Instagram is one of the top social media apps on the internet today. It allows people to share photos and videos with friends and others in the Instagram community. Instagram is primarily available as a mobile app for Android and iOS. However, people may access it on Windows 11/10 by visiting the Instagram website or installing the Instagram App from the Microsoft Store. PC users may sometimes face glitches while using the Instagram app. For instance, Instagram fails to load or the browser shows a blank page. There could be many potential causes if your Instagram is not working properly. This article will guide you through basic troubleshooting tips that may help resolve the issue.

Instagram not working properly on PC

If Instagram is not working properly on your Windows 10/11 PC, some temporary issues may need to be fixed. The solution depends on whether you use Instagram for the web or the Instagram Windows app. This article addresses Instagram not working for both of these scenarios:

1. Instagram not working in Browser.
2. Instagram App not working in Windows 11.

Let’s have a look at each of them, one by one.

Instagram not working in Browser

Try the following fixes if you’re facing an issue with the Instagram website:

1. Check if Instagram is down.
2. Disable third-party extensions.
3. Clear browser cache.
4. Switch to a different browser.
5. Flush DNS.

1] Check if Instagram is down

Sometimes, Instagram may not work in the browser due to an outage. Start by checking if the service is temporarily down. You can visit portals like ‘DownDetector’ or ‘Is It Down Right Now’ to find out if a particular website is down. These portals check the status of the website in real-time and tell if outages have been reported by users from different parts of the world. In case Instagram appears to be down, wait for some time and try accessing the website again.

Here’s how you can check the status of Instagram via Downdetector:

1. Visit Downdetector.com.
2. Type ‘Instagram’ in the Search Bar.
3. Click on the Search icon.

You will see a graph showing Instagram outages reposted in the last 24 hours. A significant spike from the baseline indicates that the website is currently facing issues.

2] Disable third-party extensions

There may be a third-party browser extension due to which Instagram may not be working properly today on your PC. Look for extensions that you have installed recently. If you find something suspicious, such as an ad-blocker, disable it and see if the problem is fixed.

Here’s how to disable extensions in a browser:

1. Go to browser settings.
2. Select Extensions.
3. Toggle off the extension that seems to be causing the problem.

3] Clear Browser Cache

If disabling the extension won’t work, try clearing your browser’s cache files. Clearing cache and site data may sometimes help when Instagram fails to load on the browser.

Follow the steps to clear your browser’s cache data in Chrome:

1. Go to browser settings.
2. Select Privacy settings.
3. Select ‘Clear browsing data’.
4. Select ‘All Time’ in Time range.
5. Select ‘Cookies and other site data’ and ‘Cached images and files’.
6. Press the ‘Clear Now’ button.

THis post will show you how to to delete browsing cache in the Edge browser.

After clearing the cache data, restart your browser and see if the problem is fixed.

4] Switch to a different browser

Use a different browser to access Instagram. If you’re having a browser-specific issue, Instagram will run in a different browser on your desktop. For example, if Instagram is not working properly in Chrome, try running it on Microsoft Edge. If it runs in both of them, updating or re-installing Chrome may fix the issue.

Tip: While switching between browsers, you can import browser data to quickly access information such as bookmarks and saved passwords.

5] Flush DNS

If the problem persists, try flushing DNS. DNS or Domain Name System is a protocol that translates domain names into machine-friendly IP addresses.

When you type <domainname>.com for the first time in your browser, it asks the DNS servers where to find the website on the internet. Once it receives the information, the browser saves it in its local cache. Next time you search for the same website, the browser looks for it in its local cache first, so that it may find it quickly.

The DNS cache sometimes records corrupted IP addresses, which results in trouble accessing a website. By flushing (or force clearing) the DNS, you reset your computer’s connection to the internet. This clears all IP addresses and other DNS records from your system’s cache.

Here’s how to flush DNS on Windows 11/10:

1. Click on the Start button icon in the Taskbar.
2. Type Command Prompt.
3. Click on ‘Run as administrator’.
4. Type ipconfig /flushdns in the Command Prompt window.
5. Press Enter.

A success message will confirm that the DNS cache has been flushed.

Read: DNS Cache Poisoning and Spoofing; What is it?

Instagram app not working in Windows 11

Try the following fixes if you’re facing an issue with the Instagram Windows App:

1. Look for Instagram Server Outage.
2. Restart PC.
3. Update Instagram.
4. Reset Instagram.
5. Run Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooter.

1] Look for Instagram Server Outage

As described above, use DownDetector or any such portal to know if the Instagram servers are facing an outage. If they are down, you just have to wait until the servers are back in action.

2] Restart PC

If Instagram still fails to work, try restarting your PC. A simple restart often fixes a number of technical issues that appear randomly in Windows. To restart the PC:

1. Press the Windows key.
2. Click on the Power button.
3. Click on Restart.

3] Update Instagram

Try updating Instagram to the latest build. A new build sometimes fixes the glitches in the old build.

Here’s how you can update Instagram to the latest version:

1. Launch the Microsoft Store app.
2. Go to Library.
3. Click on Get Updates.
4. Check if an update is available for Instagram.
5. Download and Install the update.
6. Restart Instagram App and see if the problem is fixed.

4] Reset Instagram

If an update won’t work, try repairing or resetting Instagram to factory values. The reset action will reinstall Instagram and revert it to its default values.

Follow the steps to reset the Instagram App on Windows 11/10 PC:

1. Open system settings.
2. Go to Apps.
3. Select Apps & Features.
4. Search for Instagram in the App list.
5. Click on the three-dots icon next to the app logo.
6. Select Advanced options.
7. Scroll down and press the Reset button.
8. Confirm the Reset action.
9. Restart Instagram App and see if the problem is fixed.

5] Run Microsoft Store Apps Troubleshooter

Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter looks for integration issues in the apps downloaded from Microsoft Store and tries to fix them. Here’s how you can run the troubleshooter to detect potential issues:

1. Open system settings.
2. Scroll down and click on Troubleshoot.
3. Select Other troubleshooters.
4. Navigate to Windows Store Apps.
5. Click on Run to start the troubleshooting process.

The above fixes should get your Instagram up and working again. If you still face issues, it’s time to report them to Instagram customer support.

Why Instagram is not working today in Chrome?

You may have recently installed an extension that’s bugging Instagram in Chrome. Go to the extensions page in your Chrome browser and disable the newly-added third-party extensions for a while. You may also need to clear your browser’s cache data in order to fix the problem.

Does clearing Instagram data Delete Account?

No, clearing Instagram data doesn’t delete your Instagram account. It only deletes the usernames and passwords saved on your device and logs you out from the app. Everything else, such as your pictures, videos, etc., gets stored in the Cloud, so there’s no chance you can lose this data unless you delete your account manually.

Read next: How to enable Dark Mode in Instagram on PC.