There are a few common reasons why your Facebook feed may not be updating properly:
You’ve hidden too many people or pages
If you’ve hidden a lot of friends or pages from your News Feed, you may have severely limited the amount of content that can show up. Go to your News Feed Preferences and make sure you haven’t hidden too many friends or pages.
Your friends aren’t posting
If your friends and the pages you follow aren’t actively posting updates, your News Feed will look stale. Encourage your friends to post more often or find some new friends and pages to follow.
You’ve filtered out too many post types
Facebook allows you to filter out certain types of posts like photos, links, events and more. If you’ve filtered out too many types of content, you may be restricting what can show up in your feed.
You’re caught in a low-activity loop
Facebook’s algorithm shows you more of what you interact with and less of what you don’t. If you’ve been passively scrolling but not liking, commenting or sharing, Facebook will show you less content over time.
Facebook is having technical issues
Like any website or app, Facebook can experience occasional technical glitches that affect News Feed performance. Check Facebook’s status page or try accessing Facebook from a different device to see if it’s a wider issue.
You’ve reached the end of available posts
If you scroll long enough, you will eventually reach the end of new posts available from your friends and pages. At that point, you’ll have to wait for new content to be posted.
You need to refresh your News Feed
Try pulling down to refresh your News Feed or simply reloading the Facebook app or website to grab the latest available content.
Your connection is poor
If your internet connection is spotty, content may not load properly in your News Feed. Try accessing Facebook from a different network to see if that helps.
You’re temporarily restricted from viewing content
In some cases, you may be temporarily restricted from performing certain activities or viewing certain content on Facebook as a result of violating Facebook’s policies. These restrictions are usually temporary.
Your account is shadowbanned
Facebook may “shadowban” accounts that violate its terms of service. A shadowban makes your account and posts invisible or difficult to find for other users without your knowledge. This is uncommon but can affect your feed.
Facebook is down or experiencing an outage
On occasion, Facebook experiences outages that prevent people from accessing the site and apps. Check Facebook’s status page or third-party outage trackers to see if Facebook is currently experiencing any widespread downtime.
You’re viewing a filtered or specialized feed
Facebook offers options like filtering to top stories only or viewing feeds based on specific interests. If you’re viewing a filtered version of the News Feed, the content will be limited.
You have notifications turned off
If you’ve disabled News Feed notifications, you likely won’t see timely updates. Go to your settings and turn notifications back on.
You’re using the service improperly
Make sure you are using Facebook as intended. Don’t fall for any scams or ‘growth hacking’ gimmicks that involve artificially inflating engagement. These will likely backfire and cause your organic reach to suffer.
Facebook wants you to pay for promoted posts
Some believe Facebook purposefully limits organic reach to encourage users to pay for promoted posts and advertising. While not confirmed, this is a possibility to be aware of.
Conclusion
In most cases, Facebook feed issues can be resolved by adjusting settings, troubleshooting internet connectivity, waiting for new content or reporting site outages. But intentional limitations by Facebook may force more businesses and creators to pay for reach. Maintaining a lively, engaging presence and promoting select posts can help mitigate organic issues.
