Why is nothing loading on my phone? [Why and How to Fix]

One of the most harrowing experiences you can have is when nothing is loading on your phone during a crucial situation. Aside from the stress of not getting what you need, you may even become worried that your phone’s broken.

The good thing is that you don’t have to suffer this misfortune, as there are effective ways to address a phone error like this. In this post, we’ll discuss the top 6 reasons this can happen and the 8 best things to do when your phone isn’t loading anything.

1. Poor Internet Connectivity 

Since most apps nowadays require internet access to work, a reliable WiFi or mobile data connection is necessary. It means that your internet connectivity is often the deciding factor in whether or not an app will work on your phone.

If you have poor internet connectivity issues, it could be why nothing is loading on your phone. The only way this wouldn’t be a concern for you is if you still mostly use offline applications, which are vastly outnumbered nowadays.

2. App-Related Errors Causing the Loading Issues 

Sometimes, even a speedy internet connection isn’t enough for your phone to load your apps’ content. This issue occurs when the apps installed on your phone are faulty due to a software or installation error.

If you don’t install your apps properly, they won’t work as intended, causing your phone not to load anything. You can fix the app’s installation or update it to a later version to keep it compatible with your phone.

3. Phone Operating System Requires an Update 

Like the apps you’re using, you must keep your phone’s operating system updated to its latest version. After all, the newer system software is optimized to work well with more applications and existing features.

Thus, using a phone with an old operating system may cause a failure to load app content reliably. If you’re unlucky, the issue may not stop at your phone not loading anything, as it can also lead to the device not working correctly.

4. Location-Based Restrictions 

Geo-blocking is an issue many people have with some apps exclusive to specific regions. Since apps and services require a separate license to operate in different markets, it’s common for some to stay unavailable to other users.

As such, many people rely on VPN services to bypass location-based restrictions on apps and services they’re interested in. After all, the location spoofing feature of VPNs is the only way to load the content from these region-exclusive apps.

Without a VPN service, your phone won’t load anything from an app with location-based restrictions. Your only other option is to wait for the app or service to be available for your region, which may take years to happen in some cases.

5. Low Storage Space

Running low on your phone’s internal storage space often causes performance issues and app errors. Therefore, maintaining enough room in your phone’s internal storage is recommended to keep the device working optimally.

Otherwise, your phone will likely encounter issues when it lacks enough memory to perform its normal functions. It could be why your phone struggles loading any of your installed apps.

6. Using VPNs 

Regarding region-locked content, most phone users consider a VPN service a godsend. Unfortunately, some apps and services prohibit VPN, causing your access to be limited or blocked instead.

Plus, VPNs may negatively impact your internet connectivity if you don’t have a decent internet connection. Having your connection speed reduced like this can cause your phone not to load anything properly.

What to Do When Your Phone Doesn’t Load Anything

Lucky for you, tech always has a workaround for smartphone technical issues. Please note the instructions below should work on any smartphone brand and model, albeit with minor differences.

FIX 1. Restart your phone

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	3
Time to Perform Fix	30 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone

The best and easiest way to deal with minor phone errors is to perform a restart. This action will reset and refresh the device’s system memory, often enough to correct minor phone errors.

After the reboot, try opening your apps to check if the restart fixed the issue. We suggest using the solutions after this if nothing is loading on your phone.

Step 1: Hold your phone’s side button until the power menu appears.

Step 2: Click Restart to reboot your phone’s system.

Step 3: Wait for the phone to finish booting up.

FIX 2. Clear the storage

We recommend trying three methods to manage your phone’s remaining storage space. Any of these methods should help clear some space on your phone and help improve its performance.

You can use all three methods to maximize the storage space you can free up for your phone. The more storage your phone has, the better it will perform and the less likely it will struggle to load your installed apps.

These methods include clearing the cache storage of all apps individually, transferring your files to a cloud or external storage, and uninstalling your unused apps. We suggest sticking to the method you can use on your phone effectively. 

Clear the cache storage of each installed app

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	6
Time to Perform Fix	30 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Scroll down and open your phone’s Apps settings menu.

Step 3: Select any app.

Step 4: Scroll down and open the selected app’s Storage page.

Step 5: Click Clear Cache.

Step 6: Return to the Apps settings menu and clear the cache storage of other apps.

Use a cloud or external storage to transfer your files

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	4
Time to Perform Fix	20 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Tap on your Apple ID’s profile name.

Step 3: Go to iCloud.

Step 4: Toggle on the Sync this iPhone switch and select the Optimize iPhone Storage option. Note: With the Optimize iPhone Storage option set, the device won’t keep your photos’ full versions to save space. You can instead download them from iCloud as needed.

Uninstall your unused apps

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	7
Time to Perform Fix	30 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Scroll down and open General.

