Almost all instant messaging services allow users, in addition to text messages, to exchange photos, videos and every conceivable file in the form of an attachment. Besides privacy and group chats, this is the biggest selling point today.
Sadly, even the most widely used instant messenger , WhatsApp , has some trouble sending photos or files occasionally. If you have this problem, WhatsApp won’t let me send Android photos , we have several alternatives for you to solve it.
There are users who have been affected and who have stated that they are receiving files without problems, but that they cannot send them, precisely we are going to talk a little about that WhatsApp does not let me send Android photos . If this happens to you, you should try the solutions that we provide below.
Index of contents
Solution 1 – Allow WhatsApp to access the SD card
The most common reason why you cannot send photos is because WhatsApp cannot access external storage. If your photos are stored on the SD card, you may not be able to send them via WhatsApp.
That is why you must allow the WhatsApp application to access the external storage. Here’s how to do it:
- Press Settings.
- Open applications.
- Select WhatsApp.
- Choose permissions.
- Activate Camera and Storage permissions.
Solution 2: Clear WhatsApp data
WhatsApp saves everything locally, including chat history, recordings, and photos. These tend to accumulate, and quickly, which can slow down application performance. Or, more importantly in this case, even prevent some of the key features from working.
That is probably the good reason to erase all the data . Don’t forget to backup all WhatsApp photos as this procedure will probably free you from all received files.
Here’s how to clear the data:
- Press Settings.
- Open applications.
- Choose WhatsApp.
- Touch Storage.
- Delete data.
Solution 3: Reinstall WhatsApp or try an older version
In addition, you can try to reinstall the application or even install a previous version of WhatsApp. This way, if there are any bugs in the current version, it won’t harass you anymore.
The reinstallation should preferably be clean without loading any Google Drive backup. Of course, you won’t be able to restore your messages later.
Here’s how to cleanly reinstall WhatsApp:
- Uninstall WhatsApp bydragging it to the top of the app drawer.
- (Optionally) Open Google Drive> hamburger menu> Backups. Delete WhatsApp.
- Restart your device.
- Open Play Storeand download WhatsApp.
- Log in with your number and confirm the code.
- Try to send files.
Installing APK is an even better troubleshooting step, especially since frequent updates tend to break this instant messenger for various Android devices.
And these steps should show you how to install an older APK version of WhatsApp:
- Uninstall WhatsApp.
- Go to Settings> Advanced settings> Security and Enable the installation of unofficial applications.
- Go to APK Mirror and download one of the older versions of WhatsApp. Avoid beta versions.
- Install the APK and restart your device.
- Try sending the files again.
Solution 4: Check the connection and storage
Now, let’s take some time to inspect two important segments that are essential to the performance of WhatsApp. The first is the network. If you use mobile data to send photos, recordings, or attachments, make sure that mobile data is allowed.
If the loading speed is mediocre, the application will automatically prevent updates. For that reason, try restarting your device and router, and if the problems persist, reset the network settings.
Here’s where to look for your mobile data WhatsApp settings:
- Open configuration.
- Tap Apps.
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap Data usage.
- Allows both mobile data and Wi-Fi.
In case those solutions don’t help, check out our Android Wi-Fi and data issues articles for more solutions.
The second important thing to check is the storage memory . Since WhatsApp saves all interactions within the application locally, you must have at least some free space to be able to use it without problems.
If you have dangerously low storage space, make sure to delete some files. Backing up photos to Google Photos or clearing the app cache should give you some extra space.
Solution 5 – Format the SD card
Finally, if you have enough internal storage space , you can choose to store all the new photos in local storage. Just open Camera and select Device as your preferred storage. On the other hand, if you need to use the SD card but WhatsApp cannot access it and send files, we recommend that you format it.
Of course, you will need to back up all your files, preferably on a PC. After that, you can safely format your SD card while on phone or with PC. Once you’ve figured it out, both WhatsApp and other third-party apps should have an easier time accessing content on an SD card.
Here’s how to format the SD card on the phone:
- Open configuration.
- Choose Memory and Storage (Storage).
- Open the SD card.
- Touch Format and confirm the selection.
That should be enough. Hopefully, after these steps, you will be able to send files via WhatsApp without any problem. Also, we strongly recommend that you let us know if the problem has disappeared in the comment section below.
Why can’t I send photos from WhatsApp ?:
Common problems that can cause problems downloading or sending photos, videos, or voice messages include:
- Your phonemay have connectivity issues.
- The date and time on your phone are set incorrectly.
- There is a problem with your SD card: there is not enough space on the SD card.
- The SD card is set to read-only mode.
- The SD card is damaged.
To solve this problem we recommend the following:
Verify that your phone has an active internet connection with a strong signal. Try loading a web page to be sure. If you are sure that your phone is connected (try to connect to different Wi-Fi and / or 4G access points).
Check that the date and time are set correctly on your phone. If your date is wrong, you will not be able to connect to the WhatsApp servers to send your multimedia files.
Make sure there is enough space on your SD card. If your SD card is full, WhatsApp will not be able to save or send you anything. Make more space available by removing unnecessary files. Make sure your SD card is not set to read-only mode. Try to save a file on your SD card that is not from WhatsApp.
If the file is saved, your card is not read-only, WhatsApp Messenger should be able to save files to it. If you can’t save anything, your card is probably set to read-only mode. You will need to change this; Check your phone’s manual for instructions.
If there is enough free space and you can save files to your SD card, but still cannot download any files from WhatsApp, you may need to delete WhatsApp data from your SD card:
Warning 1:
This will erase ALL WhatsApp chat history backups and downloaded files. This would be a good time to backup your WhatsApp data.
To backup your WhatsApp data, copy the “WhatsApp” folder on your SD card to your computer. Open the SD card folder on your phone and delete the “WhatsApp” folder.
All your WhatsApp media are now erased. WhatsApp will still open, and your chats will still be there, but your media (photos, videos, audio) will disappear. Restart your phone . WhatsApp should now be able to send your downloaded files.
Remember step 2, when you checked if your SD card was read-only? If you couldn’t save any files to it, your SD card may be damaged. In this case, you may need to reformat your SD card. This means erasing the entire SD card and resetting it.
Warning 2:
This will erase ALL data on your SD card. Once you format the SD card, you will not be able to recover your data. If possible, back up anything on the SD card. One way to do this is to connect the SD card to a computer with an SD card reader and copy the files. On your Android phone, go to Settings> Storage. If it exists, tap Unmount Storage Card. Tap Format SD card or Erase SD card Reboot your phone.
If all of these steps didn’t work, you may have a problem with your SD card. You may need to purchase a new SD card to save / send files.
