WhatsApp video download issues

I can’t download a WhatsApp video

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app nowadays. Meta (Facebook) keeps updating the app to improve the communication methods and there are new features regularly. However, there are times when the app fails. For example, when you try to download a WhatsApp video and the process abruptly closes.

Even though WhatsApp is one of the most popular worldwide messaging apps, the servers can fail. You can send audio, video and text but sometimes you will receive a WhatsApp video file and the download won’t finish. Don’t despair. There are different reasons for these as well as possible solutions. First of all you must detect why the WhatsApp video can’t correctly download to your device.

WhatsApp video download fail

WhatsApp video doesn’t download because of short storage space

A download failure for WhatsApp video or file may originate in little storage space available. If the file is too heavy you may experience this issue. In case you are experiencing failure downloads you should do a maintenance work on your device.

The easiest solution is to clean your gallery of videos and photographs that you don’t need anymore. We all have hundreds of old photos, memes and funny videos that occupy space. If you clean your device regularly you shouldn’t suffer the video download fail in WhatsApp.

There are also apps dedicated to clean your memory and allow for a faster performance. They include cache memory erase as well as duplicated images and videos. The best solution is to always clean old and useless content.

Weak or unstable connection

Another common issue when downloading videos in WhatsApp is the Internet connection. When the file is heavy and your network hasn’t good quality, you may face the download error. Usually the network is not enough to transfer the file at optimum speed.

Your WiFi connection may also be unstable or be saturated. In public spaces this is usually the main reason for a video download fail. The Internet network saturates because of thousands of petitions and micro cuts appear damaging great data packages.

The best solution is to wait for a better Internet coverage before continuing the download. In case the download is urgent, you can keep trying until the connection works.

File issues if you can’t download a video in WhatsApp

There’s a possibility that the problem is the file and not the connection. Maybe the sender has erased it or it has changed.  Both scenarios make the file impossible to download if it’s not sent again. You must contact the person that sent you the video and ask him to send it again.

Outdated app

Both Android and iOS WhatsApp version require to be updated regularly to work normally. The most important apps are those we use the most. If you don’t run the updated version there’s a possibility that WhatsApp will start failing. In case your automatic update is not active, you will need to download the updates manually.

A failed video download in WhatsApp may also appear when the sender and receiver version is different. It’s a security measure to keep your system always up to date. WhatsApp tends to block the distribution of packages from older versions to avoid malware transfer. It’s a way to force updating WhatsApp for every user.

App instability

Sometimes the WhatsApp servers fall down temporarily. The server problems tend to fix after some minutes or hours depending of the problem. When the server is down the messages and files accumulate without being able to reach destination. The best alternative here is to wait for the servers to be fixed.


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