the Apps tab and click it.
3. Next, find the Instagram app and tap it to open its System Settings.
4. After opening Instagram’s System Settings, tap on the Storage tab.
5. Lastly, tap on the Clear Cache button inside the Storage tab. Take note that the placing of the Clear Cache button may vary depending on the model of the device you are using.

Now, try to open the Instagram app and try playing videos on the app to see if clearing the application cache solved the video playback issue on Instagram.

However, if you are still unable to watch videos on Instagram, you can try updating the Instagram app which is discussed on the fourth method.

4. Update the Instagram App.

If your device is running an outdated version of Instagram there’s a possibility that the app is not stable which causes the video playback issue.

Instagram frequently rolls out updates on the app to ensure that it is running properly every time. 

To ensure that you are running the latest version of Instagram, you can check for an update by doing the following:

1. Open your Android device and launch the Google Play Store.
2. Now, inside Google Play Store, you will find the button on the left side of the search bar that has three horizontal lines. Tap on it to open the side menu.
3. After that, tap on My Apps and Games on the side menu.
4. Lastly, Google Play Store will automatically check for updates on all the applications installed on your device. If available, tap on the Update button beside the Instagram app.

Wait for the download and installation process to finish then, try watching videos on your Instagram account to see if the problem with playing videos on Instagram is solved.

Now, if updating the Instagram app did not work or there’s no available update for Instagram, proceed to the last method below.

5. Disable Power Saving Mode or Data Saving Mode.

The final thing that you can do to try and fix the issue on Instagram videos not playing on Android is to disable power saving mode and data saving mode if you use cellular data to access the Internet. 

Both power-saving and data saving modes disable the auto-play video feature of Instagram which can cause bugs that don’t allow you to watch videos even if you play it manually.

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How to Disable Power Saving Mode.

To disable power saving mode on your Android device, you can follow the step-by-step procedure below.

1. On your Android device, find and tap on the Settings app to launch it.
2. Now, scroll down and find the Device Care tab on Setting’s main page.
3. Next, tap on the Battery tab to open the Battery Settings.

4. Lastly, make sure that the Power Mode is set to Optimized and not on Medium or Maximum Power Saving.

Now, try to launch the Instagram app and watch a few videos to see if the issue on Instagram videos not playing on Android is fixed.

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How to Disable Data Saving Mode. 

If you use cellular data for internet connection, you can disable data saving mode by following the steps below.

1. First, go to the App Drawer and open the Settings app on your Android device. 
2. Next, tap on the Connections tab on Setting’s main page. 
3. Third, find and open the Data Usage tab.

4. Lastly, make sure that the Data Saver option is turned off.

After disabling the data saving mode on your Android device, test it out by watching a couple of videos on Instagram to check if the issue on playing videos is fixed.

This wraps up our guide on how to fix the issue on Instagram videos not playing on Android devices. If you have other ideas and tips on how to fix this specific issue on Android devices, please feel free to share it in the comment section below. We would be happy to give you credit once this article gets updated. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