Just last week, as I was leisurely scrolling through Instagram, an enticing story from a friend known for her travel adventures appeared with that frustrating “Unavailable” label.
I couldn’t help but wonder what incredible place she had discovered or what funny mishap she’d encountered, but the story was locked away from my prying eyes. It also sent me into a flurry of panic, wondering if I’ve been blocked or restricted.
So why does this happen and can it just be the cause of a simple error?
Well, in this post, we will lay out all the cards to show you 10 proven methods to address this enigmatic message in less than 10 minutes. Read on and ensure your social media experience stays as smooth as possible!
What does “This story is unavailable” mean on Instagram?
This error message implies you can no longer access the story in question. In other words, being restricted from watching a story’s content is what “This story is unavailable” means on Instagram.
Therefore, you can’t view its content unless you can fix this problem or lift the restrictions behind it.
Why does it say “Story unavailable” on my Instagram?
Various factors can cause Instagram to say, “This story is unavailable.” Below is a quick list of the most common reasons; you have an idea of how it happens and how you can fix it.
- The creator deleted the story you’re trying to access.
- Your phone or Instagram app is buggy.
- The story is private content.
- The story creator blocked your account.
- The story creator deactivated their account.
- Instagram has a server outage.
How to Fix the “This Story Is Unavailable” Error?
Never fear, as below are the most practical methods for fixing the “This story is unavailable” error message on Instagram. Most solutions listed here should work on both web and app versions.
FIX 1. Close and re-open Instagram
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 seconds |
| Things Needed | Any smartphone A working internet connection |
Whenever a story is unavailable on Instagram, we recommend closing and re-opening the app to address any minor bugs and glitches. Doing so will restart the app and refresh its system memory, which could be the origin of the ongoing error.
Additionally, this action will run a new instance of Instagram and renew your account’s connection to their server. After you sign in, it will refresh your Instagram’s home feed alongside the available posts, stories, and highlights.
With this, you can expect every content on your feed to be accessible without issues. Thus, you can go and search for your target story and view it from its creator’s Instagram profile page.
This time, the story should be available to watch. Otherwise, we suggest trying other solutions in this guide to resolve its availability problem.
Step 1: Tap the recent app button. |
Step 2: Swipe the Instagram app to close it. Note: Try swiping it up if you can’t close it from the sides. |
Step 3: Re-open your Instagram app |
| Step 4: Check your target story to confirm if you can view it now. |
FIX 2. Check whether Instagram has a server outage
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 1 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 to 60 seconds |
| Things Needed | A PC or smartphone A working internet connection |
Aside from app-related bugs and glitches, the Instagram servers may suffer technical difficulties. As such, you must check for reports or announcements regarding ongoing server problems to give you an insight into how to proceed from here.
Otherwise, you’ll be wasting time and effort troubleshooting your devices and Instagram app when the issue is server-related. Believe it or not, server problems are out of your control since only Instagram’s technicians can fix them.
Instead, we suggest tuning into Instagram’s online communication channels to gather information regarding their faulty server. This way, you may learn when they expect to finish fixing the problem and get the server starting again.
If you can’t find any information about their servers being down, visit websites like “downdetector.com,” as various users report ongoing issues on these pages. Depending on your luck, you might find others with the same problem or someone with a solution.
Regardless, doing so lets you share your problem on Instagram with others. Reporting the problem helps since it might reach the ears of people from Instagram and cause them to take immediate action.
FIX 3. Sign in again
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 10 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 50 seconds |
| Things Needed | Any smartphone A working internet connection |
Unlike a simple restart, signing out of your Instagram app and logging back in is more effective in dealing with your account data’s bugs and glitches. This action also allows you to sign into your account properly.
After all, sign-in errors are possible, and they can cause your account to receive insufficient update data. As a result, you may not have access to some content on the platform until you can sign back into your Instagram account without issues.
This situation would explain why Instagram says some stories are unavailable. Once your account’s data is updated after a proper sign-in, you can search your target story again.
