Snapchat is a well-known social media application that allows users to connect with others and send snaps. Snapchat is particularly popular for its diverse camera filters that enhance the photo-taking experience. The app provides an interactive platform where you can take photos, send snaps, and maintain snap streaks with your friends.s, and maintain snap streaks with your friends.
You must download Snapchat on your phone/tablet if you want to use it. But many users have recently started facing issues while downloading the Snapchat app. Users have complained that they cannot download the Snapchat app on their mobile and tablet and get the error message ‘Can’t Download Snapchat’
This issue is commonly encountered by Android users but is not limited to them. Even some iOS users have reported facing the same issue while trying to download Snapchat. If you are also wondering why can’t I download Snapchat, then you are at the right place. This article will discuss all the reasons for facing this issue and how to fix it.
Why Can’t I Download Snapchat? Reasons Behind It
Why can’t I download Snapchat? There can be multiple reasons why you can be facing problems while downloading Snapchat, such as:
- You need the internet to download Snapchat. When your internet is slow or unstable, this may cause problems while downloading the Snapchat app.
- If the store’s cache is corrupted, then that can also cause problems with downloading the Snapchat app.
- Another reason that can be causing this issue is outdated OS.
- Bugs and technical glitches within your device can also prevent you from downloading the Snapchat app.
- Device incompatibility is another common reason why many people cannot download the Snapchat app on their devices.
- You may face issues with downloading the Snapchat app if the servers of the Play Store or the App Store are down.
- You need storage to download the Snapchat app on your phone/tablet. If your device is running out of storage, you won’t be able to download the Snapchat app.
- Many people use VPNs while surfing the internet, which can sometimes cause issues while downloading the Snapchat app.
Fix: Why Can’t I Download Snapchat – Android/iOS
Not being able to download Snapchat is a common issue that you may face. If you can’t download Snapchat, the steps below should help you fix it.
Fix Issues With the Internet
People often forget to turn on mobile data or connect to a Wi-Fi network before downloading the app. Ensure you are connected to the internet before you continue ahead. If you are connected to the internet but still facing the issue, check the speed by visiting SpeedTest website or using the SpeedTest app on your phone/tablet.
Check your internet speed, and ensure your ping is low and your download and upload speeds are high. If it’s the opposite, you must troubleshoot the internet to increase the internet connection speed. Given below are a few things that can be done to increase the internet speed-
- Turn off mobile data, and then turn it on after a few seconds.
- Enable the airplane mode on your mobile/tablet and disable it after a few seconds. This is the most common troubleshooting step to clear out issues you face with your internet.
- Apps in the background consume the internet and may limit internet speed. Close all the apps running in the background.
- If you are using mobile data but facing issues, contact your ISP. Tell them about the issue you are facing with your internet, and they will fix it.
- ISP can take time to resolve the issue with the internet, and for the time being, you can connect to a Wi-Fi network to download Snapchat.
- If you are already connected to a Wi-Fi network and facing issues with it, ensure no other device is connected to the same Wi-Fi.
- If you have any other Wi-Fi network with you, you can also connect to it.
Ensure You Have Enough Storage
When your phone or tablet is low on storage, you won’t be able to install Snapchat. You need more than 1GB of free storage to download and use Snapchat on your device. If your device is running low on storage, you will have to clear some storage before installing the Snapchat app.
To free some storage, you can uninstall unwanted apps from your phone. You can also delete old files like images, videos, audio, and documents you no longer need from your phone. I personally backup all the old photos and videos to an external storage, PC, or cloud, and then delete them from my phone. This way, my files are saved, and I have enough storage on my device.
Restart Your Phone/Tablet
If your internet is working fine and you have enough storage on your device, there can be some glitch or bug causing this issue. Temporary bugs can be cleared by rebooting your phone/tablet. But what does restarting/rebooting the device will do? When you restart your phone or tablet, all the services running in the background are restarted along with all the apps. This will clear out any technical glitches and bugs on your device, and you should be able to download Snapchat now.
