Why Can’t I Send Messages On Instagram?

By
David Johnson
-
191
Failed to send message

When your messages fail to send, this can be an annoying situation and it can stop you from contacting your friends/followers via Instagram DM.

By the end of this article, you should be able to send Instagram messages again.

 

When you’re trying to send a message on Instagram, you may get a message pop up at the top of Instagram saying, ‘Failed to Send to (chats name)’. Or you could get a message saying ‘your message was not delivered and cannot be retried’. This means that you can’t retry sending the message, you’ll just have to delete it. This usually happens when the item you’re trying to send has been deleted, whether it’s been deleted or

Messages not sending in group chat

This message can happen for a few reasons and it ultimately means that the message won’t send to the person you’re trying to send it to.

Why Can’t I Send Messages On Instagram?

There are a few reasons as to why your Instagram message is not sending. You may be trying to send either a post or an actual text message. Regardless of what you’re trying to send, you could still experience errors during the process.

1. The Instagram Post Or Story Has Been Deleted

If your DMs won’t send, most of the time it means that post has been deleted between the time the post appeared on your feed and the time you tried to someone else. If a post you were trying to send has been deleted, the message won’t be able to send because the picture is no longer available, so you’ll see the ‘failed to send’ message pop up.

2. Instagram Is Having Problems

If you see an error saying ‘network request failed Instagram’, this means that there’s a problem on Instagram’s side that couldn’t allow the message to send. To stop this error from showing, resend the message again. If it doesn’t let you, you’ll need to wait a few hours before you can try and send the dm again.

3. You Have No Internet Connection

Another reason why your messages won’t send on Instagram is that you aren’t connected to the wi-fi. Instagram requires a good internet connection for you to send messages on Instagram. You’ll need to make sure that your internet connection is strong before you can try and send the message again.

No Internet connection Instagram

If your router isn’t accessing the internet properly, this could stop your device from having a good network coverage which means that your direct messages won’t send.

4. You May Have Been Blocked

If you’ve tried to send the message a number of times and it’s not working, chances are you’ve been blocked. when someone has blocked you, they won’t be able to receive messages from you which is why you’re receiving errors when trying to send them a message. To check if you’ve been blocked, you need to visit their profile to see if any of their posts are displaying. If not, you’ve been blocked. If you can, then there’s another reason why you’re unable to send them a message.

5. Instagram Servers Are Down

The last reason as to why your Instagram DMs won’t send is because the servers Instagram used to host the Instagram app is down and this allows you to send and receive messages. When the servers are down in your specific location, it means that people near you can’t send messages as well.

What to Do If Instagram Message Failed to Send

If your Instagram DM is not working, and messages are failing to send, the best thing you can do is to try and send the message again. This problem can also be caused by your internet connection, so you’ll need to make sure that your connection is strong. You can also ask your friend if their DMs are failing to send, if not, it looks like this problem is specific to you. If it is, then Instagrams down and you’ll need to wait for the problem to fix itself.

1. Have You Retried Sending The Message?

Sometimes when Instagram failed to send a message and your DMs aren’t sending, you have the option to retry sending the message again. When you retry it, it should send into the chat that you wanted. However, sometimes when you try to send a message again, you get an error telling you that you can’t try to send it again.

If you get the error ‘this message was not delivered and cannot be retried’, this means that there was a problem sending your message and you can’t resend it. The only options available with this message is to delete the message. From here, you can find the post that you wanted to send and send it again to the person you want to. All this message means is that you’re unable to retry sending the post.

2. Some Message Send to Some People, But Bot Others

I have seen someone few complaints in my comment section saying that some messages are sending to some people and not other accounts.

For example, when you send a message to a group chat, you may notice that the message doesn’t send to the group chat, but it may send to an individual.

Before you try the steps below, make sure that you haven’t been blocked by anyone you’re trying to send the message to and if you’re in a groupchat, you need to make sure that you haven’t been blocked by anyone.

3. Wait for The Server to Come Back Up

Instagram issue reports

As I said earlier, a reason why you won’t be able to send messages is that of Instagram’s server. This means that the server couldn’t handle or respond to the IP request that it was receiving.

