Can’t Upload Videos to Facebook? Try This Fix

So you can’t upload videos to Facebook! We hear you. The social media platform has a multitude of features on its app and website that provide users the freedom to post virtually whatever they want. Although this is the intent, Facebook users can run into problems.

Facebook is meant to be a place where people of all ages can share their experiences and lives with their friends and followers. Posting videos is a part of this; it is an integral aspect of the app in conjunction with the ability to upload pictures.

Typically, if you are asking yourself ‘why won’t my video upload to Facebook’, checking the speed of your internet connection may be the first step of the process. A slow internet connection can cause a multitude of issues when using social media but especially when attempting to upload any kind of file or document.

Videos have a larger file size in comparison with photos, so it is crucial that you have a fast and reliable connection so that your videos can upload successfully onto Facebook. Slow network connection is not the sole cause of this issue. It can also result from incompatibility issues or even something along the lines of problems with Facebook’s servers. Another possibility is that your video violates Facebook’s guidelines.

So, there are a lot of causes for the issue, but every case is different and specific to its circumstances. The video feature on Facebook should be easy to use, but for the people who report that they can’t upload videos to Facebook, read more to find out exactly what you can do about it. It is always helpful to check the status of the Facebook servers before assuming that the problem is your own.

It is necessary that we establish how you would typically upload a video onto Facebook to see just how simple it can be.

How to Upload Videos on Facebook

To upload a video on Facebook, you should click What’s on your mind, [Name]? which is located at the top of your News Feed.

Then, click on the photo/video icon and choose the video you wish to upload.

Choose your audience then click Post.

Facebook will then process your video and notify you when it is ready to view on your timeline.

Easy enough, right? Well, according to Facebook, this process is supposed to go smoothly and without error for videos up to 4 GB. But reports of error and something going wrong are quite common when it comes to uploading videos on Facebook. Fortunately, there are many explanations that can be applied to your own personal situation.

Causes of Common Problems

As mentioned before, there can be a ton of reasons why you can’t upload a video to Facebook. Aside from a slow internet connection or too large of a file, there may be a problem with the Facebook server. If you follow the link used in the beginning of this article to find that the servers are down, you must wait for Facebook to be restored before you try uploading your video again.

If you can’t upload a video to Facebook, you may also be facing the problem of incompatibility. Facebook has strict requirements when it comes to the format, size, and length of the video you are attempting to upload. Essentially, your video must pass all these requirements before you consider uploading it onto the website/app. Below are the accepted file formats for Facebook videos:

MPEG-4 (.mp4, .m4v. mpeg4), MPEG (.mpe, .mpg, .mpeg, .dat), MKV (.mkv), MPEG Transport Stream (.ts), QuickTime video (.mov), FLV (.flv, .f4v), AVI (.avi), WMV (.wmv), 3GP (.3gp, .3g2, .3gpp), AVCHD (.m2ts/.mts), MOD (.mod), DVD video (.vob), TOD (.tod), DIVX (.divx), DV video, OGG (.ogm, .ogv), Nullsoft Video (nsv)

If it seems like a lot of options, that’s because it is! In choosing to upload a video, if it does not identify as one of these formats, you will most likely find yourself facing an error message. Although all of these formats are compatible, the best video format for Facebook is MP4 (codec: H.264). MP4 files maintain a good balance between file size and video quality, which means that it is suitable for Facebook HD video publishing in addition to lengthened videos. If your original video is not in this format, you can resort to an MP4 video converter to change it.

Aside from compatibility, you should also consider the video length before uploading to Facebook. Any video longer than 240 minutes will receive the upload error message. To ensure the maintenance of quality, it is recommended that you do not post videos that are too lengthy. This concept can also be tied to engagement. People are more likely to watch a two to six-minute video rather than a 10-minute one.

Another reason why you may receive an error message whilst uploading your video to Facebook is the aspect ratio. Aspect ratio refers to the dimensions of the video which you upload. The width and height of the video should be compatible with Facebook’s recommended dimensions which is between 9×16 and 16×9.

If you find that your video does not fall in line with the 9×16 and 16×9 rule, you can easily fix this problem with a video converter. You would have to, first, convert it to an appropriate video format, and then you must compress and reduce the video file size to guarantee the best quality possible. If your video adheres to all these rules and recommendations, then the problem might stem further from just the video.

Luckily, there is always a solution!

