Instagram’s comment section allows users to view and leave comments on photos and videos. However, sometimes the “Load more comments” button at the bottom of a post’s comments stops working properly.
When this happens, you can only see a few recent comments, even if there are many more on the post.
Not being able to load all comments on an Instagram post can be frustrating. But don’t worry – in most cases, it’s an easy fix.
Here are the top reasons why Instagram’s load more comments feature might not be working for you, along with troubleshooting steps to get it working again.
Why Isn’t Load More Comments Working?
Before diving into solutions, let’s look at some possible causes of the load more comments issue:
Internet Connectivity Issues
The most common reason is spotty internet connection on your device. Instagram needs a stable internet connection to load data from its servers.
If your connection drops while loading comments, it may cause errors.
Outdated App Version
If you haven’t updated Instagram recently, you might be using an outdated version. Older versions sometimes become incompatible with changes to Instagram’s backends. Updating the app can fix the Instagram comment loading issues.
Temporary Instagram Glitch
Once in a while, a glitch affects Instagram’s servers, stopping certain features from working correctly for a bit.
Load more comments may stop working due to a temporary glitch before it starts working again on its own.
Blocked Comments
In some cases, specific words or users get blocked from a post’s comments. The owner may have blocked you or filtered certain words, making some comments invisible to you.
Now let’s go through each troubleshooting step to get Instagram comments loading again.
How to Fix Instagram Load More Comments Not Working
Follow these solutions in order until the load more comments feature starts working for you again:
1. Check Your Internet Connection
First, check if your device still has an active high-speed internet connection:
- Turn off your device’s WiFi and mobile data, wait 30 seconds, then turn them back on to refresh the connection.
- Run a speed test on your network connection to confirm it’s working properly. To run a speed test, you can use the Google Fiber Internet Speed Test tool.
- If using mobile data, check if you have a decent signal in your current location. Move around if needed to get better reception.
Once your connection is stable, retry loading more comments in the Instagram app. Often a quick connection reset is all that’s needed.
2. Restart Your Phone
If you still can’t get comments to load after checking your internet connectivity, try restarting your Android phone or iPhone:
- On an iPhone, hold down the side/power button until the “Slide to power off” prompt appears. Slide it, then wait 30 seconds. Turn your phone back on.
- On Android, hold down the power button until the shut down prompt pops up. Tap it, then wait 30 seconds after your phone powers off. Press the power button briefly to turn it back on.
Restarting your mobile device resets apps and connections, often resolving temporary glitches. Check if you can now load all comments after the restart.
3. Check if Instagram is Down
Before troubleshooting further, visit Downdetector to check if Instagram itself is experiencing an outage. Outages sometimes disrupt app features and connectivity for everyone globally.
If Downdetector reports Instagram outages or a spike in user reports, the load more comments problem is probably not on your end.
Wait until Instagram engineers resolve the outage, which typically takes one to two hours. You’ll eventually be able to load all comments after functionality is restored.
4. Force Close and Reopen the App
If Instagram appears to be up and running normally, move on to resetting the app itself:
On iPhone
- Double tap the Home button to open the multitasking view.
- Swipe up on the Instagram app preview to close it completely.
- Open Instagram again from your Home screen.
On Android
- Open the Recent Apps list and swipe the Instagram preview upward to close it.
- Relaunch Instagram from your device’s Apps menu/Home screen.
Reopening the application forces a clean restart, reloading all UI elements and data connections. Test if load more now works after app reset.
5. Log Out and Back Into Instagram
If basic resets didn’t work, log out then back into your account:
- Tap your profile picture in the bottom right of Instagram.
- Choose the Settings gear icon in the top right.
- Scroll down and select Log Out. Confirm log out on the prompt.
- Close and reopen Instagram or restart your mobile device completely.
- Enter your username and password to log back into your IG account.
Logging out resets your app’s authenticated session. Logging back in syncs a fresh version which may resolve data loading issues.
6. Clear the App Cache and Data
If Instagram’s load keeps failing, clear all old cached data:
On Android
- Open your Settings app.
- Tap Apps & Notifications > Instagram.
- Tap “Storage and Cache.”
- Proceed to tap on “Clear Cache.”
- Return to Instagram and check if load more works now.
On iOS
- Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
- Select Instagram then tap Offload App. Confirm offloading.
- Reinstall Instagram from the App Store. Open it and sign into your account again.
This wipes Instagram’s temporary app cache files and local data, forcing a complete refresh when you relaunch it.
7. Update Instagram to the Latest Version
If clearing the cache didn’t help, make sure you’re running the newest version of Instagram:
- On iPhone, open the App Store.
- At the top right, tap your profile icon then select Available Updates.
- If Instagram appears here, tap Update to download the newest iOS version.
On Android devices:
- Open the Play Store app.
