How to Find Out If Facebook or Instagram Are Down

Facebook and Instagram are two of the biggest social media platforms. Despite the billions of resources poured into them, they can occasionally experience downtimes. In fact, it’s likely that you’ve been unable to access any of the two platforms at least once in your life.

When Facebook or Instagram is down, there isn’t anything that you can do but wait. Downtimes might just be an inconvenience for some, but for others, these social media platforms are essential to their work. If you cannot access Facebook or Instagram and are wondering if they are actually down or not, follow this guide.

Why Facebook and Instagram Go Down

Facebook and Instagram can be inaccessible for many reasons. This can range from server issues to your ISP having some DNS problems, cyber-attacks, and more.

Server Issues

Possibly the most common reason why Facebook and Instagram are inaccessible is because of server issues. Keep in mind that both platforms are used by billions of people regularly. Although Meta has ways to accommodate all users on both platforms, servers are still prone to experiencing issues from time to time.

While Facebook or Instagram is down, you might consider updating your Twitter account and get a blue tick for it.

Maintenance

Another common reason is maintenance from Meta’s side. Maintenance is usually done to fix bugs or to update Facebook and Instagram. However, it’s worth noting that it’s rare for Meta to schedule maintenance on the two platforms. Meta doesn’t conduct maintenance on their databases at the same time.

This means that Facebook and Instagram might be available to your friends but not to you during maintenance.

Cyber Attacks

Facebook is the biggest social media platform in the world, and Instagram is closely following it. Both are prime targets for cyber attacks, but again, this rarely happens. When attacks occur on the server side, the host usually closes off everything to prevent data from getting out, resulting in downtimes.

Code Problems

Facebook and Instagram regularly get new features and updates. Although Meta does a great job at testing the feature’s code before rolling them out, these infrastructure changes can also result in connectivity problems sometimes. Problems like these are usually resolved quickly.

3 Ways to Check if Facebook and Instagram Are Down

There are multiple ways you can check if Facebook and Instagram are having a server outage. This can help confirm that the issue is not related to your ISP.

1. Check Outage Detector Websites

If you can’t access Facebook and Instagram, you should first use outage detector websites. What’s great about these is that they automatically detect your location to check whether the server is down on your end.

One of the best platforms to use is Downdetector. After opening the website, you simply need to type in Facebook or Instagram in the search bar. Downdetector also shows the server status of a platform during the last 24 hours. You can contribute to the website by reporting when you can’t access Facebook or Instagram.

It’s also worth noting that Facebook and Instagram’s app versions are a different matter. There will be instances when the mobile versions are working, but the web versions are inaccessible. The good news is that most outage detectors let you see the status of both versions.

→Try Downdetector

2. Try Opening Other Websites

The fastest way to check if both platforms are down is by opening other websites. This doesn’t give you a definite answer on the status of Facebook and Instagram. However, it tells you whether it’s a connectivity problem on your end or a problem on Meta’s side. However, this method isn’t always effective as some websites take longer to load than Facebook.

3. Check Twitter or News Sites

Twitter may not be as popular as Facebook, but it is a great platform for gathering information on events happening in real-time. If Facebook or Instagram are not loading on your end, consider searching for them on Twitter. If there are multiple reports, it could signal a server-side issue on Meta’s part. And if the outage lasts a relatively long time, Facebook or Instagram should appear as a trending topic on Twitter.

If you have deleted your Twitter account, you could head to other news sites for updates. Media outlets typically provide a timeline of outages and a detailed look into the matter.

What Can You Do When Facebook and Instagram Go Down?

If the outage is caused by an issue or server maintenance on Meta’s side, there’s not much you can do but wait. Downtimes like these aren’t typically long. The longest downtime for Facebook was around 14 hours in 2019. For Instagram, the longest downtime in recent memory was 8 hours in 2022. These extended downtimes rarely happen, so you don’t need to worry too much.

Understandably, these outages can be frustrating. If the Meta platform isn’t a fit for you anymore, here’s how you can permanently delete your Facebook account.