Snapchat messages are known as Snaps, and they’re a fun way to connect with friends. But sometimes Snapchat won’t play a video normally. The question is why.
The short answer is that several possible causes exist. In this article, I’ll share some troubleshooting tips to help you.
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1. Check your internet connection
The first check is whether you can browse the web or receive messages through other apps. If so, your internet connection is not the issue. Receiving an SMS or MMS isn’t a check since these are received through the GSM network and do not depend on WiFi or mobile data.
Your mobile phone can connect to the internet through WiFi (connecting to your local router or modem where you’re staying) or mobile data (connecting directly to a phone tower in your neighborhood). If it turns out your mobile phone isn’t connected to the internet, there are a couple of things you can try out:
- If your Android or iPhone is connected through WiFi, try switching to mobile data and vice versa.
- Try moving to another room in your home. This is true for WiFi and mobile data connections, especially if you live in buildings with concrete walls, which can cause an unstable internet connection.
- Try moving outside if you’re using a mobile data connection.
- Restart your router and modem if you’re using WiFi. Sometimes, this will solve the issue.
- Check that your phone isn’t in Airplane mode.
It’s time to move on to another common issue below if none work.
2. Errors with Your Phone
Sometimes, you’ll have trouble playing videos in apps due to problems with your phone. This issue often concerns two things: your phone needs to be restarted or updated.
Try restarting the phone and see if that fixes things. As I often say, when in doubt, reboot!
If you still have a problem, check if you need to update your phone. Perhaps you ignored a recent update that caused compatibility issues with Snapchat.
3. Clear the App Cache
Another reason Snapchat videos won’t play is the cache files. To clear the Snapchat cache, do the following steps:
- Open Snapchat
- Tap your profile icon in the top left corner
- Tap the cogwheel in the top right corner
- Scroll down to Account Actions
- Tap the Clear Cache button
- Click Continue on the pop-up to clear the app cache.
Sometimes, errors occur when files become corrupted. Clearing the cache can eliminate corrupted files so that Snapchat will work properly again.
4. Clear the Snapchat Conversation
It’s possible that your videos won’t play because you have too much information in your Snapchat chats. Clearing the conversation should allow you to fix things. Notice: This will permanently delete sent and received snaps.
To clear the Snapchat conversation, follow these simple steps:
- Open Snapchat
- Tap your profile picture in the top left corner
- Tap the cogwheel in the top right corner to open Snapchat Settings
- Scroll down to Account Actions
- Tap Clear Conversation
- Tap the X for the conversations you want to clear.
The good news is that you can choose which conversations to delete. Regardless, if the above options don’t work, it might be necessary to fix the issue.
5. Update Snapchat
Ensure that Snapchat is updated. If you’re using an older version of the Snapchat application, you might be experiencing a compatibility issue.
To update to the latest version of Snapchat on an Android device, do this:
- Open Google Play Store
- Tap on your profile picture at the top of the screen
- Tap Manage apps & device
- Tap Updates available
- Tap Update next to Snapchat
To update Snapchat on an iOS device, do this:
- Open App Store
- Tap on your profile picture at the top of the screen
- Scroll down to see any pending updates
- Tap Update next to the Snapchat app
Uninstalling and reinstalling Snapchat might also help. If updating the app doesn’t do the trick, you could try that.
6. Check to see if the Snapchat servers are down
Sometimes, even big popular applications like Snapchat crash. To check the Snapchat server status, you can use a service like IsItDownRightNow?
The Snapchat Support team also has an official X Account where they write if there are any current Snapchat issues.
7. Clear space on your phone
If your phone’s internal storage is almost full, apps will have difficulty loading videos. Videos take up a lot of data, so if your phone doesn’t have room to download the video Snap, you’ll see a black screen.
The solution is to remove junk files from your iPhone or Android phone.
You should delete apps you no longer use to ensure you have enough space. Deleting unused apps from your phone is generally a good idea for security reasons – especially if you don’t update those unused apps regularly.
In Closing
Snapchat is a popular social media platform for connecting with family and friends from your mobile phone. You can use it to text your partner or your crush.
You can even send photos and videos with fun effects using some of the new lenses, which are constantly updated. The above methods should allow you to get things back to normal for Android and iOS users.
It’s annoying not to be able to play videos or a Snapchat story, but you can fix it by taking the right steps.
You might need to clear the cache or update the Snapchat app. Try the methods above to see if you can fix the problem.
Up Next: How To Delete Snapchat Videos
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