To fix the Instagram camera not working, allow Instagram permission access to your camera, clear the app cache, restart your phone, update the app, etc.
If you have been using the Instagram story camera app, but recently it just went blank, or it shows a gallery instead of the camera.
The issue can be caused by your device, the Instagram app has a glitch or permission access to the camera has been removed.
In this article, you’ll learn how to fix Instagram camera not working on your Phone and Tablet. And you’ll also know why camera not working on Instagram story.
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What To Do When Instagram Camera Not Working?
If you’re experiencing this problem on your iPhone, Android, or Tablet, you need to first check if other people are seeing this error too.
The error means that the Instagram app has a glitch, your device is the problem, or permission access to the camera is disabled.
To fix Instagram story camera not working, clear the app data if you’re using an Android device, and for iPhone users, offload the app.
If it’s a glitch or bug, there isn’t much you can do. You’ll have to wait for a few hours and the issue will fix itself.
You’ll want to update the Instagram app on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store to the latest version.
If you haven’t granted Instagram permission to your camera, you’ll have to do so to use the camera.
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Why Is My Instagram Camera Not Working?
There are different reasons why the Instagram camera is not working.
The major reason why Instagram story camera not working is that the app has a glitch, or your device camera is at fault.
It could also be that Instagram has a technical error in the app because of a new update, or a cache problem.
If you try to use the camera on Instagram and the camera is not showing, it means there is a problem.
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How To Fix Instagram Videos Call Camera Not Working
Since you know the reason the Instagram camera is not working, you can now fix it with this guide.
In all, here’s the fix for the Instagram camera not working.
Fix 1: Allow Permission To Camera
If your camera app is not working it’s because you haven’t allowed access to the camera when you start using the app.
And to fix this, you’ll have to allow camera permission on the app, so you can use the camera to snap or record video.
To fix the Instagram camera not working issue, you need to allow camera permission access.
Open Android Phone Settings > Tap on Apps & notifications > Tap on App info > And then find the Instagram app > Tap on Permission > Tap on Camera > And then tap on Allow only while using this app.
Open the iPhone Settings > And then scroll and find the Instagram app > Tap on it, and then enable Camera.
If you do this, and the Instagram video chat is still not working, use the next fix.
Fix 2: Refresh The Instagram App
If the Instagram story camera not working, you can restart the Instagram app on your device, and it’ll help get the camera feature to start working again.
If you’re using an Android device, you can force stop the app and it will stop it from running in the background. Then open the app again.
The Instagram app must be open for you to be able to tap on the Force Stop button.
To Force Stop app on Android, open your phone Settings > Tap on Apps & notifications > Tap on App info or See All [Num] apps > Then find Instagram app > And then tap on Force Stop.
You can refresh the Instagram app on your iPhone, all you have to do is refresh the app in the background.
To restart the app on it, open your phone Settings > Find the Instagram app > Tap on Background App Refresh > Toggle on the background refresh.
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Fix 3: Restart Your Device
If the Instagram camera not working, and you’ve tried refreshing the app, but it’s not working, you can reboot your phone to fix the problem.
The app may just have a minor glitch, that’s causing it to malfunction
Once you restart your device and open the Instagram story camera, the error will be fixed, and you’ll be able to use it again.
Restarting your iPhone or your Android device can fix the problem.
For Android: Tap on the power button and tap on the restart option. You can power it off and wait for a few minutes before turning it on.
For iPhone: You can soft or force restart your device, this will clear glitches and stop running apps in the background.
Fix 4: Clear Instagram App Cache
One of the best ways to fix any issue on apps is to clear the cache.
If you’re using an Android device, and you’re facing an issue with any app, you can clear the app cache.
To fix the Instagram story camera not working, you need to clear the app cache.
Open Android Phone Settings > Tap on Apps & notifications > Tap on App info > And then find the Instagram app > Tap on Storage & Cache > Tap on Clear Cache.
For iPhone users, you can’t directly clear cache on your iPhone app Settings or even from the Instagram app.
This feature isn’t available on iPhone devices, the only thing you can do here is to offload the app from your phone.
Since you can’t directly clear cache on the Instagram app, or from the iPhone Settings, you’ll need to offload the app.
Open the iPhone Settings > And then tap on General > Tap iPhone Storage > Then find the Instagram app and open it > And tap on Offload App button.
After you’ve offloaded the app from your iPhone, you’ll need to reinstall it back from the Apple App Store by tapping on the app icon.
Fix 5: Update Instagram App
If you haven’t updated the Instagram app in a long time, updating the app now is a good time to fix the issues.
The old version of the Instagram app may not be working properly, causing the app not to glitch.
You’ll need to update Instagram to the latest version.
To update the Instagram app on your device, go to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, once you see an update, click on it to update right away.
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Fix 6: Uninstall and Reinstall The App
If you’ve tried updating the app and the Instagram camera is still not working.
You’ll need to delete the app from your device and wait for about 3 minutes before reinstalling it.
This will fix the Instagram story camera not working issue on the app, and you’ll be able to use the app again.
To uninstall the app from your phone.
For Android: Tap and hold the Instagram app, and you’ll see the uninstall option at the top, drag and drop and the app will be deleted, for Android.
For iPhone: Tap and hold the Instagram app, and on the small pop-up menu, tap on Delete App. The app will be removed from your device.
Once you’ve deleted the app from your phone, you’ll need to wait for about 3 minutes, then restart your phone before reinstalling the app.
Fix 7: Install The Old Version of Instagram
If you recently updated the app, and the issue started causing the Instagram camera app not to work, it could be that the new version has a bug.
What you need to do is to revert to the previous update.
For Android devices, you can go to one of the third-party app stores to see all the previous versions of the app.
You can see the previous version of the Android apps on third-party stores like Uptodown.
If you do this, the Instagram story camera will begin working again. What you’ll need to do now is to wait for a stable update.
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Fix 8: Wait For Some Time
If Instagram story camera is not working, this can be a technical problem, and there’s nothing you can do to solve the problem.
If you are experiencing this issue, this could mean that the Instagram camera may have a technical issue.
And you’ll not be able to do anything to fix it. What you can do is to wait for 24-48 hours, during this time the error will fix itself.
Conclusion
Instagram has many errors, and you should do everything you can to fix them. If the camera is not working on Instagram.
The first thing you should do is check if your phone camera is damaged. The problem could also mean that the app has a technical issue.
And all you can do is wait for a few hours for Instagram to fix the problem.
To fix the Instagram story camera not working problem, allow Instagram permission access to your camera, clear the app cache, restart your phone, update the app, etc.
ALSO READ: Instagram Not Working? 12 Ways To Fix The Problem
Frequently Asked Questions
Why camera is not showing in Instagram story?
The major reason why Instagram story camera is not working is that the app has a glitch, or your device camera is at fault. It could also be that Instagram has a technical error in the app because of a new update, or a cache problem.
Why my camera is not working in Instagram?
The major reason why Instagram camera is not working is that the app has a glitch, or your device camera is at fault. It could also be that Instagram has a technical error in the app because of a new update, or a cache problem.
How do you get your camera back on Instagram?
To fix the Instagram camera not working problem, allow Instagram permission access to your camera, clear the app cache, restart your phone, update the app, etc.