Check For Play Store/App Store Server
You can face issues while downloading Snapchat from Play Store or App Store if their servers are down. Visit the Google Play page on DownDetector to check the server status of the Play Store. Similarly, to check the server of the App Store, you can visit the App Store page on DownDetector. Another way to check the server of the App Store is by visiting the System Status page.
If you notice server downtime in the Google Play Store or App Store, you must wait for some time. Generally, there’s nothing you can do if the server is down except wait for the issue to be cleared. The server issue may take some time to resolve, so wait until then. However, the servers are working fine, but if you still can’t download Snapchat, move to the next step in this article.
Update The Firmware
Some bugs can’t be cleared by restarting your device. If this is a system bug, updating the device’s firmware to the latest version should help fix it. Installing any pending updates will fix all the bugs and corrupted installation files. Here’s how you can update the firmware on both Android and iOS-
On Android
- From the app drawer, open the Settings app.
- Now, tap on the Software Update option.
- Inside the Software Update, tap on Download and Install.
- Your device will now check for available updates.
- Install the update and then restart your phone.
On iOS
- Head to the Settings of your iPhone/iPad.
- Here, tap on General and then tap on Software Update.
- Settings will now list all the updates available. If there are multiple updates, then select the one you want to install.
- Now tap on Download and Install to install the update.
Once you have updated your device to the latest firmware, try downloading Snapchat again.
Turn Off VPN
VPN enables secure connection by hiding your identity online. A VPN will hide your real IP address and encrypts the internet by passing it through a VPN tunnel. With VPN, you can securely browse the internet and access geo-restricted content and sites. Though this protects your identity online sometimes, VPN can be the real culprit behind this issue. Try disconnecting from the VPN and then downloading Snapchat.
Clear Cache Of Play Store (Only For Android Users)
Note- This step is only meant for Android users because Apple does not allow clearing the cache of the apps.
The corrupted cache of the Play Store is one of the most common reasons behind this issue. If you can’t download Snapchat, then try clearing the cache of the Play Store and then download Snapchat. You can do this by following the steps given below-
- Long press the Play Store icon from the app drawer, then tap on App Info (i) icon.
- Now, tap on the Storage option in the App Info screen.
- Tap on Clear Cache.
- Once you have cleared the cache, relaunch the Play Store and try downloading Snapchat.
Check Whether Snapchat Is Compatible With Your Device
You won’t be able to download Snapchat if the app is not compatible with your device. This generally happens when you are using a very old phone or when the firmware is older than what’s available in the market. When downloading, you will see the ‘Your device isn’t compatible with this version’ message under the app, meaning your phone is no longer compatible with the latest version of Snapchat.
If you are an iOS user, you can try using the web version of Snapchat by enabling a Desktop view in the browser. Android allows you to sideload apps from third-party sources to follow the next step mentioned in this article.
Install Snapchat From Third-Party Sources (Only On Android)
Many phones/tablets have the brand’s app and Play Store. For instance, Samsung has Galaxy Store. You can use these stores to download Snapchat. Else, you can download the APK of Snapchat and install it on your phone. This will work even if your device isn’t compatible with Snapchat. Here’s how you can do it-
- Click on this link to head to a Snapchat page on APKMirror.
- Click on the Download button next to the version you want to download.
Note- You will see the beta and stable versions of the app here. You can download either of them.
- Once the file is downloaded, you will see the notification. Tap on Open to continue.
- You will be asked to open the settings of Chrome; tap on Settings.
- You will now have to allow installing apps from unknown sources. Turn on the toggle next to Chrome.
- You will see the installation prompt on your screen; tap Install to install the app.
- Once Snapchat is installed, you can run it on your device without any issues.
If you face a problem installing Snapchat with the APK, try downloading and installing any old APK.
Conclusion
Many users have complained about not being able to install Snapchat. After following the above steps, you can install Snapchat on your phone/tablet without any trouble. The steps we have listed above are written keeping in mind both iOS and Android users, but some steps are only limited to Android users.
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