Step 3: Scroll down and open iPhone Storage.

Step 4: Navigate the iPhone Storage to check if the app you uninstalled is listed there.

Step 5: Select the app in question.

Step 6: Click the Delete App option to remove it permanently.

Step 7: Return to the iPhone Storage menu and uninstall other unused apps.

FIX 3. Update your apps

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	4
Time to Perform Fix	1 to 5 minutes
Things Needed	Any smartphoneA working internet connection

After using an app for a while, it may malfunction due to software-related errors that can occur during use. It’s why app developers often release app updates to keep them working well on most phones.

They usually release most app updates alongside or after a phone’s OS update to help manage device compatibility. Its purpose is to keep your apps working correctly and prevent issues like nothing loading on your phone.

Step 1: Open Play Store. Note: iPhone users should go to the Apple App Store.

Step 2: Click your profile.

Step 3: Click “Manage apps & device.”

Step 4: Click Update All to download all app updates.

FIX 4. Restart/reset your WiFi

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	4
Time to Perform Fix	3 minutes
Things Needed	A toothpick or paperclip

Troubleshooting a faulty internet connection is easy, as unplugging your WiFi router is often enough to fix the most common connectivity issues. Doing so will refresh your WiFi router and make it work once you plug it back in.

In cases where restarting your WiFi router doesn’t solve the connectivity issue, you can reset it to its default settings instead. You can follow the instructions below to perform a WiFi router factory reset.

Step 1: Unplug the ethernet cable on your WiFi router.

Step 2: Stick a toothpick or paperclip inside the pinhole at the back of the WiFi router to access its reset button.

Step 3: Press and hold the pinhole’s reset button until the WiFi router shuts down.

Step 4: Plug the ethernet cable into the WiFi router after it reboots, and try connecting your phone again.

FIX 5. Turn your VPN on or off

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	5
Time to Perform Fix	30 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphoneA working internet connection

Depending on the app you’re using on your phone, turning your VPN on or off may fix the issue for you. Monitor how your phone and apps behave when you turn on and off your VPN to find out which helps load the content you want.

Please note that some apps may work with VPN while others may not. It’s best to try using your VPN service alongside all your installed apps to identify which works with which.

Step 1: Open your phone’s VPN app.

Step 2: Click the globe icon to select your preferred location.

Step 3: Click the Connect button to turn your VPN on.

Step 4: Click OK to confirm the connection request.

Step 5: Click the Disconnect button to turn your VPN off.

FIX 6. Reset the network settings

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	7
Time to Perform Fix	40 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone

Another way to deal with internet connectivity issues is via a reset of network settings. Believe it or not, the network configuration on your phone can also cause connectivity issues.

The problems may occur after changing your phone’s network settings, whether intentional or not. When this happens, you can manually undo the changes you’ve made or reset the network settings to restore the default configuration.

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Go to General.

Step 3: Go to “Transfer or Reset iPhone.”

Step 4: Click Reset.

Step 5: Click Reset Network Settings.

Step 6: Enter your passcode.

Step 7: Confirm your selection by clicking Reset Network Settings. Note: After the network settings reset, reconnect your phone to your WiFi network.

FIX 7. Update your phone

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	4
Time to Perform Fix	5 minutes
Things Needed	Any smartphoneA working internet connection

Despite updating your apps to the latest version, your phone may fail to load them if its operating system is outdated. As mentioned, you must keep your phone and apps updated to their latest versions to reduce the likelihood of compatibility issues.

Since we’ve already discussed updating your installed apps, we’ll also show how to do the same for your phone’s system software below. Your phone must have enough storage space to download and install the software update without issues.

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Go to Software Update.

Step 3: Click Download and Install.

Step 4: Click Install Now to update your phone’s system software.

FIX 8. Reset your phone

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	5
Time to Perform Fix	2 minutes
Things Needed	A phoneA USB cable (if needed)

If you’re reading this part of the guide, we can only assume the abovementioned solutions failed to fix the problem for you. As such, our final recommendation is for you to perform a factory reset to restore your phone’s default settings configuration.

This action is the best way to deal with software-related errors that an OS update can’t resolve. The only issue is that factory resetting a phone will delete all your user data and important files.

It’s a small price to pay for how well the factory reset can fix system errors on any mobile device. Fortunately, it’s not a big issue since you can save a backup of your phone’s files and data if you want to restore them afterward.

Step 1: Force your phone to shut down by simultaneously pressing its power and volume-down buttons. Note: During this step, some phones must be plugged into a PC using a USB cable.

Step 2: Boot into recovery mode by simultaneously pressing its power and volume-up buttons.

Step 3: Go to “Wipe data/factory reset.”

Step 4: Go to “Factory data reset.”

Step 5: Wait until the data wipe is complete and select Reboot System Now.

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