Snapchat has grown in popularity over the years because of its impressive features. For example, the app allows you to customize your content, whether a picture or video.
You can add filters, and text, draw on images, use geo-filters, and take advantage of the many emojis provided by the platform.
Although you can easily use many features, sometimes you may encounter an issue where videos fail to open or load.
Snapchat videos should load as usual whenever you open them. But you find that once you tap on a video, a black screen appears and the video will neither load nor play.
In other cases, the videos take longer to open, or you get no response from the application.
Why Snapchat videos are not loading
Several reasons can explain why Snapchat videos are not loading, including:
- A poor internet connection.
- Your Snapchat app is out-of-date
- Clogged app memory
- Snapchat is down
Luckily, you have several ways of fixing Snapchat when videos are not loading on iPhone or Android.
How to fix Snapchat videos when they are not loading
If Snapchat videos are not loading, try the following options to fix the issue.
1. Update your Snapchat app
You will require to update your app to enjoy the latest features on Snapchat. If the app is out-of-date, you will experience many bugs that may cause the videos and snaps to fail to load or play.
Check for updates on Google Play Store if you use Android or App Store if you have an iOS device.
2. Clear Snapchat app cache
Snapchat cache holds data to help the application run faster. But it can also cause problems if a portion of the data gets corrupted, leading to the videos not loading or opening.
You can clear the cache to troubleshoot an app issue or free up your phone’s storage space.
Here is how:
- Please tap on the gear icon in My Profile to open Settings.
- Next, scroll down and tap on Clear Cache.
- For iOS devices, tap on Clear All. For Android, tap on Continue.
iOS devices allow you to clear individual caches separately to avoid logging out of the application or clearing everything at once.
Nevertheless, clearing the Snapchat app cache will not delete your Chats, Snaps, or Memories whether you are using an Android or iOS phone.
3. Close and re-open Snapchat
Sometimes, simple steps do not require complex steps to solve. For example, closing and re-opening Snapchat is another effective method you can use to troubleshoot video problems.
The option will refresh the Snapchat memory and start afresh. That will help solve many issues, apart from videos not loading.
4. Check if Snapchat servers are down
When Snapchat servers are down, the synchronization between the videos you have received and the servers stops.
Thus, the video will load without opening. In this case, the problem is not your internet connection or device. All you have to do is to check whether Snapchat has server issues.
You can determine whether Snapchat has a system-wide problem by visiting its Twitter support account. The support account will have information about any outages Snapchat is experiencing and how long they expect the resumption of the affected service.
You can also use the handle to ask any other questions about the app.
5. Check your internet connection
Videos may fail to play because of a poor internet connection. You can fix this issue by switching between mobile data and Wi-Fi. Alternatively, check whether you have enough mobile data to connect to the internet.
If you switch to mobile data or Wi-Fi and the problem disappears, your mobile data or internet service provider has some issues. Contact them to resolve it.
6. Restart your phone
Occasionally, your phone may lose connection to the internet, or its memory may become clogged.
Restarting the device forces it to reconnect, which helps to free up some memory, including connectivity issues. Furthermore, it will clear bad data and stop the Snapchat app from misbehaving.
7. Turn off Snapchat Data Saver Mode
Snapchat introduced Data Saver Mode or Travel Mode to help reduce the app’s mobile data usage. When you enable the option, Snapchat will load content using mobile data.
However, Data Saver Mode may hinder the proper function of the app. Therefore, consider turning it off.
If you have iOS:
- Tap on the Settings icon on the Profile screen.
- Under Additional Services, tap on Manage.
- Toggle Data Saver Off.
For Android:
- Tap on the Settings icon on the Profile screen.
- Scroll down and tap on Data Saver.
- Toggle Data Saver Off.
Restart the app and try opening the video.
8. Log out and log back to Snapchat
Logging out and back into Snapchat is the same as restarting the app.
However, the option will help resynchronize your local snaps with the Snapchat server and may fix the problem.
9. Uninstall and reinstall Snapchat
When you get a black screen while opening a video, the best solution is to uninstall and reinstall the app. Reinstalling will give you a new copy of the app.
It will remove all corrupted data or caches on the older app and allow you to start anew. You must download the app from Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS).
10. Clear conversations
Sometimes, snaps sent by specific contacts fail to load even when everything discussed above is in order.
The best way of troubleshooting this issue is to clear the conversations you had with the person from the chat screen.
- Open Settings by tapping on the settings icon on the Profile screen.
- Scroll down and tap on Clear Conversations.
- Tap on the X icon next to the contact’s name.
The option will clear the conversation and allow you to receive new messages.
Conclusion
Your Snapchat videos are not loading or opening mostly due to a poor internet connection. Other issues include Snapchat servers being down, your app being out-of-date, or having a clogged app memory.
You can fix the issue by restarting your phone, improving your network connection, clearing app cache and data, and updating your Snapchat app.
Also, if you see a black screen, try logging out and back in to see whether it fixes the problem.