By now, you must be able to view the story to your heart’s content. If not, the issue might be rooted somewhere else and require different solutions before you can fix it.
| Step 1: Sign into Instagram and go to your profile page.  |
| Step 2: View additional app options by opening the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner.  |
Step 3: Go to Settings. |
Step 4: Go to Security. |
Step 5: Go to Saved Info Login. |
| Step 6: Turn off its “Saved Info Login” switch to dismiss your sign-in details.  |
Step 7: Click Remove to continue. |
| Step 8: Return to the settings menu and scroll down to click Log Out.  |
Step 9: Select your account and click Log Out. |
| Step 10: Click Log Out again to sign out of Instagram.  |
| Step 11: Sign into your Instagram account and check the target story to confirm if you can view it now. |
FIX 4. Restart your phone
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | Any smartphone |
Since you install and run the Instagram app on your phone, keeping the device in optimal condition is essential to ensure everything runs in tip-top shape.
Otherwise, your apps and connections may fail once your smartphone starts acting up during use.
In such cases, the most reasonable and straightforward answer is to restart the faulty smartphone to make the Instagram app run better. Once the device is running at its best condition, you can expect Instagram to follow suit and let you watch your target story.
However, if the Instagram story remains unavailable, it only means your faulty smartphone has nothing to do with this problem. Therefore, you must find another solution to satisfy your troubleshooting needs.
Fortunately, restarting your phone should clear its system memory and improve overall performance. This improvement should help further troubleshooting solutions run smoother, making everything more practical and efficient.
Step 1: Hold your phone’s volume down and power buttons. Note: You only need to hold the power key on other smartphones. |
Step 2: Release the buttons when the phone’s logo appears. |
Step 3: Wait until your phone finishes booting up. |
FIX 5. Clear Instagram’s cache
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 7 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 seconds |
| Things Needed | Any smartphone |
It’s no secret that your apps store cache memory during use to lessen the data you must redownload every time you reopen it. However, it isn’t always the case since your app’s cached data can corrupt over time and cause the opposite effects.
When this happens, your phone and its installed apps may begin to malfunction instead.
Thus, you must clear your Instagram app’s cache whenever it’s acting up to address the problem immediately.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to be sure that a faulty app cache is why your target story is unavailable on Instagram. Furthermore, you can’t stop your Instagram app from storing cached data as it’s a normal functionality.
Therefore, you may need to do this again once your Instagram app collects enough cached data, turning it corrupt. Above all, you can only hope that clearing your Instagram app’s cache is enough to restore your target story’s availability.
Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Go to Apps. |
Step 3: Select Manage Apps. |
| Step 4: Scroll down and select the Instagram app.  |
Step 5: Click Clear Data. |
Step 6: Click Clear Cache. |
| Step 7: Click OK to clear your Instagram app’s cache.  |
FIX 6. Check and follow the story creator’s profile
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 15 seconds |
| Things Needed | A PC or smartphone A working internet connection |
Since a blocked account can affect content’s availability, we suggest searching for your target story’s creator. This way, you can determine whether or not this creator’s account blocked you.
Once an Instagram account blocks you, their profile won’t be accessible when you search for them on the platform.
However, another possibility is that they decided to deactivate their account for personal reasons. All their content will remain unavailable unless they reactivate and restore their account.
Additionally, you can use another Instagram account to check and confirm whether the creator account blocked you or is deactivated.
Meanwhile, If you can find the story creator’s account through the search function, their content is unavailable on Instagram due to privacy restrictions. So, you must follow their account to make their private stories accessible.
Step 1: Sign into Instagram and click its lens icon. |
Step 2: Click Instagram’s search bar. |
| Step 3: Enter the account name of your target story’s creator and view their profile. Note: You can’t search the account if it blocked you or was deactivated. If you can see the story creator’s profile, follow it. |
FIX 7. Reinstall your Instagram
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 11 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 1 minute and 20 seconds |
| Things Needed | Any smartphone A working internet connection |
Surprisingly, an app malfunction can be the source of your target story’s unavailability. Among all the possible reasons, installation error is a standout because its only symptom is the app not working.
