Home » Tech » How to fix Instagram issue “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment” ? (2023)

How to fix Instagram issue “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment” ? (2023)

Time Required15 – 20 minutes
Skill LevelBeginner
Estimated Cost$0

Are you facing the issue “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment” on Instagram?

If so, then this is the right guide to help you to fix this issue.

Here we will discuss a few methods to fix the issue. Following are a few of the methods to fix it.

1. Restart your device

2. Check the internet connection on your mobile phone

3. Check whether Instagram is down

4. Close and Restart the Instagram App

5. Switch to Mobile Data if on Wi-Fi or Vice Versa

6. Disable VPN settings

7. Provide permissions for your Instagram account

8. Clear Instagram app data

9. Update Instagram

10. Uninstall and Reinstall Instagram

11. Wait it out 

12. Contact Instagram

We will discuss each of these methods in detail below.

It’s best to work through them in the order listed below as these solutions are organized from simplest and quickest to more complex and lengthy.

Note:The following tips on resolving problems with the Instagram app will fix the issues with Android and iPhone versions of the Instagram app.

Restart your device

Try restarting your mobile phone. Most phone-related problems can be fixed by restarting your phone.

Follow the below steps to restart your mobile phone.

Hold down the power button until the shutdown menu appears.

Choose the “Power off” icon.

Once the device completely shuts off, start it back up by holding the power button.

Check whether the Instagram app issue is fixed now. If not, try the next method.

Check the internet connection on your mobile phone

Check whether you have a proper internet connection.

You need to make sure of its connectivity, network availability, proper connection with the system, etc. Also, ensure that you are properly signed in to your network.

Check whether Instagram is down

To fix the Instagram issue “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment“, you can check whether Instagram is down or not.

You can check this using the following method.

1. Look for the hashtag #instagramchatdown on Twitter. Keep track of when the hashtag was last tweeted.

Click on “Latest” to see if users have started tweeting about the outage recently.

Also, keep an eye on Instagram’s Twitter account for any updates on the site’s status.

If you need more help, you can also tweet them with your problems.

2. Check third-party sites which track the up-down status of other websites. They will track Instagram as well.

You can use these websites to check whether Instagram is down right now or not. Here are a few:

Instagram Down detector

Is Instagram Down Right Now?

Instagram outage report

3. You can also check Instagram’s Reddit community to check whether there are discussions related to Instagram’s status.

Based on the above checks, you will get to know whether Instagram is down or not.

If the problem is at Instagram’s end, you can wait for some time as they will do the needful to get the site up. If not, try the next method.

Close and Restart the Instagram App

Close the app and relaunch it. This will stop any processes that are malfunctioning.

For Android users, follow the below steps to force stop the Instagram app.

  • Open “Settings” on your mobile phone. 
  • Scroll down and click on the “Apps” option.
  • Search for “Instagram” on the search bar.
  • Select “Instagram” from the search result.  
  • Click on the “Force Stop” option. 

For iPhone users, follow the below steps to close the app and launch it.

  • Double-click the Home button.
  • That action causes the apps to fall back a bit so that you can see the icons and screenshots of all the running apps.
  • Slide the apps from side to side to find the one you want to quit.
  • Swipe the app off the top edge of the screen to close it.
  • When you’ve closed all the apps you want, click the Home button again to return to using your iPhone.

Restart your phone.

If you cannot fix the error by the above method, you can try the next method.

Switch to Mobile Data if on Wi-Fi or Vice Versa

Follow the below steps to enable mobile data.

Open the Settings of your phone.

Click on Connections.

Tap on Data usage.

Tap on Data usage to fix Instagram issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

Then turn the toggle for Mobile data on.

turn the toggle for Mobile data on to fix Instagram issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

Finally, restart your phone.

After you restart, try to log in to your Instagram account again.

Check whether the “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment” error message is pop-up on Instagram. If so, try the next method.

Follow the below steps to enable Wi-Fi.

Open the Settings of your phone.

Click on Connections.

Then turn the toggle for Wi-Fi on.

turn the toggle for Wi-Fi on to fix Instagram issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

Finally, restart your phone.

After you restart, try to log in to your Instagram account again.

Check whether the Instagram issue is fixed now. If not, try the next method.

Disable VPN settings

If you’re using a VPN on your device, make sure it’s turned off before trying to log in to your Instagram account.

Some VPNs don’t work along with other apps and might cause connection problems by disrupting your network’s flow.

VPNs also change your IP address at random to protect your identity, making it impossible for your device to contact Instagram servers.

Furthermore, VPNs alter your IP address at random to keep your identity hidden, making it difficult for the Instagram servers to communicate with your device.