This could be due to too many people using Instagram at once which means that they’ll have to upgrade to a server that can handle the requests. It could also be due to the server losing power.

This means that they’ll have to get the server back up and running. This can take a few hours, so you’ll have to wait for the servers to come back up. If you know people that are having issues with Instagram the same time as you, this is how you know that there’s an issue with the Instagram server.

Check if Instagram is down

There’s a website called downdetector that allows you to see when Instagram is having an issue with their server.

All you have to do is search, ‘is Instagram down?’.

It tells you when there’s a surge in the amount of complaints people are making in regards to Instagram not working properly.

If you see that the live outrage is concentrated around your location, it looks like you’ll have to wait for the server to come back up again.

4. Check Your Internet Connection

If you know that the server isn’t causing the problem, the next thing you need to do is to have a good network coverage. If the internet you’re connected to isn’t allowing you to use Instagram properly, you’ll need to check your router or switch to a different source of internet.

The first thing you can try and do is to change from wifi to data or from data to wifi. If one of these sources aren’t working, switching may give you a better network connection.

Data is a more reliable source of internet so I recommend that you switch over to data and see If you’re able to send the messages.

5. Check if the Post has Been Deleted

If you’re trying to send something on your news feed, make sure that the post is still on the account before you send it.

If you do try and send it while the post is deleted, but it hasn’t been deleted in the current newsfeed you’re looking at, the message won’t send. When a message is deleted, you can’t send it and when it does try to send, you’ll see a red cross ‘x’ next to the message you’re trying to send.

6. Update Instagram

The main reason why an update would be released is to be able to get rid of a bug. If you look at the features of an update, you’ll usually see the term bug fixes. If you’re getting the error your message was not delivered and cannot be retried when you try and send a message, this update would fix the bug that’s causing it.

The best way to try and get rid of the problem is to update Instagram. The main point of an update is to get rid of bugs that running the user experience and causing users to complain.

If you look at the features of most updates, you’ll see the term bug fixes. The developer sometimes states which bugs are being fixed, but most of the time, it’s not stated, so you’ll just have to notice the bug fixes when the new software has been installed onto your device.

To update Instagram:

  • Go to the App store
  • Click on updates
  • Click Update next to Instagram

Once you’ve done this, go back to Instagram and see if your messages are sending. If this update didn’t get rid failed to send error, move onto the next step.

7. Wait For Them To Come Out With A Fix

If you notice that your messages are failing to send, you should wait for Instaogram to come out with a fix. If you’re getting the failed to send error, just know that this is a sitewide thing that everyone will be experiencing so the solution is to wait for Instagram to get rid of the bug.

8. Use Instagram.com

If you want a chance to send messages without seeing failed to send or your message was not delivered and cannot be retried, just use Instagram.com. Since the app version and desktop version of Instagram are different, you can check to see if the website version of Instagram has the same problem. To do this, go on Instagram.com, log in, and scroll through your feed. When you send a message, check if it sends without showing any errors.

9. Close then Re-open the App to Get Rid Of Bugs

Since there’s an issue within Instagram, you should restart the app to see if you can get rid of the bug. When the app is restarting, things like a bug in the system of the app can be removed simply because it was restarted.

It’s also an easy first step to take and it’ll let you know if there’s a deep issue within the app. After you’ve closed the app from the multitasking switch, you can open it and check if the problem has gone away.

10. Delete Instagram

If messages still aren’t sending, you’ll need to delete and reinstall Instagram again. This only works if the app has a bug that’s causing messages to not send. To delete an app, hold down on it, press the x, then select delete and confirm your decision.

11. Log Out Then Back In

Getting rid of bugs that can cause messages not to send can be done by logging out them back into Instagram. Once you’ve logged out, log back in and check if you’re able to send messages normally. If you can see it, then you know that there was a glitch that caused the failed to send message.

12. Poor Internet Connection

If you have a poor internet connection, either you’re on mobile data or a slightly slow WiFi network, it can cause the. To fix any internet issues that cause issues with the delivery of your messages, you can restart your wifi.

If you found that restarting it didn’t work, this means that there’s a problem with your router. In this case, you would either need to restart your router or reset it if restarting it doesn’t work.