How to Fix the Problem

1.Try Logging in Again

Issues within Facebook can usually be solved by signing out of your account and then logging back in. By doing this, you allow your device to reconnect with Facebook’s servers and reload your account data. It may seem like a simple solution but refreshing to fix a problem that can be linked to a connection error or server issues is advised as the first step.

To do this on Facebook, follow the steps below to re-login into your account:

• Open Facebook and navigate to the Accounts button.
• Click on Log Out, which appears from the pop-up menu.

• Once you have signed out of your account, enter your account information, and then click the Log In button

The process of refreshing your account is different on Android devices, though. The guide below gives a step-by-step process on how to re-login into your account:

• On your Android device, click the Facebook app.
• Navigate to the Menu button.
• Following this, scroll down until you find the Log Out button. Then, sign out of your account.

• Re-enter your account information and click the Log In button to refresh your account and log back into Facebook.

When using an iOS device, the following steps should be followed:

• Open the Facebook app on whatever iOS device that you have.
• Click on the Menu button that is located in the navigation bar.
• Once inside the Menu, scroll to the Log Out option and click on it.

• Finally, enter your username and password, hitting the Log In button once complete.

After following the process of refreshing your Facebook account, see if the problem is solved and if you can now upload your video. If it is still showing you an error message, read on to explore other possible solutions.

2.Does the Video Meet Facebook Requirements?

As mentioned before, there are strict Facebook guidelines and requirements that come along with uploading content onto Facebook. This is because of the massive amounts of data that is being stored and worked with every day. If each person was allowed to post hour-long videos at their leisure, the social media platform would be a lot slower with a heaping number of technical issues.

By adhering to the requirements set in place, you will be able to upload your video much more smoothly. Your content will probably be more watchable as well considering it will be clear, concise, and without quality problems.

If your Facebook video is not uploading, there is a good chance that either your video is too long, is larger than the limit, or it simply does not have the correct video format that Facebook uses. As mentioned previously, make sure that your video is compatible before uploading to save time and stress.

Visit this page to check for the requirements for uploading videos.

3.Clear the Cache and Cookies

If you have ever heard the terms ‘cache and cookies’, you have most likely been on the internet at least once in your life. Caches and cookies serve as temporary files that are locally stored on your hard drive. They are used to load websites that you have visited in the past in a faster, more improved manner. Essentially, caches and cookies are meant to improve your web browser’s overall performance.

This is not always the case, though. Sometimes, this data is prone to corruption, creating problems rather than fixing them. If there are problems with your cache and cookies, your web browser can be hindered and stray from its proper functioning.

To solve this problem, you must clear your browsing data to get rid of corrupted files. Follow this guide to do so:

• Press the CTRL + H keys on your keyboard while your browser is open to launch the History tab.
• On the side menu, find the option to Clear Browsing Data and click it.
• Check ‘Cached Images and Files’ along with ‘Cookies and Other Site Data” if they are not already checked.
• Lastly, change the Time Range to ‘All Time’ and then click the Clear Data button.

Once you have cleared your browsing data, you can go back to Facebook and log into your account again. Try uploading the video on your timeline to see if it will upload successfully. If you are still running into trouble, no worries. There are a few more solutions you can try out.

4.Turn Off Browser Extensions

Browser extensions are great tools to have on your preferred internet browser, that is, until they are not. Extensions can be found on any type of browser, and they are small software modules that customize your web browser. Examples of different types of extensions include ones that serve to block ads, ones that provide cookie management, and ones meant for custom scripting and styling of different web pages.

The problem that browser extensions can create is interference with the way that Facebook works, causing undesirable instability on the website. Try turning all your extensions off when uploading a video to see if this solves the problem.

To turn browser extensions off, follow this guide:

• On your browser, click the Options button to select Settings.
• In your browser’s settings, navigate to the Extensions tab that is located on the side menu.
• Pinpoint all the browser extensions that are not related to Facebook and disable them.

Once you have disabled all the unnecessary extensions, restart your browser. Then, you can try uploading a video on Facebook to check if the problem has been fixed.

5.Disable Your VPN

A virtual private network, or VPN, is a method of extending a private network across a public network, enabling users to send and receive data across public or shared networks. It is almost as if your own device was directly connected to the private network.

By using a VPN service, you may be causing instability within your network, which can serve as a roadblock to uploading a video to Facebook. So, if you are using a VPN, try turning it off while you upload your video. VPNs work by randomly changing your default IP address, which means that a decent connection with Facebook’s servers cannot be established.

