Facebook and Instagram won't load photos over WiFi connections?

[anon(10236130)]

I'm new to Android systems - so looking for any insights into this issue and what I can do to fix it, since I am not very familiar with the OS.

I have a personal phone (Samsung S6 Edge) and work phone (Samsung Galaxy S7 active) and both of them have the same issue - Facebook and Instagram apps will not load photos in the feed if the phone is connected to WiFi.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled the apps several times, cleared cache and data for the apps several times, and restarted the phones too many times to count. It also appears to happen no matter what WiFi I am connected to - I've tried it at my home, workplace, and at my boyfriend's - three different WiFi connections, all good connectivity - but same issue.

As soon as I turn the WiFi connection off, both apps work fine and will load photos in seconds over the mobile network. This is of course, the easiest fix, but is irritating since it forces me to use mobile data.

Both phones are on Android 7, Nougat. Both apps are up to date with the latest versions.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Try also wiping the system cache partition for the phones: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-21095. The steps should work for both phones.

 

[anon(10236130)]

Hello. I tried this as well and it did not resolve the issue.

 

[B. Diddy]

This probably won't work, but on your home router, log into the router settings (using your desktop browser -- see the router manual to learn how). Turn off IPv6 temporarily, and see if that helps.

 

[anon(10236130)]

I can try this - but would I have to do it on every wifi connection just to use the Facebook and Instagram apps? I don't think I can change the settings on the WiFi at work, for example...

 

[Golfdriver97]

Welcome to the forums. In the meantime, do you have the same issue if you go to the mobile site as opposed to the app?

 

[B. Diddy]

I can try this - but would I have to do it on every wifi connection just to use the Facebook and Instagram apps? I don't think I can change the settings on the WiFi at work, for example...

Right, but this is more of a troubleshooting step. Sometimes, certain servers have problems over IPv6, for unclear reasons. Changing to IPv4 might solve it, at least temporarily. This seems to happen more often with Google servers, but it could happen with other ones as well.

 

[anon(10236130)]

Gotcha. This seems to have worked! It also occurred to me that the work WiFi might be restricted in some way to block social media. I'm not 100% sure since its a brand new job/office. So that could explain it happening there. I'll have to check into it. Thanks for the help!

 

[B. Diddy]

Great! Most routers will have IPv6 turned on by default, so this might be why you were seeing the problem everywhere else as well. I'd try re-enabling IPv6 again in another few days or a week, to see if they resolved the issue, since you shouldn't have to keep it disabled forever (after all, IPv6 is the new standard, after they ran out of addresses on IPv4).

 

[thirtyone31]

For those who still has issues even after disabling IPv6 as mentioned above, try the below.

If you have access to the router you're connected over on Wifi, change its DNS to Google DNS (8.8.8.8 & 8.8.4.4) instead of ISP's. Make sure you change it on the router, not just on the phone.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!