There are things you can do if Facebook won’t open on your Apple iPhone XR. Most of the time, this is just an issue with the app itself or it could be a result of a firmware issue. It’s not really a serious problem and something you may be able to fix without any help from a tech.
Facebook is one of the most popular social networking services patronized by many people worldwide. Some people use this platform for business purposes but others (most users) use it for personal reasons. This service is made accessible to devices like tablets, personal computers and smartphones for as long as the device has stable Internet connection. While Facebook developers strive harder to provide reliable service to over 2.3 billion users worldwide, there are still rare instances when the app encounters error and so it fails to work as intended.
Before we move on to our troubleshooting, if you are looking for a solution to a different issue, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems reported by our readers. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If you still need our help after that, then feel free to contact us by filling up our iPhone issues questionnaire.
Why Facebook won’t open on your iPhone?
Like any other apps, there are some factors that can trigger Facebook app to stop working on your device. Generally, these problems are just temporary especially in the case where a highly-maintained app is involved. But then again, there are some app problems that aren’t solved immediately by the Facebook support team as therefore requires some tweaks to be carried out on your end. Below are a few of the most effective solutions to app problems like this on an iPhone.
Simple fixes for Facebook app that won’t open on iPhone XR
The Facebook application can only be functional when the phone is connected to either Wi-Fi network or with cellular data enabled. Hence, you may not be able to use or open the app if the internet connection is very slow or when your iPhone has intermittent or no internet connection at all. That said, ruling out internet connectivity issues must be among the first things that you should do. If your Internet is working fine and other online apps are able to load and work as they should except for Facebook, then this must be an isolated problem with the app. So here are the things that you can try on.
Solution #1: Force quit and re-launch the Facebook app on your iPhone XR.
When an application becomes unresponsive or not working, the simplest way to rectify the glitch is to quit and restart the app. Apps that are left suspended or running in the background for too long have a higher chance of crashing. When this happens, various symptoms could emerge and other apps can become affected. Thus if you’ve previously used Facebook on your iPhone and haven’t closed it, follow these steps:
- Go to the Home screen.
- Then swipe up and then pause in the middle of the screen.
- Finally, swipe up on the Facebook app preview or thumbnail to close.
Do the same to close the rest of the background apps on your iPhone XR.
This will refresh you phone’s memory settings. If you see multiple apps running, do the same to the rest of the background apps. After the closing the app launch the app again from the apps screen and see if Facebook won’t open still after this.
Solution #2: Soft reset your iPhone XR.
Often times, corrupt cached files on the phone’s internal memory can affect your apps functionality. Such files can be eliminated by simply turning your iPhone off and on again. Here’s how:
- Press and hold the Side button and either Volume up/down buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- Once the Slide to Power off command appears, release both buttons.
- Then drag the power off slider.
- Once the phone is completely off, wait for at least 30 seconds to turn it back on.
- After the said time, press the Side button again to turn your phone on again.
Once your phone is completely back on, go to your apps screen and launch the Facebook app and see if it is already operational. If still Facebook won’t open on your iPhone XR, then move on to the next procedure.
Solution #3: Refresh your internet connection.
Internet connection errors can also prevent online apps from loading properly. To make sure that this isn’t what’s halting Facebook app from opening on your iPhone XR, give your Internet connection a quick restart to refresh online apps and services.
- If you’re on Wi-Fi, go to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu then toggle the switch turn Wi-Fi off and on again.
Alternatively, you can head over to your iPhone Settings and then toggle the Airplane mode switch to turn on and then off again. Doing so abruptly turns wireless radios of your iPhone off and then back on again. Apparently, this tweak has been proven effective in resolving minor problems affecting internet services.
Solution #4: Update the Facebook app on your iPhone XR.
An app that is running on its outdated version will be more often interrupted. Thus, it is essential to keep your phone apps updated. If the phone is not set to automatic updates or you haven’t received any update notifications, you can manually do the update through the App Store. Access the App Store and check for Facebook app pending updates. Here’s how you do it:
- From the Home screen, go to App Store.
- Scroll down to and tap the Updates icon located at the bottom of the App Store’s main screen. You will then be prompted with the list of the available updates.
- Locate the pending update for Facebook and then tap the Update button next to it.
- You can also tap on the Update All button to simultaneously install all the pending apps update.
Reboot your phone after installing all the pending updates. Then, re-launch the Facebook up to check if the problem has vanished. If Facebook won’t open on your iPhone XR even after doing this procedure, then you have to remove it completely from your iPhone. See the next step.
Solution #5: Delete and re-install the Facebook app.
Uninstalling and reinstalling rogue apps is also among most effective solutions to app problems on your device. This is usually needed if the problem is due to some corrupt apps. The process will clear the app’s cached files and data. And here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings.
- Scroll down to and tap General.
- Then select iPhone Storage.
- Tap the Facebook app on the list.
- Then select the Delete App option.
- Once you have read the caution prompts, tap Delete App to confirm the action.
Once the Facebook app has been completely uninstalled, reboot your phone. Then re-install the Facebook app from the App store.
- From the Home screen, go to the App Store.
- Tap Apps located at the bottom of the App Store screen.
- Tap on Search. Then, type in Facebook in the search field.
- Check the search result, and then select the latest version of the Facebook app.
- Tap GET and then tap INSTALL.
- Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted to complete the installation process.
Don’t interrupt the process until it shows that the installation has been completed. Once done, reboot your phone and then open the Facebook app once the phone is back on.
Solution #6: Reset network settings on your iPhone XR.
If the network settings on your iPhone have been modified or updated, there’s a higher chance that invalid settings had caused the Facebook app to glitch and stop working. Thus, resetting the network settings back to its default can rectify the issue. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down to and tap Reset.
- Select Reset Network Settings.
- Enter your device passcode when prompted.
- Then tap the Reset Network Settings option to complete the process.
The iPhone will reboot itself. Once it is turned back on, your phone’s network settings has been reverted to its original configurations. Try to access the apps on your phone including Facebook.
Is Facebook still not loading on your iPhone XR?
If the Facebook app gets back up and running smoothly again after troubleshooting, the issue has been corrected. Otherwise, there might be some other problem on the Facebook’s main server or platform that Facebook engineers are still trying to fix. At this point, you may opt to report the issue to Facebook Support so they can assist you further. Just let them know about what you’ve done on your end so far, in an attempt to solve the problem. Unfortunately, there’s not much can be done on your end but to wait until the app is back up and running properly again.
I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix the problem with your device. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!