Having an issue accessing content on Facebook can be frustrating. Here are some tips to try and get your Facebook content working again when you see messages like “content not available” or “content unavailable.”
Check Your Internet Connection
The first thing to check is your internet connection. Make sure you have a stable wifi or cellular data connection. Content may not load if you have a weak or intermittent connection to the internet.
- For wifi, make sure you are connected to your wifi network and the signal strength is good. Move closer to your router if the signal is weak.
- For cellular data, check you have adequate signal bars and a 4G LTE or 5G connection. Slow 3G cellular connections can impact loading content.
- Try disconnecting and reconnecting to refresh the connection. Turn wifi off and on, or disable cellular data and re-enable it.
- Do a speed test of your connection. Internet speeds below 10Mbps can cause issues loading content.
If you have a good internet connection, the next step is to try force refreshing the page in your browser.
Force Refresh the Page
Force refreshing bypasses your browser’s cache and retrieves the latest version of the page from Facebook’s servers.
To force refresh:
- On Windows or Linux – Press Ctrl + F5
- On Mac – Press Cmd + Shift + R
- On Chromebook – Press Shift + Reload
- On iPhone/iPad – Pull down the page with your finger until the loading circle appears
- On Android – Pull down the page with 2 fingers until the loading circle appears
This hard refreshes the page and may fix “content unavailable” errors.
Clear Your Browser Cache
An outdated browser cache can also prevent content from loading properly. Clearing your cache forces the browser to download fresh versions of pages.
To clear the cache:
- Chrome – Go to Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data > Clear data
- Safari – Go to Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All
- Firefox – Go to Options > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data
- Edge – Go to Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data
- Brave – Go to Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data
This removes any outdated cached Facebook data and may get your content loading again.
Log Out and Back In
Logging out of Facebook and then logging back in forces a refresh of your session data and caches.
To log out:
- Click the down arrow at the top right of Facebook
- Select Log Out
- Log back into Facebook with your username and password
This logs you out, clears session caches, and logs you back in to refresh your connection.
Check Facebook Status
It’s possible the issues are on Facebook’s end. Check Facebook’s status page to see if there are any known issues or outages.
If Facebook is down or experiencing widespread technical issues, you may have to wait until their engineers are able to resolve the problem.
Update the Facebook App
An outdated version of the Facebook app can also cause problems loading content. Make sure you are running the latest version of the Facebook app.
To update the Facebook app:
- On iPhone – Go to the App Store > Tap your profile icon > Check for app updates
- On Android – Go to Google Play Store > Tap menu icon > My apps & games > Check for updates
Updating to the latest Facebook app version may help fix any bugs or technical issues.
Restart Your Phone
As a last resort, try restarting your phone. This clears out any glitches with network connections or app caches that could be preventing Facebook content from loading.
To restart an iPhone, hold down the Power and Home buttons until you see the Apple logo.
To restart an Android, hold down the Power button and tap Restart.
Allow a couple minutes for the phone to restart. Then open Facebook again and check if content loads.
Use Facebook Lite
The lighter version of the Facebook app, called Facebook Lite, requires less data and runs on weaker connections. If you are experiencing issues loading content, try installing and using Facebook Lite.
Facebook Lite is available for both iPhone and Android. To install:
- On iPhone – Download Facebook Lite from the App Store
- On Android – Download Facebook Lite from the Play Store
The app is optimized to work better on slower networks and may help get Facebook working again.
Connect to a VPN
Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can also help load Facebook content by routing your traffic through a different network path.
Some top VPNs to try include:
- NordVPN
- ExpressVPN
- TunnelBear
- CyberGhost
Connect to the VPN on your device, then launch the Facebook app. This encrypts your connection and may bypass any network issues preventing content from loading.
Contact Facebook Support
If you still cannot access content after trying all troubleshooting steps, you can contact Facebook support.
To contact Facebook support:
- Go to the Facebook Help Center
- Review articles for your issue
- Click Contact Us and select your issue category
- Explain your content unavailable problem
Facebook’s support team may be able to investigate your specific issue and help identify a solution.
Conclusion
Troubleshooting Facebook content unavailable issues involves checking your connection, refreshing the page, clearing the cache, logging out and back in, making sure Facebook is not down, updating the app, restarting your device, trying Facebook Lite, connecting to a VPN, and contacting Facebook support if needed. Following these steps should help you get access to Facebook content again when you receive messages about content being unavailable.
Start with the basics like checking your internet connectivity and force refreshing the page. Try logging out and back into Facebook to refresh the session. Make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook app. As a last resort, connecting to a VPN routes your traffic differently and may bypass network issues. If problems persist, reach out to the Facebook support team for additional help in troubleshooting.
With some diligent troubleshooting, you should be able to resolve most problems with Facebook content not loading. Check each step until you regain access to all Facebook content and features.