13. Clear Instagram Cache

The next thing you need to do is to clear the cache files in Instagram’s directory. Cache files are temporary files that are stored in Instagram’s directory which are saved there to make things load quicker when you do the same action or make that certain action again.

When these files are deleted, you’ll literally notice nothing but a smoother app and the best thing about this is that clearing the cache can get rid of problems that could stop your messages from sending. When you clear the cache of Instagram, it’s basically the same as you deleting the apps then installing it again and logging in.

It basically gets rid of the files that have been saved since the app was installed. To clear Instagram’s cache:

1. Open the Settings app on the iPhone

2. Go to General

3. Go to iPhone Storage

4. Tap on Instagram

5. Tap on Delete App

After you’ve done this, you need to go back to Instagram and install the app again. After it’s installed, log back onto the app and see if your messages are able to send.

14. Reset Network Settings

When you reset your network settings, this will fix any network problems that is causing your Instagram dms to fail when sending. Resetting the network settings clears any setting that relates to a network which could fix the app that’s having issues. When you do this, your settings will go back to how there were when you first had your device.

To reset your network settings:

Android:

  1. Go to the Settings app on your Android.
  2. Scroll to and select General management or System
  3. Tap either Reset or Reset options
  4. Tap on Reset network settings.

A confirmation will pop up, tap on ‘Reset Network Settings’ again to confirm your decision. This will reboot your device and once it’s back on, go back into Instagram and check if you can send messages without the failed to send to error message.

iOS:

  1. Go to the Settings app
  2. Tap on General
  3. Click on Reset
  4. Click on Reset Network Settings

15. Contact Instagram About the Bug

Contact Instagram about the problem

App developers frequently release new versions of their apps that include a variety of bug patches and new features. You should return to the Google Play Store or the App Store and see if an update is available.

If you can still, you should contact Instagram support. If an update for the program is available, make sure you install it as soon as possible. Often, this is sufficient to resolve the situation. This is a simple step although the process takes a long while and Instagram may not even reply to the report.

  1. Go to your profile
  2. Tap Settings icon
  3. Scroll down and tap Report a Problem
  4. Click on ‘Something isn’t working’ and explain the exact issue you’re having.

Make sure to include as much detail about the problem as possible in your report. Information like the kind of phone or tablet you were using and what you were doing when the problem occurred may help them to address the issue.

Bear in mind that Instagram is probably receiving a lot of reports about this issue so they’re probably working on it.

Bottom Line

That’s what to do when your DMs won’t send on Instagram. If you’re still experiencing issues with Instagram, comment down below and I’ll help you.

If you liked this article, subscribe to the email newsletter where you can reply back to the emails with issues you’re having, and I’ll give you a solution to fix the problem.

David Johnson
David Johnson is a freelance writer with 9 years of experience writing for Techzillo and other established tech outlets like iMore. His focus and key interests are Apple and accessibility as well as consumer technology in general. Read our Editorial Guidlines and Fact Checking process.

191 COMMENTS

    • Hi Slatkis

      You might be sending a lot of spam messages due to which Instagram has blocked you. During 1st block it might be for few hours but as you get blocked again the period will also get increased too many hours and even days.

      Just wait for a few days and see if you’re able to send messages

    • Hi,
      I wasnt able to sent message in my inbox
      not sure why but i havent use insta for the last two days and when i want to reply my message it just wont let me
      it allow me to comment on their story but not when i press into the chat room
      It says that:’ You cant reply to this conversation.Delete Chat’
      It didn’t give any reasons too…..pls i hope you know the solution to this

    • Hi Anthony,

      You should wait for a while and see if it’s an issue with Instagram rather than your internet connection.

      • Im facing same problem…when is send message to anyone the red cross mark comes…what to do i have new account but still not send msgs…but in my other account the messages are sent easily so maybe thats not Internet connection problem…this problem im facing in a particular account

        • Same Here
          But I can still send DMs to people I have had conversations with prior to now… The problem only occurs when I want to message someone new

  5. I can’t send messages to some people but I can send to some.the ones I sent to, I tried forming a group chat and was receiving d failed to send message

  6. I can’t send messages to some people and can send to others. This problem doesn’t happen whenever I’m logged in from an iOS device. I’ve tried sending DMs to people who I haven’t sent DMs to ever, and it never works on my android phone, even something as simple as replying to a story doesn’t work when I’m using an Android. Do you think it’s possible that it’s the has something to do with the software? My phone is a Samsung S7 witj an up to date software. What could the problem be?

