iPhone GIFs Not Working? Here’s what you can do to fix them

Sending GIFs is one of the easiest things you can do on one iPhone – but what should you do when GIFs stop working? Apple makes it extremely easy to share GIFs on iMessage. When composing a message, just tap the red image icon, tap one of the recommended GIFs, or search for a specific one. When you tap a GIF, it’s instantly added to your message, making it as easy as possible to send funny GIFs on the fly. However, sometimes these GIFs stop working.

If you find GIFs not working on yours iPhone, one of the easiest ways to fix this is to remove and re-add the Pictures app in iMessage. Open the Messages app on your iPhone and in the apps list at the bottom of the screen, swipe left until you see a three-dot button. Tap this button, tap ‘Edit‘ Tap the ‘-‘ icon next to ‘ in the top left#pictures,’ and tap ‘Remove from favorites.’ Now tap the green switch next to ‘#pictures‘To disable the app completely, tap the switch again to enable it again and it should be back to normal.

See also: How to Add a GIF to Your Instagram Comments

Other Ways to Fix Broken GIFs on iPhone

If iPhone GIFs still don’t work after that, there are a few other troubleshooting tips you can try. Another possibility is that the iPhone’s language and region is set to a language that doesn’t support the “#images” feature in iMessage. In this case, open the Settings app, tapGenerally,’ beat ‘Language & Region,’ and switch to those that support the feature (e.g. English for iPhone language and US for region). Another possibility is that an accessibility feature is preventing images from loading. Again in the Settings app, scroll down the page and tap “Accessibility.’ Beat ‘Movement‘ at the top of the screen and make sure ‘reduce movement‘ is not selected. If this is the case, try disabling this and see if GIFs start working again.

But that’s not all you can do. If GIFs are still broken on your iPhone, all you might need to do is restart the Messages app. Swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone’s home screen and hold to open the Recents menu (or double-press the Home button if your iPhone has one). Find the Messages app, swipe up to close it, then open it again. If you are using a third-party keyboard and are having GIF issues with it, you may be running outdated software. Open the App Store, tap the profile icon in the top-right corner, swipe down the page to check for new app updates, and check if an update is available for your keyboard.

Last but not least, GIFs not working on your iPhone could be related to a more general issue. Make sure your iPhone is connected to mobile data or a Wi-Fi network and has a proper internet connection. If other apps and websites aren’t working, you may need to switch to a different network. If all the above steps don’t fix your GIFs, your iPhone may be running outdated software. Open the Settings app, tapGenerally,’ beat ‘Software update,’ and download an update if it’s available. Follow the steps above and one of them should fix GIFs on your iPhone and get them working again.

Use third-party GIF apps instead

While the Pictures app in Messages has a large library of GIFs, iPhone users also have the option to download third-party apps for iMessage and use them for GIFs instead. GIPHY is one of the best options as it has one of the largest collections of GIFs and can be accessed directly from Messages. To download the app, open a text message and tap the App Store icon just below the search bar. Search for “GIPHY” and download the app. It should now be visible in the list of apps above the keyboard, which is also where users access the Pictures app.

You can now tap the GIPHY app and search for GIFs, images, emojis and stickers. There is also an option to add GIPHY clips, which are GIFs with sound. Tap on the GIF and it will appear in the text box and is now ready to be sent to the other person. When using stickers from GIPHY, tap and hold the sticker, then drag it to images and text. Before releasing the sticker, you can use two fingers to scale or reposition it if needed.

Another great option is the GIF keyboard. Find the app in the App Store using the same method as above. GIF Keyboard has a huge library of GIFs and stickers. In addition, if you press and hold any GIF, it will turn into a round sticker that can be shared in chat. You can even create your own GIFs by recording from the front and back cameras and sending them in a chat. GIF keyboard for iPhone you can also create packs of your favorite stickers to share with friends and family.

More: Why you should be careful when editing and resetting iMessages on iOS 16

Source: Apple, GIPHY