There are many reasons why you may not be able to download media files on WhatsApp and hopefully here you will find the solution.
It is no secret to anyone that WhatsApp is the most popular messaging service in the world, and consequently, all its users share thousands and thousands of messages every day. This, of course, includes sending and receiving text messages, images, videos, and other multimedia content.
However, it is possible that at some point you may have problems saving all this content in the storage of your mobile, but fortunately it is possible to solve it. That is why, in this article, we will tell you everything you should do if your WhatsApp photos and videos are not downloaded.
Problems downloading media on WhatsApp are more common than you think
Do you have problems downloading the media (photos and videos) that you receive through WhatsApp on Android or iOS? Have you been trying to save some funny memes or videos that your friends sent you on WhatsApp, but to no avail? The truth is that you should not worry too much.
And there are ways to solve this type of problem and we will try to review the simplest and most effective so that you forget about this headache when using WhatsApp. So after making sure everything is fine, you shouldn’t have too much trouble downloading media on Facebook-owned messaging service.
Reboot your device
In the world of technology, many problems can be solved with a simple reboot, so turning your phone off and on can also help solve this failure. Turn off or restart your device and when it is turned on again, check if the WhatsApp media download functionality has been restored. Otherwise, let’s move on to our next option.
Make sure you have a good internet connection
When you have difficulty using an application that requires the Internet to run, you should verify that your connection is working properly. This could be the reason why your WhatsApp images or videos are not downloading. To be safe, try using other apps on your mobile and see if they can access the internet. You can also try visiting a web page in your preferred browser.
If other apps are also experiencing similar connectivity issues, the problem is undoubtedly a poor connection. So first of all we recommend you restart your WiFi router. If the connectivity problem persists, we invite you to consult our guide on what to do if your mobile does not connect to WiFi.
Also, try turning off mobile data and then turning it back on, and if that doesn’t help, enable airplane mode and then turn it off. You should also verify that your Internet plan is active and that you have not consumed all of your data.
Check the storage space of your device
If you can’t download your media files on WhatsApp and storage is a problem, this is a no-brainer. That is, suppose you are trying to download a 50 MB video and there is only 40 MB of storage space on your device, WhatsApp will not complete the download.
So if that’s the case for you, the best thing you can do is delete everything you don’t really need on your phone. If you have an Android mobile, we recommend you discover how to free up storage space on an Android smartphone.
Try to have the latest version of WhatsApp
Another thing you should verify is that you are running the latest version of WhatsApp on your device. Old versions of the application sometimes contain bugs that cause some functions to fail, while newer versions come with bug fixes that restore the application to normal. Go to your favorite app store and update the app to avoid this or any other problem when using it.
If all else fails, reinstall WhatsApp
If none of the above steps work, try removing WhatsApp from your device and then reinstalling it from scratch. This option is a bit extreme, but it should fix the problem when everything else seems to fail.
Just remember to backup your messages before uninstalling the app so you don’t lose important files and conversations.