To access Instagram in this situation, you may need to deactivate your VPN.

If you don’t want to go online without safety, consider trying to use alternative VPNs such as PureVPN.

Check whether the Instagram issue is fixed now. If not, try the next method.

Provide permissions for your Instagram account

Sometimes, you have to provide permissions to your Instagram account to access your contacts, cameras, etc. for the smooth functioning of the app.

Follow the below steps to fix the issue “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment.” by providing permissions to your Instagram account.

Open the “Settings” on your mobile phone. 

Scroll down and click on the “Apps” option.

Search for “Instagram” on the search bar.

Select “Instagram” from the search result.  

Click on the “Permissions“.

Click on the options which you want Instagram to access.

Restart your phone.

Check whether the Instagram issue is fixed now. If not, try the next method.

Clear Instagram app data

Follow the below steps to fix the error “Sorry we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment” on your Instagram by clearing the app data.

Locate the “Instagram” app on your mobile.

Long press on the app icon.

Click on the “i” button.

fix Instagram issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

After you have tapped on the “i” symbol, you will land on the app information page.

On the page, you will see multiple options. This includes “Notification”, “Permissions”, “Data usage” and more.

Click on “Storage” to go to storage information

Click on “Clear Storage”.

Confirm the action by clicking on “Ok”.

Click on “Permissions”.

Enable all the permissions from here

Try opening it again.

Now you have fixed the error, you can use your Instagram without any issues.

If you are not able to fix the error by the above method, you can try the next method.

Update Instagram App

Check whether a new update is available on Playstore or Appstore.

If there is an update available, then update it.

Sometimes updating Instagram can fix the error “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment” on Instagram.

Follow the below steps to update Instagram.

Locate the Play Store or App Store app on your phone

Search “Instagram”.

Select Instagram.

Click on “Update” to update the latest version.

Update Instagram to fix Instagram issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

Now, you will be able to log in to your account without getting the “We’re sorry, but something went wrong. Please try again” error message.

If you are not able to access your account by the above method, you can try the next method.

Uninstall and Reinstall Instagram

Few of the users have mentioned on Reddit that they were able to fix this issue by uninstalling and reinstalling the Instagram app.

Uninstalling Instagram will clear the app’s data and cache.

Locate the “Instagram” app on your mobile phone.

Long press on the app icon.

Tap on the “i” button.

On the page, you’ll see multiple options.

Tap on the “Uninstall” button from the top of the page.

Uninstall and reinstall Instagram  to fix Instagram issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

Click on “Ok” to confirm uninstalling.

After uninstalling, wait for 24 hrs to 3 days before re-installing it again.

Locate Playstore or Appstore from your mobile.

Search for “Instagram”.

Select the Instagram app.

Click on “Install”.

After installing the app, try to log in with “Username” and “Password”.

Now, you will be able to fix the issue with Instagram.

Wait it Out

If you are not addicted to Instagram, then it is advisable to wait for a few weeks before repeating the steps mentioned above.

Things might get fixed then.

Contact Instagram Support

You can also try reaching out to Instagram to inform them about your issues.

Open the Instagram app.

Click on your profile image in the bottom right corner.

Contact instagram directly to fix issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

Click on 3 horizontal lines on the top.

Report a problem in instagram to fix  issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

Click on Settings.

In the search bar, type “Report”. Now, you can see the option to “Report a problem”. Click on it.

Contact Instagram Report a problem to fix issue "Sorry, we couldn't complete your request. Please try again in a moment"

A popup will come up. Click on “Report a problem

Mention your issue and click on Submit.

In addition to the above method, there are different ways to contact the Instagram support team. A few of them are mentioned below.

  • Contact Instagram Support directly
  • Contact Instagram via Report link
  • Get answers from Quora and Reddit
  • Contact Instagram Support via Twitter and Linkedin
  • Use official Facebook pages
  • Contact Instagram Support through Email
  • Contact Instagram directly

Detailed step-by-step instructions to contact Instagram are provided below.

9 trusted ways to contact Instagram

FAQs

What does it mean when Instagram says sorry we couldn’t complete your request?

Instagram was not able to complete your request due to one or other issue. The problem could lie with your device, your network, or with Instagram itself.

Why does Instagram says sorry we couldn’t complete your request?

Here are some of the reasons that this could be happening:
Instagram app is having a wider problem that affects more than just your app.
You’re not properly connected to the internet.
Lack of free space on your device.
Your app’s cache is corrupted in some way.

Wrapping Up

Hope you get an idea about fixing the issue “Sorry, we couldn’t complete your request. Please try again in a moment”.

Kindly let us know if you have any queries.