    • I have this same issue. I think I stagram flags your account as spam. Sometimes it goes away for a brief second, but essentially I have been unable to send messages for a year without getting the dreaded RED X ❌
      THE WORST PART:
      if your spam blocked from dming new people. Your also blocked from the explore page and your content is unable to go viral. Or step outside your niche.
      Your comments on public posts will be hidden from people that don’t follow you as well.

  7. Hi I cant send messages on one of my accounts but all the others are fine. I logged in and logged out and still nothing changed. My feed is refreshing and I can like pictures.

  8. I can’t send dm to new followers but I can send to some old followers, and it’s affecting my business

      • Same problem with me too but mine sends to persons that I have had previous interactions with via the direct message. Any one I try to dm for the first time is shows ‘x’.

        • Exactly my case…if they DM me ist my reply goes but if i try to DM them ist it marks red x and fail to deliver…pls have u rectify urs?

        • Same problem with mine. Have you rectified yours? am yet to rectify mine. How did you rectify yours please. Share with me so I can do same to rectify mine please.

    • Yes I notice I can’t send dm to anybody ist except they dm me ist…if they are the ist to DM me , my reply will send but if am to DM them ist it will mark red x and not go thro, but my old account was not like this

    • I can’t send dm to any new add on instagram and it is affecting my business greatly I have reported several times still nothing is been done

    • Comment:i also can’t send DM to any new account and its really affecting my business…
      please can someone teach me how to fix this

  9. I can’t send message on my ig and it’s affe my business account most especially..I don’t know what to do

  10. I also same messages are not sending fialed what is done instagrm not properly work when u fixe the that buggggg or shotdone the appp kkkkk insta

  11. I Can’t send text to any of my friends on instagram, it’s says faild to send. Please I need help!

  12. Hi
    Unable to send a DM to an handle have not chatted with before keeps saying failed to send but whenever I send it to an handle have chatted with the message sends.

  13. Comment: i can only send a dm when the person sends me first but if i am the first to send a DM it never goes.

  16. get “failed to send” message but to only one specific person who I have DM’d w/ in the past

  17. Hey

    I can send a message to peoples, but i can’t send a message to a group, i wanted to create a group chat but i can’t send a message, please help me it’s important

  20. My messages don’t send to 2 people in my entire contact and I have about 500 follower and following 300
    Each time it says action blocked

  21. Please kindly help. Unable to send DM on my instagram page. My network is good. I can only send dm only if a friend contact me first. I can’t contact first through dm

  22. There is no message bar when I click on my followers. Only ask if I want to report or unfollow. No are to type a message

  23. Messages are sending randomly after I hit send, sometimes takes 20 mins.. Sometimes hours.. On my other account messages send immediately. What do?

  24. I cannot send messages on my Instagram, I have good network and it’s still not going.. it shows x in a circle and it red…

  25. I can’t send dm to people…but i can receive message notifications but i cant view it ..when i try to send dm it fails..and its been a week.

  26. Please i cant send a dm to New people on instagram. I can send to people who I talk with before without any stress but when it comes to New people it always says failed to send

    • Have you gotten a solution, I don’t kW if u can share it with me because am going through the same thing right now and its affecting my business

  29. Comment:there is no message bar when I click my followers only say unfollow or block users o report users but no I want to type a message on ok

    • Need help got red x and still not able to send message effecting my business any solution tp fix this? Not able to get a hold of anyone at Instagram.

