Photo Won't Upload to Instagram? Here's Why

You're trying to post a photo to Instagram and it just won't work. Either it fails silently, shows an error, or the upload seems to complete but the post never appears.

Before you blame your internet connection, there's a decent chance the issue is the image itself.

Common causes

The image is too large. Instagram has limits. If your image is over 30MB or has crazy high resolution, it might get rejected. This is more common with professional camera photos or screenshots from high-res displays.

The format isn't supported. Instagram accepts JPG, PNG, and a few others. If your image is in a weird format (HEIC from iPhones, WebP from screenshots, TIFF from scans), Instagram might not handle it well.

The aspect ratio is extreme. Instagram supports ratios from 1.91:1 (landscape) to 4:5 (portrait). If your image is way outside this range—like a super wide panorama—it might cause issues.

The file got corrupted. Sometimes transfers go wrong. If an image works everywhere except Instagram, try re-exporting it.

How to fix it

For format issues: Convert your image to JPG. This is the safest format for Instagram. You can convert here in a few seconds.

For size issues: Instagram automatically compresses uploaded images anyway, so you don't need a 50MB file. Resizing or lowering quality before upload won't hurt.

For aspect ratio issues: Crop your image before uploading so you control how it looks. Instagram will crop it anyway if it's outside the supported ratios.

HEIC and Instagram

If you're uploading directly from an iPhone, HEIC usually isn't the problem—Instagram handles the conversion internally. But if you transferred the photo somewhere else first (like a computer) and then tried to upload from there, format issues become more likely.

When in doubt, convert to JPG. It's the most universally compatible format and Instagram definitely supports it.

Still not working?

If you've ruled out the image itself:

• Check your internet connection
• Update the Instagram app
• Try force-quitting and restarting the app
• Log out and log back in
• Clear the app cache (Settings → Apps → Instagram → Clear Cache)
• Try the web version instead of the app

Sometimes Instagram just has server issues and you have to wait it out.

Quick fix checklist

1. Convert to JPG (do it here)
2. Make sure file is under 30MB
3. Check aspect ratio (between 1.91:1 and 4:5)
4. Try uploading again

Nine times out of ten one of these fixes it.