Why is My TikTok not Working? Here’s How to Fix It

TikTok is undoubtedly one of the most popular apps nowadays. It is a video-sharing app, particularly those vertical format short videos. The main target of TikTok (whether intentionally or not) is millennials and Gen Z demographic. Young people’s FOMO is a major reason for the success of apps such as TikTok. Like any other social media app, even TikTok has its fair share of problems. A common question many TikTok users get is, why is my TikTok not working?

If you are facing an issue with TikTok and frustrated that it is not working properly, then don’t worry. We discussed some possible reasons why TikTok is not working and also how to fix the issue.

What is TikTok?

TikTok is primarily a short-video creating and sharing app. Its origins are in China. ByteDance, a Chinese technology company developed TikTok (for users worldwide) and Douyin (for mainland China).

It is a free app where users can create short videos, usually in vertical or portrait mode. The videos can be anything such as lip-syncing music, dance, pranks, jokes, informative, educational, etc.

The length of the video evolved over time. At the time of its launch, TikTok restricted the length of the videos to 15 seconds. In 2017, it increased the length to 60 seconds.

TikTok saw huge growth during this time. As a result, it started experimenting with the video length and bumped it to 3 minutes in 2021. Once again, this move seems to work in favor of TikTok as the user base grew rapidly and reached the one billion mark.

Despite its main theme, which is to create and share short-form videos, TikTok pushed the maximum video length to 10 minutes in early 2022. Experts say this move from TikTok is to compete with other video publishing platforms (especially, YouTube).

Influence of TikTok

Users of TikTok can create, share and view short videos on the app. You can easily navigate through a feed of vertical videos. If you want to record a video, you can make use of its filters, search for sound or songs, and add tags (hashtags).

The main reason for the popularity of TikTok was its short-span videos. This was a mega-hit, particularly in youth with an age group of 16 to 24.

Creators are becoming “TikTok Influencers”. It is a type of internet marketing where companies and brands use the popularity of content creators to promote their products. They pay the “influencer” to create sponsored content on their product.

A positive outcome of TikTok videos is the sales of books in the year 2021. TikTokers created videos on the books they are reading, reviewing them, discussing them in their videos, and recommending books to their viewers.

This trend quickly went viral, thereby increasing the demand for physical books rather than digital copies. In some cases, even old books got a boost in sales.

Why is My TikTok not Working?

It is really frustrating if there are problems with your favorite video-sharing platform. You start wondering “Why is My TikTok not Working?”.

Here are some common reasons why TikTok stops working.

• Problem with TikTok Servers
• App Issue
• Data Corruption
• Ban on TikTok
• TikTok Restricted Your Account
• An issue with Your Device

The first and most common problem for your ‘Why is My TikTok not Working?’ frustration is a problem with TikTok Servers.

TikTok, like several other developers, regularly updates its app to fix bugs, add features, upgrade security, and many more things. There is a chance that the app itself has a problem and TikTok stops working.

Another common cause of why TikTok stops working is if there is any sort of data corruption. This data can be critical app data or cache.

Several countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, etc. put a ban on TikTok, which is either temporary or permanent. If you are from one of these countries that banned TikTok, then it will not work at all.

Another possibility of why TikTok doesn’t work properly is if TikTok restricts your account. This could be for a number of reasons including but not limited to posting sensitive content, not following their guidelines, or any other issue.

Device-related issues can also stop TikTok from working.

How to Fix TikTok not Working Problem?

From the previous discussion, it is clear that there are several reasons as to why TikTok stopped working. Here are some simple ways in which you can fix this issue.

1. Check if TikTok is Down

The simplest way to check the problem is to see if TikTok is down or not. Instead of using the app, go to a computer, open a web browser, and open TikTok’s home page.

Alternatively, you can also use the services of the Downdetector website. It is a popular site that monitors website problems and outages.

If there is a problem with TikTok’s servers, then the app, as well as the website, will not work properly. The solution to this problem is to wait until TikTok fixes the issue as the problem is at their end.

2. Update TikTok

An outdated app can cause a lot of problems. This can happen to TikTok as well. Make sure you update your app frequently.

App updates will fix user-reported issues or bugs. Go to Play Store or App Store depending on your device and update the TikTok app.

3. Clear Cache and Data

Corrupted app data can also make TikTok not work as expected. In Android phones, you can easily clear the app’s cache and data from the storage.

Try this with the TikTok app on your Android Phone. Remember that clearing ‘cache’ will delete temporary data but if you clear ‘Data’, all the essential data such as login information, credentials, etc. will be deleted.

You can do a similar thing on iOS devices as well. There is an option to ‘Offload’ an app from the settings. This will clear/remove all the local files but retains important data and documents.

But the important thing to here is that, when you ‘’Offload’ an app, the app will be deleted so you have to reinstall it from the App Store.

4. Restart Your Device

Sometimes simple things such as restarting your smartphone can solve all the problems. If TikTok is not working on your device, just try to restart the device.

You can perform a simple restart. This action will clear all the apps from the memory. So, when you once again launch TikTok, it will be a fresh start.

Is Your Internet Fine?

You need a proper internet connection for TikTok to work. So, check your Wi-Fi or cellular data and see if it is working or not.

Try to switch between the two. You can also restart your Wi-Fi router. Another popular solution with respect to internet connectivity is to switch on Airplane mode on your Smartphone.

Leave the device for some time before disabling the Airplane mode. Now connect to Wi-Fi or cellular data.

VPN is the Only Way

As we mentioned earlier, some countries banned TikTok. If you are from those countries, then there is no point in wondering why is my TikTok not working.

If you are still desperate and want to use TikTok, then VPN is the only way. The main advantage of a VPN is that you can manually set the “location” of your device. VPN will hide your real location and tricks TikTok’s servers that you are browsing from another location.

Uninstall and Reinstall TikTok

Updates, while trying to fix bugs and issues, can also cause app crashes and other problems. If a recent TikTok update made the app no to work, then you have to uninstall the previous update or better uninstall the entire app and reinstall it.

Contact TikTok

If all the above-mentioned solutions didn’t help you fix the TikTok not Working issue, then you can write to TikTok. You can also contact them in other ways and get help.

Conclusion

TikTok is a popular short-video creating and sharing app. Even popular apps have their fair share of technical problems.

Why is my TikTok not Working? It is a common question several TikTok users face once in a while.

In this guide, we saw the basics of TikTok and also its importance in the modern world’s communication. After that, we saw some possible reasons for TikTok not working.

Finally, we saw some generic solutions to fix TikTok not working problem.