Usually, communication and file sharing via WhatsApp works very smoothly. However, problems can sometimes arise when you want to download or send media files. The causes can be diverse and range from a lack of Internet connection on your mobile device to a defective memory card. In this article we explore various causes and solutions to file sharing problems.
What to Do if You Can't Download or Send Media Files on WhatsApp
The first thing to do, is to check that you have a secure and strong internet connection-either wifi or 3G/4G. To test this, try loading a web page on your smartphone.
If this does not solve your issue, make sure that the date and time on your app are displaying correctly.
Verifying MicroSD Card Space
You should make sure that you have enough free space on either your microSD card or on your device's internal memory. Usually if there is not enough space, your device will alert you to a lack of memory space and cite this as the reason you are unable to download larger files. You can delete some files or data stored on the device that you no longer need, if necessary.
Setting the MicroSD Card to Read-Only
If you are specifically having problems downloading files, make sure that your phone's microSD card (if it has one) is not set to read-only. You can test this by trying to save a media file outside of WhatsApp. If successful, this means that you do not have this setting activated. If you are unable to, change your memory card's security settings or try deleting some files from the WhatsApp folder on the card.
After following these steps, you should restart your device. Once the restart is complete, you should no longer have trouble downloading WhatsApp files. If the problem persists, a portion of the microSD card may be damaged. To fix this, make a backup of your data and then format the SD card. This article will show you how.
If the problem continues after you have tried all of these solutions, you should look into replacing the microSD card with a new one, as it may be defective.