  31. Comment:please I need help it’s really frustrating I can’t send direct dm even to people that follows me, anytime I tried it’s shows errors always please help me

  32. I can’t DM to specific person that hasn’t blocked me. I’ve tried loging in and out several times but it hasn’t worked

  33. Comment: I cant dm to a specific person while i can still dm to everyone else. The person has followed me and hasn’t blocked. Im using IOS and it has failed to send without giving me any notification

  36. I have this problem with my IG account that I can’t hit new people up… Everything seems fine though.. The problem started when I started hitting up some of my previous friends and then suddenly it started showing failed to send all of a sudden… Pls what should I do

  38. I tried sending a message but it didn’t go through…. This has caused problems because people can’t send messages to me also but I always get a notification that someone wants to send a message to me…. Plz what can I do?

  39. Pls I can’t send message or receive from anyone and the problem listed is not the same am having but don’t know what happen can’t just send message on my phone . pls help me out

  40. I’m finding it difficult to send a direct message I have upgraded my Instagram and also my internet service is very strong but I don’t know it keep on showing message sending failed

  41. Hello, my cell is connected to wifi ..i can send msgs but not any kind of video from.the app or from the gallery ..if a record a video from insta i cant send it my frndz either and a msg appears “fail to deliver” i thought it was storage probs..deleted some apps but still didnt worked ..then i re installed insta then i went through my settings (android)but sill i can’t send videos

  42. I can’t send messages to some people but I can send to some.the ones I sent to, I tried forming a group chat and was receiving d failed to send message

  43. Hello
    I can’t send dms in two new insta accounts for all my friends.
    Not send spam.
    Internet connection is good.
    Server haven’t problem.

    My phone is Mi5. I will buy in China.

  44. Comment:hello I can’t send direct dm to any account this problem has started for a long time now, my direct dm won’t work and it’s frustrating

  45. I can send and receive DM from people I’ve conversed with before. I can’t send and receive DM from people that DM me first but I can’t initiate a conversation in my DM whether new follow or old follow.

  51. I cannot send messages to my new followers on IG and they cannot send me messages too and we are following each other , but I can only send messages to the old people that I have been chatting with before I cannot send messages to the new ones my iG @vip_fixed_games

  53. Thanks a lot for the tips, but I still can’t send messages to some set of people, I was even thinking it was because I wasn’t following them, but I did and its still the same issue really

  54. I can’t send messages on Instagram to peaple have not messaged before but can send to people have message before or people that message me first it really affect my work pls help ooo @qwin_ee

  56. try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. and update it. if it still persist go to settings then app management – instagram- clear dat and clear cache as well and try logging in again

  57. Good afternoon,pls kindly help, I can’t send Dm to new friends,and they can’t Dm me too, despite having internet connection on both sides and having followed each other.

  58. Pls assist, I’m unable to send a DM to an handle have not chatted with before keeps saying failed to send but whenever I send it to an handle have chatted with before the message sends.

    • Mine is also Like @dunni I can’t send message to someone I haven’t chatted with before why is that so. My IG handle is @thatdopeemmy

  60. Hello, I’ve been unable to send DMs for a week now. To both followers and non-followers; with the two accounts I manage. Please help.

  64. Please help me, I still having problem to send DM’s to people. How can I solve this problem? I need to DM’s to my potential customer.

  65. Can’t send messages to some people, its really annoying , I checked , Instagram servers are not down.. This has been happening for months and its frustrating
    PLEASE HELP ME. PLEASE

  66. Good morning

    I have a problem to facing that direct text message is not working most of the id am following

  68. Hello
    I can’t seem to send direct messages to some people. The only people I can do that with is someone I’ve been sending messages to or someone that messages me first.
    Please how do I go about it.

  69. I can’t seem to send direct messages to some people. The only people I can do that with is someone I’ve been sending messages to or someone that messages me first.
    Please how do I go about it.

  74. Hello I really need help here, I can’t send dm’s to anybody except the ones I have on Instagram before I can still send, its affecting me seriously can I get a hint on how to correct it please?

  75. Hello please I really need help here I cant send dm’s to anyone except the ones I have on ig before, can I get an hint on how to correct it please?

  80. I can’t send messages with my phone but when I log in with someone else’s phone, I will be able to send… Please help me out

  81. My Connection Is Good Because I Just Updated Instagram Pretty Quickly So That Excludes The Need For An Up To Date App And Poor Connection. I’ve Been Stuck On “Sending” All Day. Last Night Was A-Okay.

