Camera roll not opening on Facebook and Messenger apps? Try these potential fixes

On Facebook Messenger, there’s a new bug going around where users can no longer open their camera roll in the app. The app displays an unable to load camera roll error message, and users can’t attach photos. This problem seems to have popped up last month, and it’s affecting both iOS and Android users.

Discussions on Reddit point to many people getting this issue out of the blue. Some even assumed it’s an internet problem. If you’ve enrolled in the Beta program, issues like this are actually common, and you’ll have to opt out of that to avoid such bugs. 

There are several reasons why this can be happening.

1. A buggy app version.
2. Improper permissions.
3. Corrupted cache files.
4. Outdated app.
5. You’re running a Beta.

If you’re affected by the issue, here are some standard workarounds you can try to solve the problem.

If you’re on iOS, it’s likely a permissions error. Navigate to Settings, and tap on Messenger. From there, you’ll find ‘Photos.’ You can select ‘Full Access’ from there and restart the app. Another alternative is to delete the app and reinstall it.

If you’re on Android, long-press the app and go to the app info. From there, change the permissions and give Messenger access to your photo library (or partial access, depending on your preference). Restart the app, and see if the issue is fixed.

If it’s still a problem, you can try clearing the app data and cache. This clears all temporary files, which removes any corrupted files. It’s worth noting that some people still have the issue even after clearing the cache and reinstalling the app, and at that point, it’s likely a bug with the app version. 

This workaround applies to both users: Make sure you’re on the latest version of the app, since older versions tend to have bugs. Another alternative is to upload the images using the Google Photos app, instead of your native gallery app. 

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen problems with photos on Messenger, since people in 2025 have faced similar issues. Additionally, people are reporting the same issue when trying to chat with Meta AI as well. It appears there are several bugs with Meta apps lately, including photos not showing up in order, with the Instagram photo picker. We’ve covered that story here.

Featured image credit: u/SeaSawltLOL / Reddit

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