How to Fix Snapchat Issues

November 30, 2021 By Nick Anderson No Comments 4 minutes

Snapchat’s issues are not uncommon. As a platform that offers various features through its apps, it is natural to expect issues amidst the growing number of features the social media platform introduces from time to time to keep users engaged. However, many of them can be fixed by you by following just a few steps. We’ll show you how to fix Snapchat issues by going through the most common Snapchat issues in this blog.

How to Fix Snapchat Issues on iOS and Android

List of most common Snapchat issues and fixes

• Snapchat app is not opening

One of the common Snapchat issues reported is users not being able to open the app. This is common on both iOS and Android. Such issues can often be fixed simply by restarting the app or restarting the phone.

If it doesn’t fix the issue, then reinstall Snapchat. Long-press the Snapchat icon on the home screen and uninstall the app. On Android, try clearing its cache first by going into settings > apps > Snapchat. If the issue persists, then uninstall Snapchat on Android.

• Microphone and Camera not working on Snapchat

This issue has to do with permissions. Since Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Android OS needs permissions from the user to allow apps to use certain phone functions. If an app wants to use the phone’s camera, location, or microphone, it will need permission from the user. You may have missed the prompt to allow these permissions.

You can enable microphone and camera access on Snapchat by going into settings > apps > Snapchat. Tap on permissions, then enable the functions you want to allow.

On iOS, go to settings > privacy. Tap on the microphone and camera, then turn on the switch next to Snapchat in both settings.

• Snapchat app is not loading stories or activities

Snapchat may be experiencing technical issues. An example is the Facebook 2021 outage that happened in October. Due to a network misconfiguration, Facebook disappeared from the internet. Every service associated with Facebook was inaccessible during that time.

Snapchat might be unavailable if stories and activities or any other part of Snapchat fail to load. You can verify Snapchat downtime on Downdetector.

• Poor camera quality on Snapchat

Snapchat on Android used to work differently than Snapchat on iOS. Due to the large number of Android devices that exist, Snapchat app on Android took the easy way out for camera mode. The app used to take a screenshot of what was on the screen in the camera app instead of taking a photo through the camera. This resulted in significantly worse-looking pictures compared to the iOS counterpart.

This was fixed when Snapchat built the app from the ground up for Android. You may still be running an older version of Snapchat. Check for updates on the Google Play Store. Alternatively, you can look up the .apk of the latest Snapchat version and download and install that. Keep in mind that downloading .apk from third-party sources on the internet poses a security risk, and we do not recommend that you do it.

Uninstall Snapchat Beta Version

A beta version refers to a version that is still in development. Beta versions are not final and typically contain bugs and various others issues. Google allows Android users to opt-in for testing out apps in beta. Users can opt-in for beta Android apps by selecting Apps in development in the For you tab in Play Store.

If you are running Snapchat’s beta version, uninstall the app. The issues are likely coming from unfinished code. Long-press the Snapchat app and uninstall it, or go into settings > apps > Snapchat and tap on Uninstall.

Install the final version of Snapchat on Android from the Play Store.

Can I Use Snapchat on the Web?

Snapchat does not offer web browser-based versions of its app. It is strictly an app for iOS and Android.

However, the introduction of Windows 11 opens up the possibility to use Snapchat on Windows. Windows 11 supports Android apps, which means you can download an Android app and run it natively on Windows. The support for Android apps on Windows 11 will arrive later in an update.

Conclusion

Like other apps, Snapchat frequently receives updates that fix existing issues and introduce new improvements and features to the platform. It is not always possible to pinpoint the issue and what might fix it, especially when it’s part of the app’s most recent version. The best approach to fix Snapchat issues is to Google for the specific issue then filter results to the most recent. See if other people are having the issues.

If some issue gets reported enough times, the developer will take notice and possibly provide a time window for the fix.

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