Are you encountering a “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error when you’re viewing images on Instagram?
It’s not common to encounter issues like this because Instagram still has a lot of flaws in the app.
Moreover, their support team is unreachable which makes it hard to get any help.
The worst part is that the error message doesn’t tell you the cause of the error.
In most cases, your internet connection should be fine, so that’s out of the equation.
If your internet connection is not the issue, then what causes the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error message on Instagram?
In this article, you’ll learn why you got the error, how to fix it, and a workaround for it.
- Why did I get the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error?
- How to fix “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” on Instagram
- Workaround to this
- Conclusion
Why did I get the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error?
You got the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error either because Instagram is down, or your network has issues.
You got the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error either because Instagram is down, or your network has issues.
Instagram is known for being down at least once every year.
Before attempting to fix the issue, you need to make sure that Instagram is not down in the first place.
You can visit a down detector to know whether Instagram is down or not.
Simply search for “Is Instagram down?” on Google and visit the first URL.
Alternatively, you can check twitter for updates to Instagram’s uptime.
You can do a quick Twitter search for, “Instagram down” and sort the tweets to “latest”.
If you see a ton of users tweeting, “Instagram down”, that means Instagram might be down, and there’s nothing you can do on your end.
Lastly, if the error is a global issue, Instagram will tweet it out in their official Twitter account.
How to fix “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” on Instagram
To fix “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” on Instagram, you can either try switching your network, using a VPN, or clearing your cache/data.
If you’re using Koodo (a Canadian mobile service provider), changing your APN ought to do the trick.
You can also try changing your APN settings (for Koodo), or wait for Instagram to be back up if it happened to be down.
Network issues are fairly common and they might cause issues in the Instagram app.
Although your internet connection is fine, network issues can be related to other things like your APN settings.
In other cases, it might be due to a router setting with restrictive settings.
In order to fix these issues, you can use the solution listed below.
1. Switch your network
The first solution to fix the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error on Instagram is to switch your network.
If you’re using local data, try connecting to a Wi-Fi, and vice-versa.
If you’re using local data (e.g. 4G), connect to a Wi-Fi instead.
On the contrary, if you’re connected to Wi-Fi, try switching to local data.
At times, either your Wi-Fi or local data has “network issues”.
For example, if you’re connected to Wi-Fi, the administrator might have set parental controls for it.
If that’s the case, images might not load on Instagram.
If you’re using an app like YouTube, you may not be able to watch certain videos or see the comment section under a video.
To permanently resolve this, you need to contact the network administrator for support.
Otherwise, you can turn off your Wi-Fi and use local data instead.
2. Use a VPN
Next, you can try using a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Using a VPN can help to temporarily resolve the “network issues” that you might be facing when you’re connected to Wi-Fi/local data.
Using a VPN can help to get rid of any “network issues” that you might be facing on your device.
For example, if the local data that you’re using has a network issue, connecting to a VPN will resolve it.
You can download a free VPN on the App Store and Google Play Store.
Search for “VPN” or “Free VPN” and then tap on “Connect” to connect to it.
After you’ve connected to a VPN, force close the Instagram app and open it again.
This time, the images should be able to load properly.
3. Clear cache/data
The third solution to fix the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error on Instagram is to clear Instagram’s cache/data.
For iOS devices: Tap and hold the Instagram app > Remove App > reinstall it from the App Store.
For Android devices: Go to your settings > apps & notifications > Instagram > storage > clear cache.
Clearing the app’s cache/data has managed to resolve the error message for many users.
If you’re using an iPhone, you need to delete and reinstall the app.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a “delete cache/data” option for iPhone users, so you’ll have to delete the app if you want to clear its cache/data.
However, if you’re using an Android device, you can clear Instagram’s cache from your settings.
To clear Instagram’s cache on an Android device, navigate to your settings > apps & notifications > Instagram > storage > clear cache.
Clearing cache will remove all pre-loaded images on Instagram so that they can load again the next time you open the app.
This will help get rid of the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error.
4. Change your APN settings (For Koodo)
If you’re using Koodo, you can try changing your APN settings to Koodo’s recommended ones (if you’re not using Koodo, then you can skip this solution).
You need to reconfigure your APN settings to match Koodo’s recommended ones.
Your phone’s APN settings might be different from Koodo’s recommended ones.
In order to fix the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error, you need to change your APN settings to Koodo’s.
Koodo users have reported that after they’ve changed their APN settings to match Koodo’s, Instagram is back to normal again.
Navigate to your APN settings on your device and match it against the settings in this article.
5. Wait until Instagram is back up
In the event that Instagram is down, you have to wait for it to be back up again.
If Instagram is down, you have to wait for it to be back up again in order to view images.
On Jul 4, 2019, Instagram was down and users had issues with uploading, viewing and sending images.
Instagram is known to be down at least once every year, so you’ll have to watch out for it.
To check whether Instagram is down, you can either visit a down detector or Twitter for updates.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing that you can do to resolve the issue if that happens.
Typically, Instagram will be back up after a few minutes up to a few hours.
So, you’ll have to be patient and wait until Instagram resolves the issue on their end.
Workaround to this
A workaround for the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error on Instagram is to use Instagram Web.
If you can’t view an image or multiple images on the Instagram app, try using Instagram on a browser instead.
Instead of using the Instagram app to view images, try using Instagram on a desktop instead.
If one image fails to load, you can copy its link and view it on a browser.
Simply navigate to the image that is getting the error > triple-dots icon (ellipsis) > copy link.
Once you’ve copied the link to the image, go to a browser (e.g. Safari/Chrome) and paste it on the search bar.
You should be able to see the image by visiting the link of it on a browser without getting the “Couldn’t load image” error.
Conclusion
If images are not loading on Instagram, it can be a real pain.
At times, Instagram might be down, so there’s nothing you can do except waiting it out.
Other times, it may be because of a network issue that you can fix by using local data/Wi-Fi.
Either way, you need to find and use the right solution to fix the “Couldn’t load image. Tap to retry” error on Instagram based on the ones mentioned in this article.
Further Reading
Couldn’t Load Users on Instagram (How to Fix)
How to Fix Instagram Tagging Not Working
How to Fix Instagram Stories Not Showing Up
Author: Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