  87. Download Ultrasurf an app from play store and connect it DAT all
    And if u want to send messages to pple dont type d same content to more than three pple try to change words and follow dem before sending message else it will be a spam to IG and dey might block u again. U can follow me to ask any questions thanks.

  89. I’m having the same problem. I can’t send messages to new followers. It’s terrible. @ebub_e

  92. I am unable to send Dms.. It’s again and. Again popping up networks request failed please try again.

  94. I just created a business page on instagram @Ada’sfabrics..i can’t send or receive any dm.. How do I attend to customers and also rectify this issue .please help!.. I think it is any of the above mentioned problems

  98. Comment:i have a question that needs an urgent answer, why can’t I view the messages I receive, I can send but I can’t view received, shows error while I try to despite the fact that I have tried Wi-Fi and data mode

  100. I can’t send messages to some people and can send to others. This problem doesn’t happen whenever I’m logged in from an iOS device. I’ve tried sending DMs to people who I haven’t sent DMs to ever, and it never works on my android phone, even something as simple as replying to a story doesn’t work when I’m using an Android. Do you think it’s possible that it’s the has something to do with the software? My phone is a GOOGEE BL5500 Lite witj an up to date software. What could the problem be?

  102. I can’t send a DM from instagram account. I have a good internet connection but messages are still not going

  103. hellow
    when i am using the instagram then the network is available but still instagram is not working properly and i am not able to send and receive msg timely . .its coming late and delivering also late

  109. Hello, I have internet connection and the message am trying to send is not as regards to posts.. just normal random messages.but if the person first sends messages I can reply. What do I do

  110. Hello, pls I can’t send DM on my Instagram pls..nd making sick because am a business peraon

  111. My Samsung Galaxy is all of a sudden not permitting me to send DM in Instagram. I can receive them, but they are not being sent when I try to respond. The little black arrow is not highlighted.

  112. Comment:some of my friends recently dm’d me BT I can’t read nor reply to their messages bt when I open my Instagram it shows that I have 5 new messages,, what could be the problem

  113. I can’t send messages to newly followed handles, but messages to old handles deliver ,what is the real problem?

  115. So I think after so many conversations and complaints,I realized that we need to compare the networks to really see the major network that is causing this. However I was having this issue and i have been able to come up with a solution which is a change of network. When I was using Etisalat for my data.. I never had issues with dms but since I have started using glo.. I have been experiencing issues with dms. So i decided to change my network yesterday and lo and behold.. My dms started going. Please change from GLO to another network. Thought I should share. Thanks

  116. I can’t chat new people only the people we’ve been chatting before
    And my second account is not like that

  117. Please I can’t be able to send messages on my Instagram,it keep on showing failed message
    And is frustrating,except you send me the message first

  118. i can’t send messages to a new persons sir so many times i was tried but not going messages sir help me

  122. Comment:go and install vpn360 and power it before sending any message on IG, the security on IG server is the one blocking you from sending DM nothing more and don’t be fooled by the above post…

  123. Hi my handle is sandrapurple_ and I have been experiencing the same issue of not being able to send dms on Instagram, please help thanks.

  124. Hi, I can’t reply to anyone from direct messages since yesterday. At first I thought maybe that person blocked me. But it happened with all the other conversations with other people. It just appears that “you can’t reply to this conversation. Delete chat” right below the conversation and the box where we type our replies doesn’t show! My username is sukriti98

  125. I still can’t send messages for about six months now,and its not because of any of the reasons listed above.

  126. I cant send dm on instagram pls. If myself and d person have bn charting before my dm to him or her w go smoothly but if its a new person my dm wont go until that person dm me first.

  127. I am not able to send messages on every chat it shows you can’t reply to this conversation and second option is delete chats

  130. cant send dm on instagram pls. If myself and d person have bn charting before my dm to him or her w go smoothly but if its a new person my dm wont go until that person dm me first

  132. Am down and heartbroken here… Have been trying to message my new followers and pass across some messages to them but not going… Always message sending failed. How do I resolve this and pls help a brother …. My username is muyiwa99_

  133. I don’t seem to be able to send messages to new accounts. I can only send messages to accounts I have already been texting. But I can receive messages from them

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