Is Instagram DM (direct message) not working for you?
At times, you might not be able to send direct messages to people.
In other occasions, Instagram direct messages might not show up for you.
When that happens, it can be frustrating because you won’t be able to send or reply to messages.
More importantly, if you’re running an Instagram business account, direct messaging is crucial for customer support.
So, how can you send Instagram direct messages or get them to show up again?
In this article, you’ll learn why your Instagram DM is not working, how you can fix it, and a couple of workarounds for it.
- Why is my Instagram direct message not working?
- How to Fix Instagram DM not Working
- Workaround
- Conclusion
Why is my Instagram direct message not working?
Your Instagram DM (direct message) is not working either because Instagram is down, you direct messaged too many users, or you blocked the person.
Firstly, when Instagram is down, your direct messages might be down as well.
However, you shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that Instagram is down as it is very unlikely.
Instead, the more common reason why your direct messages aren’t working is that you sent too many direct messages at one go.
When that happens, you’ll be temporarily blocked from sending direct messages.
Finally, when you block someone on Instagram, you won’t be able to send them messages.
In order to direct message them, you have to unblock them first.
As long as the person is blocked, the message field will be hidden from you.
Below are the reasons for the malfunctioning of the Instagram DM feature.
1. Instagram is down
The first reason why your Instagram DM is not working is because Instagram is down.
When Instagram is down, your direct messages might not show up.
You may not be able to send direct messages to others as well.
Instagram was down multiple times in 2020.
Hence, it’s not uncommon that Instagram might be down.
However, before you come to the conclusion that Instagram is down, make sure to verify that it’s really down.
The first way you can do that is to visit the Down Detector website.
Once you’re on there, you’ll see a graph that shows the number of reports made by users at various times.
Typically, when Instagram is down on a global scale, there’ll be a huge spike in the graph.
That’s when you’ll know that you’re not the only one facing the DMing issue.
The second way to verify that Instagram is down is to search for “Instagram down” or the hashtag, “#instagramdown” on Twitter.
Then navigate to the “Top” tab.
If there’s a lot of recent posts saying that Instagram is down, it’s likely that Instagram is really down.
2. You DMed too many users
The second reason why your Instagram DM is not working is that you direct messaged too many users at one go.
If you direct messaged too many users at one go, you’ll get the “Couldn’t create thread” error.
The error is a temporary block that prevents you from sending direct messages to others that you haven’t messaged before.
In order to test this, try sending a message to someone that you’ve messaged before.
You should be able to send the message without getting any errors.
However, if you try sending a message to someone you haven’t messaged before, you’ll get the “Couldn’t create thread” error.
The error is to prevent people from spamming the direct message feature.
Some users utilize the direct message feature for mass marketing, so Instagram hopes to limit that.
3. You blocked the person
The final reason why your Instagram DM is not working is because you blocked the person.
When you block someone on Instagram, you’ll no longer be able to send them messages.
Instead, you’ll be given two options—unblock and delete.
When you unblock the person, they’ll be able to follow you on Instagram again and see your posts.
On the other hand, the “delete” option will delete your conversation with the person.
If you want to send direct messages to the person again, you need to unblock them.
After unblocking them, the chat field will reappear and you’ll be able to message them.
How to Fix Instagram DM not Working
To fix Instagram DM not working, you can either wait it out, ask someone to reply to your story, or send messages to people that you haven’t messaged before.
Alternatively, a workaround for this is to access your DMs on the web version of Instagram.
If you have the “Threads from Instagram” app, you can access your direct messages from it as well.
If you don’t have the app on your device, you can download it on the App Store/Google Play Store.
In the previous section, you’ve learned why your Instagram DM is not working.
Fortunately, when your Instagram DM is not working, it’s usually a temporary issue.
This means that it will be eventually resolved, either by itself or manual action.
Here are a couple of solutions to fix the malfunctioning Instagram direct message feature.
1. Wait it out
The first way to fix the Instagram DM not working is to wait it out.
If Instagram is down, the only option is to wait for Instagram to fix the issue on their end.
This is because there’s nothing that you can do manually to fix it.
Instagram may take several minutes or a few hours to fix the direct message feature depending on the severity of the issue.
Similarly, if you got the “Couldn’t create thread” error because you sent too many direct messages at one go, you have to wait it out as well.
The error will typically be lifted in less than 24 hours.
At times, the error will be lifted in just a few hours.
Hence, your best bet is to wait it out, and your DMs should be able to work again.
2. Ask someone to reply to your story
If your Instagram DM is not working, you can try posting a story.
Then ask someone to reply to it with a random message.
You can also use a secondary account to reply to your main account’s story.
At times, your Instagram messages are not working because of a glitch.
In order for your direct messages to show up again, someone has to reply to your story.
A few users have tried this method before and it managed to help them to recover their DMs.
3. Send messages to people you haven’t messaged before
The final method to fix your Instagram DM is to send messages to people that you haven’t messaged before.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can do this:
- Direct message a few users that you haven’t messaged before.
- Force close the app.
- Open Instagram and direct message someone that you’ve messaged in the past.
- Force close the app and open it again.
Once you’re done with this, you should be able to see your direct messages.
If this doesn’t work, try waiting for some time and repeat the process again.
If it doesn’t work on the first try, it might work on the second.
Workaround
There are a couple of workarounds if your Instagram DM is not working.
You can either try logging in on the web version of Instagram or access your direct messages from the “Threads from Instagram” app.
Firstly, you can try logging in on the web version of Instagram.
Once you’re logged in, tap on the paper plane icon n the top navigation bar.
After tapping on the paper plane icon, you should be able to access your direct messages.
The second method is to install the “Threads from Instagram” app on the App Store/Google Play Store.
Once you’ve downloaded the app, connect it with your Instagram account > select 3 or more close friends > continue > skip > done.
Lastly, tap on the paper airplane icon on the top-right corner, and tap on the “Everyone else” tab to see your direct messages.
Congrats, you’ve learned how to use a couple of workarounds to access your Instagram DMs.
Conclusion
When Instagram DM is not working, it’s best to use the tried-and-true methods mentioned in this article to fix it.
Alternatively, you can use the couple of workarounds if they are still not working for you.
Don’t bother trying other methods (that are not listed in this article) as they are not likely to work.
Contacting Instagram support is not an option as well because it’s unreachable.
If your direct messages are still not working even after trying everything, it’s best that you create a secondary account.
That being said, most Instagram users managed to get their DMs working again.
Hence, it’s very unlikely that your direct messages are permanently down.
Further Reading
Why Did My Instagram Message Requests Disappear?
How to Delete Instagram Messages From Both Sides
How to Delete Drafts on TikTok (3 Easy Steps)
Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