If you suspect your Instagram app suffers from an installation error, we recommend reinstalling it immediately. With this, you eliminate the faulty app while installing a suitable replacement.
Remember, your internet connection must be outstanding to prevent errors during the reinstallation. Otherwise, you’ll need to keep repeating this method until you’re successful and gain access to previously unavailable stories on Instagram.
| Step 1: Go to Settings. |
| Step 2: Go to Apps. |
| Step 3: Select Manage Apps. |
| Step 4: Scroll down and select the Instagram app. |
Step 5: Click Uninstall. |
| Step 6: Click OK to remove the Instagram app and its data.  |
Step 7: Open Play Store. |
Step 8: Click the Play Store’s search bar. |
| Step 9: Type “Instagram” and select it when you see it in the search suggestions.  |
Step 10: Click Install. |
| Step 11: Open the Instagram app and check the target story to confirm if it works now.  |
FIX 8. Reconnect to your WiFi network
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 25 seconds |
| Things Needed | A smartphone A working internet connection |
Another notable solution is to reconnect your device to your WiFi network. Doing so lets you troubleshoot for possible network connectivity problems that may stop you from accessing Instagram content properly.
After all, your account may fail to load content due to a sluggish network connection, even if they’re accessible. Thus, your terrible internet connection may be why your target story is unavailable on your Instagram account.
Here’s how to do it:
| Step 1: Pull to open your smartphone’s notification bar.  |
| Step 2: Long-press the WiFi icon to head straight to the WiFi settings.  |
| Step 3: Click the gear icon beside your current network and select Forget Network to remove it on your phone.  |
| Step 4: Select your network to re-enter its WiFi password and tap the Connect button.  |
FIX 9. Update your Instagram
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | Any smartphone A working internet connection |
Like your phone, keeping your Instagram app in optimal condition is essential. We highly recommend updating the app to its latest version whenever possible.
This way, your Instagram app is never behind the new features and updates available to everyone. More importantly, the app update should contain bug fixes for addressing Instagram’s recurring errors.
It’s crucial since an update sometimes decides if an app will continue to work. In this case, updating your Instagram app could determine whether or not you’ll suffer from your target stories that can no longer be accessed on Instagram.
| Step 1: Open Play Store. |
Step 2: Tap your Google account’s profile icon. |
Step 3: Click “Manage apps & device.” |
| Step 4: Click “Update all” to install all app updates on your phone.  |
| Step 5: Wait for Instagram to install its latest update. Note: Once done, open your Instagram account and check the target story to confirm if you can view it now. |
FIX 10. Report the problem
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 seconds |
| Things Needed | A PC or smartphone A working internet connection |
Finally, you can use Instagram’s report tool if troubleshooting your device and account was unsuccessful. Sometimes, leaving your technical problems to customer support is best.
This way, you don’t have to struggle anymore since you only need to describe the problem and let Instagram’s support team take action. More importantly, this method gives you better access to unavailable Instagram stories.
| Step 1: Sign into Instagram and visit your account’s profile page.  |
| Step 2: View additional app options by opening the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner.  |
Step 3: Go to Settings. |
Step 4: Go to Help. |
Step 5: Click Report a Problem. |
| Step 6: Follow the on-screen instructions to submit a report. Note: You must describe the problem in detail, so Instagram Support can deal with it more effectively. |
FAQs about Unavailable Instagram Stories
The story becomes unavailable until the restrictions are lifted. Your only option is to wait for this to happen since you don’t have control over stories made by other people.
Not seeing someone view your stories is the only telltale sign that they’ve been muted. Unfortunately, it’s not a precise method since it’s possible for a person not to view your stories even though it’s unmuted on their account.
Instagram stories can be unavailable for various reasons, and technical problems are no exception. Believe it or not, it might be among the most common reasons stories become unavailable.
