Instagram is a bubbling pot of the latest trends, quirky reels, scintillating images, and fun DMs. The majority userbase of Instagram is youth but slowly, everyone is flocking over to Instagram.
However, Instagram is home to many, many bugs and error codes that can render some features or the complete app useless. One such troublesome error is the “Instagram doesn’t have photo access” which renders the photo capturing and sharing feature of Instagram useless.
We will cover all the possible reasons for the “Instagram doesn’t have photo access” error and will explain 7 easy fixes that will prevent this problem in the future.
Causes for the Instagram doesn’t have photo access error message
“Instagram doesn’t have photo access” error can pop up due to a variety of reasons:
- The Instagram app does not have the necessary permissions required to access core features
- Outdated Instagram app or phone OS
- Corrupted cache files that haven’t been deleted for a long time
- A recent yet buggy Instagram update
7 easy Fix for Instagram doesn’t have photo access
- Check Instagram camera access Permissions
- Clear Cache and Data for Instagram
- Update the Instagram App
- Remove Updates
- Update the Device OS
- Use the Native Camera App
- Factory Reset your device
Check Instagram Camera Access Permissions
The primary reason for the “Instagram doesn’t have photo access” error is the lack of Instagram camera access permissions. You may have revoked the camera access or storage access, which probits Instagram to use the phone’s camera and view photos. To fix this error, do as follows:
- Find the Instagram app in your app drawer and long-press the app icon. Select the App Info option.
- Scroll down to find the App Permissions option and check if the Instagram app has “Camera” and “Files and Media” access permissions.
- If you haven’t allowed these permissions, then click on the Camera permission and select the “Allow only while using the App” option from the list.
- Similarly, update the “Files and Media” permissions for Instagram.
- Now, close the App Info window and reopen Instagram to check if the error message pops up or not.
Clear Cache and Data for Instagram
Clearing cache and data for the Instagram app can work wonders and remove corrupt files, which may be generating an error code while using the app.
- Find the Instagram app in your app drawer and long-press the app icon. Select the App Info option.
- Scroll down to find the Clear Data option and tap on it.
- You will see two options – Clear All Data and Clear Cache.
- Firstly, click on Clear Cache to remove all the temporary files and then check the Instagram app.
- If the error message persists, select the Clear All Data option as well.
Note: Using the Clear All Data will wipe everything including settings, account, files, etc. So, create a backup of your Instagram data before using this feature.
Update the Instagram App
Updating the Instagram App can resolve underlying bugs present in the current build.
- Open Play Store and type Instagram in the search box.
- Tap on the Instagram app and then check if there’s an update for the app.
- If an update exists, you will see the Update button instead of the Open button. Tap on it to update the Instagram app.
- Now, open the app and check if the error code still appears.
Note: iOS users can similarly update the app using the app store.
Remove Updates
Removing updates is a wise choice if you are experiencing photo access errors after recently updating the Instagram app.
- Long Press the Instagram app icon to open App Info.
- Then, scroll down to the very bottom to find the Uninstall Updates icon.
- Tap on Uninstall updates to remove the updates that may have been causing the photo access error.
Update the Device OS
If you haven’t updated the Device OS in a long time, it is possible that the new version of the Instagram app is not fully compatible with the old Device OS. make it a habit to frequently update your phone to the latest version of the Android and security patches.
Use the Native Camera App
Many of us tend to use third-party apps for editing camera images and applying beauty filters. The problem with this approach is that not all third-party apps are compatible with Instagram. So, you must change the default camera app setting of your device.
- Open the Settings app and search for the Manage Apps option.
- Tap on the three vertical dots and click on Default apps.
- Select the Camera option and then check which app is set to default.
- If the native camera app isn’t selected, tap on it and set it as the default camera app.
- Now, Open Instagram and try to set a story, or use the camera to check for error message pop-ups.
Factory Reset your device
After trying all the methods, if you still see the “Instagram doesn’t have photo access” error, then factory resetting your device is the last viable option. It will wipe every trace of data present on your storage, so make a backup of your data before hastily performing a Factory Reset.
Conclusion
These were the 7 working fixes for the Instagram doesn’t have photo access error message. Try them out in sequence, and do not Factory Reset unless you’ve tried everything else.