- At the top right, tap your profile picture.
- Select Manage apps & device > Updates available.
- Check if Instagram is on the list. If yes, choose Update.
The latest Instagram release often contains stability improvements and bug fixes for issues like comments not loading. Updating is always a good idea.
Here are the troubleshooting tips expanded in more detail while keeping the language simple:
8. Uninstall and Reinstall Instagram
If nothing has worked so far, completely removing and reinstalling Instagram can resolve stubborn issues:
On an iPhone, press and hold the Instagram app icon until all the apps start wiggling. Then tap the x icon on the Instagram app preview to fully delete it from your phone.
Next, open the App Store, search for ‘Instagram’, and tap Get to freshly install Instagram like you did when you originally got it. Sign into Instagram again after installation completes.
For Androids, open the Settings menu and tap Apps. Here you’ll see a list of all apps on your phone.
Choose Instagram, then tap Uninstall at the bottom. Confirm deleting Instagram. This completely removes the app. Now reopen the Play Store app itself. Search for Instagram just like when you first got it. Tap Install to download a fresh new copy. Once it finishes installing, open Instagram and log into your account again.
Reinstalling Instagram gives you a totally brand new version of the app – almost like getting a replacement.
This wipes any old corrupted data or bugs that may have developed, often fixing issues with parts of the app not working properly like comments failing to load.
9. Check If a Post is Shadowbanned
Instagram sometimes secretly ‘shadowbans’ posts, meaning it makes them invisible to anyone except the owner:
To check if a post with comment problems is shadowbanned, fully log out of your Instagram account first. You can do this by tapping your profile pic → Settings → Log Out.
Make sure you are logged out, then try finding that photo or video you are having issues with – search hashtags it used or the username who posted it. If you are logged out but can still see that post normally, then it is not shadowbanned.
However, if you cannot view or locate the post whatsoever while logged out, it means Instagram is hiding it from public view.
Unfortunately, Instagram does not inform users when or why this shadowban happens. Suspected reasons are – too many hashtags, possibly offensive content, or share-bait type media. An appeal may convince Instagram to reverse a shadowban so others can view and comment on a post again.
10. Attempt Loading Comments Chronologically
Rather than sorting comments by popularity, switch them to oldest-to-newest:
Tap the speech bubble icon to open the comments section as usual. Look for 3 vertical dots like a menu symbol near the top right corner. Choose ‘View Comments’. Then change sorting from ‘Top Comments’ to ‘Newest’.
Now comments will load from oldest to newest based purely on timestamp, rather than how many likes or replies they received.
Sometimes viewing them this way allows seemingly ‘missing’ new comments to appear again. Instagram’s algorithms occasionally have issues sorting huge volumes by engagement level.
11. Pause Any VPN or Proxy Software
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and proxy servers change your device’s internet identification and connection pathway for improved security or anonymity. However, these services also interfere with Instagram’s functionality at times:
Open your VPN/proxy app or browser extensions and temporarily disable or pause them. Then access Instagram directly through your home/office WiFi or cellular data instead while troubleshooting. Ensure any VPN-like software is fully turned OFF before testing loading post comments again.
Essentially try using Instagram without any privacy extensions or additional internet layers first. VPNs/proxies encrypt traffic in ways that occasionally conflict with loading data from Instagram’s servers correctly – ruling these out identifies if they are the cause of comment issues.
Here are the remaining troubleshooting tips expanded:
12. Disable Battery Saver Modes
Most phones have a battery saver or low power mode that pauses background app refresh and connections to conserve energy. Determine if this is turned on by:
iPhone – Go to Settings -> Battery -> Make sure ‘Low Power Mode’ is OFF. Toggling this off disables energy saving restrictions that may interfere with Instagram loading data properly in the background.
Android – Open Settings -> Battery. If ‘Battery Saver’ is on, tap it to deactivate the mode. Disabling battery saver removes performance restrictions that occasionally prevent apps like Instagram from updating comments smoothly.
Essentially, confirm battery saving modes that limit apps are disabled on your device first. Instagram may pause functions like refreshing comments if it falsely detects the phone is in a near-dead battery state.
13. Directly Report the Comment Issue to Instagram
If no user troubleshooting suggestions fixed the load more comments issue, the problem may require admin attention on Instagram’s end to resolve:
Open the post on Instagram that has problematic comments. Tap the 3-dot menu button in the top right corner. Choose ‘Report’. Pick the closest option describing your problems with loading comments, such as ‘It’s not working’.
Clearly, detail your difficulty with seeing or loading additional comments on this specific post. Mention steps you took to troubleshoot the problem yourself without success.
This flags the issue directly to Instagram Support staff who can further diagnose and retrieve issues across their databases. Reporting problematic posts gives them visibility for a faster resolution.
