If your Facebook news feed is not working properly, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can try to get it back up and running. The news feed is a core Facebook feature that shows updates from your friends, Pages you follow, and groups you’ve joined. Here are some common issues that may occur with the news feed and how to fix them.
Refresh the Page
The simplest solution is often to refresh the page. Facebook news feed issues are sometimes temporary glitches that resolve on a page reload. Try closing out of Facebook and opening it again, or refreshing your browser. This will force Facebook to reload all the page components and may resolve any display issues.
Check Your Internet Connection
Make sure you have a stable internet connection. Facebook requires internet access to load your news feed. Check if other websites are loading normally. If not, the problem may be on your end with your wifi or network connection. Try disconnecting and reconnecting to the network. Also consider switching networks or using mobile data if available.
Update the Facebook App
If you’re accessing Facebook on a mobile device, make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook app. Open your device’s app store, search for Facebook, and install any available updates. The developers are constantly making fixes and adding news feed features, so keeping the app up-to-date can help.
Check Notifications Settings
Facebook allows you to control what notifications you receive for different activities, such as when you’re tagged in a post or receive a new comment. It’s possible you have disabled news feed notifications. To check, go to the Settings menu > Notifications. Make sure “On Facebook” notifications are enabled to get updates in your feed.
Reconnect Facebook Pages
If you notice posts missing from certain Facebook Pages you follow, you may need to reconnect the page. Go to the page and click “Following.” If the button says “Follow” instead of “Following,” you’ll need to re-follow it to resume seeing updates.
Report News Feed Issues
If basic troubleshooting doesn’t work, you can report problems directly to Facebook. Click the down arrow at the top right of any Facebook page and select “Give Feedback.” This will open a form where you can describe any issues you’re experiencing with your news feed. The Facebook team reviews these reports to identify and fix bugs.
Clear Cookies and Cache
Clearing your browser’s cookies and cached files for Facebook may help resolve news feed loading problems. Cookies store login info and site preferences. Cache temporarily stores page components to speed up loading. Here are instructions to clear them in popular browsers:
Chrome
- Click the 3 dots icon > Settings > Privacy and security.
- Click “Clear browsing data.”
- Select cookies, cached images/files.
- Choose the time range to clear.
- Click “Clear data.”
Firefox
- Click the 3 lines icon > Options.
- Go to Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data.
- Click “Clear Data.”
- Select “Cookies and Site Data” and cached web content.
- Click “Clear.”
Safari
- Click Safari > Clear History and Website Data.
- Select the time range to clear.
- Click clear history and data.
This forces cached Facebook data to be refreshed, which may resolve news feed loading issues.
Disable Browser Extensions
Some browser extensions like ad blockers can interfere with Facebook’s news feed functionality. Try temporarily disabling any extensions and testing if the news feed loads correctly. If so, there is likely a compatibility issue with one of the extensions.
Try Facebook Mobile Site
As a workaround, attempt accessing Facebook’s mobile site at https://m.facebook.com. The mobile site is optimized for smaller screens but may load better than the full desktop site if you’re experiencing issues.
Disable News Feed Customization
Facebook allows you to customize your news feed in various ways, like favoriting friends and snoozing posts. It’s possible one of these settings is causing problems. You can return the news feed to default settings by:
- Going to Settings & Privacy > News Feed Preferences.
- Click “Restore Defaults.”
This will undo any customizations so Facebook can relearn your preferences organically.
Log Out and Back In
If all else fails, log out of Facebook entirely and log back in. Click the down arrow at the top right and choose “Log Out.” Then visit Facebook.com to log in again. After a complete logout, your news feed should reload properly on login.
Conclusion
With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook bugs and glitches do occur from time to time. But in most cases, refreshing the page, checking your internet connection, updating the mobile app, clearing browser data, or logging out and back in will resolve temporary issues with your news feed. Be sure to report any persistent problems directly to Facebook so they can investigate and provide fixes. Their developers are continually optimizing the news feed experience to minimize disruptions.