Once you have turned off your VPN service, attempt uploading your video on Facebook again. If the problem does not go away, it was most likely not caused by your VPN.

6.Try a Different Browser

A web browser is simply an application software used to access the World Wide Web. Examples of different browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Fox, Internet Explorer, and Safari. Surely you have heard of one of these if you are able to read this article.

Because there are all types of browsers that are more compatible on some devices than others, the problem with your Facebook video not uploading can be a result of this incompatibility. The engines that these browsers use to render a certain website’s functions do not interpret the code of that website all the same. For example, Apple devices work best with the built-in Safari browser while if you were to use Mozilla Fox, you may run into a few problems.

If you can’t upload a video to Facebook, try using a different browser than your default one. Attempt using the browsers that are optimized by web developers most of the time such as Firefox, Chrome, and Opera.

7.Are Any App Updates Available?

A lack of app updates can present the problem of outdated versions of your choice of software or application. It poses the problem of performance concerns along with incompatibility issues on your device.

It is crucial to keep up to date with application updates because as new features and tools are added with each update, your resistance to update may leave you in the past. People have reported slower and less consistent aspects of their apps if they have not yet updated them. All this can be solved by turning on the automatic updates for Facebook.

To check for any updates, follow the steps below:

• Go to the App Store and navigate to the small profile in the top right corner. Click on it.
• You can either click Update All to update every app that needs it, or you can scroll down to the Facebook App and click the Update button if an update is available.

After updating, check to see if you can now upload the video.

8.Delete and Reinstall

Almost like unplugging the TV and then plugging it back in, deleting and reinstalling the Facebook App can serve as an easy method of solving your problems. If an update does not fix the issue on your Facebook app, it is possible that a few of its installation files are corrupted. To solve this, you can remove the application from your device altogether and reinstall to refresh the app.

Follow the guide to learn how to do this:

• Navigate to the Facebook app on your home screen and hold it down until presented options from the pop-up menu.
• Click Remove App to uninstall Facebook from your iPhone.

• Return to the App Store and reinstall the Facebook app.

Once you have reinstalled the Facebook app, log in and try to upload your video to determine if the issue has been fixed.

9.Check and Reset

The primary reason why a Facebook video is not uploading is problems with the internet connection. As mentioned before, a slow or unreliable internet connection is probably the reason for most of the problems you can face with posting. In determining whether this is the root of your issues, you can venture into fixing it to improve your network connection in general or divert to other possible solutions.

To verify if the problem is your internet connection, you can run a speed test using a website such as Fast.com to measure the speed of your network in terms of uploading and downloading.

If you find that your connection is slow, you can try restarting your router. To do this, you must unplug the power cable and wait for approximately 10 seconds. After the 10 seconds is up, plug your router’s power cable back in and turn it on again.

Perform another speed test once your router has restarted to determine if the problem has been fixed. If the issue with your network connection persists, you can contact your internet service provider to seek help in solving the problem.

10.Use Tailwind

Tailwind is a great source when it comes to reliable social media managing tools. It specializes in assisting you with managing your different social media accounts like a professional. Tools like Tailwind ensure that you do not have to worry about the possible complications of posting and the issues you may run into.

Using Tailwind, you can set scheduled posts whenever you would like so that you won’t have to worry about them. Using the SmartSchedule feature, you can not only learn of the best times to post to maximize engagement, but you will also be informed if there are any problems with your video before uploading.

Tailwind is a great tool to use to decrease the stress and anxiety associated with posting on Facebook. Your page will start to resemble that of a professional’s!

11.Report Your Problem

If all else fails and none of these solutions have proven to fix your problem, it may be best that you reach out to Facebook directly. The issue with uploading your video to Facebook may be a bigger problem that the IT team will be more equipped to handle.

To do this, you can report the problem to Facebook and have them work with you to solve the problem on their platform. This method will probably be faster and more efficient than trying to troubleshoot after all these guides were of no use. Make sure that you have a detailed account of your issue so that they can resolve the problem effectively. Make note of the browser you are using, the device you are having the problem on, and your account information.

Users run into problems on the Facebook platform all the time, one of the consistent ones being issues with uploading videos. There are simple solves, but there are also ways to fix complications that may be more niche to your situation. Hopefully this guide has provided enough solutions to allow you to upload your video in peace.