Can’t download or send media files

Android
If you’re experiencing issues downloading or sending photos, videos, or voice messages, check the following:
  • Your phone has an active internet connection with a strong signal. Try loading a webpage to make sure.
  • Your phone's date and time are set correctly. If your date is incorrect, you won't be able to connect to the WhatsApp servers to download your media. Learn how to correctly set your date here.
If the problem persists, there might be an issue with your SD card. To verify, ensure your SD card has:
  • Sufficient free storage space. If there is enough space on the SD card, but you still can't download any files on it from WhatsApp, you might need to delete WhatsApp data from your SD card.
  • Read-only mode turned off.
If none of these solutions have resolved the issue, it could mean that your SD card is corrupted. In this case, you might need to reformat your SD card or purchase a new SD card.
Note: Reformatting your SD card will erase all of the SD card’s content.
If you’re still experiencing the issue after trying all the steps listed, please do the following:
  • Confirm that you’re using the latest version of WhatsApp, or update it if needed. Learn how to update WhatsApp in this article.
  • If your WhatsApp version is correct, restart your device.
  • If restarting your phone hasn’t fixed the issue, confirm that it has the latest version of the operating system. Install an update if needed.
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