Troubleshooting steps
Here are some troubleshooting steps to take if your Facebook feed is not updating properly:
Check account settings
- Review News Feed Preferences
- Make sure you haven’t hidden too many friends or pages
- Check that you haven’t filtered out too many post types
- Confirm notifications are turned on
Review connections
- See if your friends are still actively posting
- Consider finding new friends or pages to follow
- Check your internet connection
Refresh and update
- Pull down to refresh your News Feed
- Try reloading the Facebook app or website
- Update the Facebook app to the latest version
Investigate issues
- See if Facebook is down for others or experiencing an outage
- Check for any restrictions or limitations on your account
- Consider if you could be shadowbanned
Wait for new content
- Keep in mind your feed has limits
- Be patient after reaching the end of available posts
- Let your friends and pages post fresh updates
Tips for a Better Feed
Here are some tips to keep your Facebook feed lively and updated:
Post and interact more
- Share your own statuses, photos, videos and links
- Like, comment on and share posts from others
- Join Facebook groups and participate in discussions
Follow active pages and people
- Fill your feed with friends who post regularly
- Discover new pages that update frequently
- Interact with influential accounts in your niche
Manage preferences
- Hide inactive friends and pages
- Unfollow friends temporarily instead of unfriending
- Favorite key friends and pages to pin them to the top
Create better content
- Post at optimal times for your audience
- Use visual content like photos and videos
- Vary your post types to avoid filter bubbles
Promote important posts
- Use Facebook ads to reach more people
- Promote posts to get more relevant engagement
- Analyze results and optimize based on performance
Reasons for a Non-Updating Feed
| Reason | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Hidden friends and pages | Hiding too many connections limits your feed content |
| Inactive friends | If friends aren’t posting, your feed lacks content |
| Filtered post types | Filtering out certain post types restricts your feed |
| Low engagement loop | Not engaging with content leads to less content |
| Technical issues | Glitches at Facebook can disrupt feeds |
| End of available posts | Reaching the end requires waiting for new posts |
| Need to refresh | Refreshing pulls in new feed stories |
| Poor connection | Spotty internet prevents feeds from loading |
| Account restrictions | Violating policies can limit access temporarily |
| Shadowban | Shadowbanned accounts have limited visibility |
| Facebook outage | Widespread downtime makes feeds unavailable |
Optimizing Your Facebook Feed
Here are some best practices for optimizing your Facebook feed:
Add a variety of active pages and people
Follow pages and people who regularly post content you want to see. Add connections with diverse interests.
Engage frequently with content
Like, comment on, and share posts to signal the algorithm what content you prefer.
Limit hiding inactive connections
Avoid hiding too many friends or pages, as this depletes potential feed content.
Post consistently yourself
Contribute your own content to the feed regularly to catalyze engagement.
Manage filters judiciously
Only filter post types you truly don’t want to see. Over-filtering limits variety.
Check settings and connectivity
Make sure notifications are on, app is updated, and internet connection is good.
Report issues promptly
File bug reports or outage reports to Facebook if you encounter technical problems.
Refresh and update frequently
Pull down to refresh, close and reopen the app, or load the Facebook website to retrieve new stories.
Promote important posts
Consider putting some budget behind key posts to amplify reach and engagement.
Why Facebook Feeds Matter
Keeping your Facebook feed lively and updating regularly is important for several reasons:
Stay connected
An active feed provides a window into what your friends, family, and favorite pages are up to.
Discover entertaining and interesting content
Your feed exposes you to new information, ideas, and media based on your connections.
Increase awareness
Fresh updates in your feed keeps you informed about current events, trends, and topics you care about.
Spark conversations
When your feed is populated you can join discussions by commenting on and reacting to posts.
Fuel engagement
An active feed provides content for you to engage with through likes, shares, and comments.
Reach more people
When your feed is working well, your posts have a better chance of being seen by your followers.
Improve marketing
Businesses and creators need an optimized feed to distribute content and grow audiences.
Monitor campaigns
Fresh feeds make it easier to keep tabs on the performance of social campaigns and promoted posts.
Stay entertained
Your feed provides a constant stream of enjoyable content to scroll through and pass time.
Conclusion
Troubleshooting feed issues requires a mix of technical checks, reviewing connections and settings, waiting for new content, and reporting problems. Feeds fail to update due to hidden posts, inactive friends, filtering, technical glitches, reach limits, and other factors. Optimizing your feed involves engaging actively, limiting filters, posting consistently, managing connections, troubleshooting issues promptly, and considering promoted posts. Feeds are important for staying connected, discovering content, increasing awareness, enabling conversations, fueling engagement, improving marketing, monitoring campaigns, reaching people, and entertainment.