Instagram "Sorry, There Was a Problem With Your Request"

You type your username and password into Instagram, tap "Log in", and a box appears: "Sorry, there was a problem with your request." No reason, no code, no link. You try again and get the same box, with no hint whether your password is even right.

In most cases this is a login that Instagram could not complete, not a ban. The fix is usually one of a short list: a network or VPN problem, an out-of-date app, a password that has changed, or a security check Instagram wants you to finish another way. Work through them in order, cheapest first, and stop as soon as one works.

This guide gives that order, explains which follow-up screens mean you may have been hacked, and lists the scams that target people searching for this exact message.

Last checked: 29 September 2026.

#What Does "Sorry, There Was a Problem With Your Request" Mean on Instagram?

It means Instagram's servers did not accept your login attempt, and the app could not show a more specific reason. Instagram's help centre does not quote this message or explain it on any page we could find, so treat it as a general error rather than a verdict on your account. Start with the steps that cost nothing: change your connection, update the app, and try instagram.com in a browser, which Instagram itself points to when the app misbehaves. If the password is the issue, use "Forgot password?" to get a login link. If your email or phone on the account has changed without you, go to instagram.com/hacked. Only Meta can restore access to an Instagram account.

#How Does This Error Differ From Other Login Screens?

Each screen points to a different route, and this one is the vaguest. The exact text can vary by app version, language and region, so match on the meaning rather than every word.

If the screen after this error asks you to solve a check and then sends you back to the start, you are probably in a different loop. Our guide to the Instagram "challenge required" error covers that one.

#The Troubleshooting Flow, Cheapest Step First

Do these in order and try logging in once after each. Tapping "Log in" again and again with nothing changed rarely helps, so give each step a fair try and move on.

1. Check your connection. Switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data or the other way round. Office, hotel, campus and café Wi-Fi sometimes block or filter apps, and a weak signal can drop the request halfway.
2. Turn off any VPN, proxy or ad-blocking app for a few minutes. A VPN can make your login appear to come from another country, which is the kind of change security checks notice.
3. Update Instagram. Instagram's page on when the app is not working recommends updating to the latest version first, from the App Store or Google Play.
4. Close the app fully and restart the phone. This is our suggestion, not an Instagram instruction, and it deletes nothing.
5. Try another way in. Open instagram.com in Chrome or Safari, or on a laptop. If the website works and the app does not, the problem is the app install, not your account.
6. Check that you are using the right details. Instagram's log in page says you can log in with your username, a confirmed phone number (without adding zeros before the country code, or any symbols) or an email on the account. For a Malaysian number, that means the 60 country code with no zeros typed in front of it.
7. Reset the password with a login link. On the login screen tap "Forgot password?", enter your username, email or phone, and tap "Send login link", as Instagram's password recovery page describes. Open the link on the same phone if you can.

If none of the seven works, the next section helps you decide whether to stay on the login route or switch to the hacked-account route.

#When the Error Is a Sign Someone Else Is in Your Account

A generic error alone is not proof of a hack. It becomes worrying alongside other signs:

• An email saying your Instagram email, phone number or password was changed, and you did not do it.
• A password that worked yesterday now shows as wrong.
• The login link or security code goes to an email or number you do not recognise.
• Friends say your account sent them odd DMs, investment offers or requests for money.
• Your phone suddenly shows "No service" or "SOS only" in a place where it normally works, which can be a sign your SIM has been moved to another card.

If any of these fit, change route. Instagram's hacked account page says that if you received an email from [email protected] saying your email address was changed, you may be able to undo it by selecting "secure my account" in that message. If more than the email was changed, it says to request a login link or security code, and if you no longer have the email or phone on the account, to visit its recovery page and follow the on-screen instructions.

That recovery page is instagram.com/hacked. Instagram's announcement of the page says it lets you choose whether you think you were hacked, forgot your password, lost access to two-factor authentication or had your account disabled. For the full minute-by-minute sequence after a takeover, read our guide to the first hour after an Instagram hack.

For a SIM problem, call your mobile provider from another phone and ask whether a SIM replacement was made on your line. Then secure your email, because whoever controls that inbox can reset your Instagram again.

#What If Instagram Asks You to Confirm Your Identity?

Sometimes the next screen after a failed login is an identity check. That is Instagram asking for more proof, not a punishment. Instagram's page on hacked accounts says that for an account without photos of you, it asks for the email address or phone number you signed up with and the type of device you used at sign-up. For an account with photos of you, it asks for a video selfie of you turning your head in different directions.

Instagram's video selfie page says you will not have access while it reviews the selfie, that passing may bring a password reset link by email, and that if you choose not to confirm your identity, you may not be able to log back in. Do the check only inside the Instagram app or on instagram.com, never through a link someone sends you.

#Once You Are Back In: Five Checks

Getting past the error is half the job. These checks tell you whether the problem was a glitch or something worse.

1. Review where you are logged in. Instagram's login activity page is under Accounts Center, then "Password and security", then "Where you're logged in". Log out any device you do not recognise.
2. Look at Instagram's own record of emails. Its recent emails page says you can see official security and login emails from the last 14 days under "Recent emails" in Accounts Center. If an email about a password change is listed there and you did not ask for it, treat the account as compromised.
3. Confirm the email address and phone number on the account are yours, and change your password to one you have not used anywhere else.
4. Turn on two-factor authentication. Instagram's two-factor page lists an authentication app (which it recommends), text message and WhatsApp as the methods.
5. Save your backup codes. Instagram's backup code page says you must be logged in to get them, so do it now, and keep them somewhere other than the phone you log in with.

#Mistakes That Make a Login Problem Worse

What you do next matters more than the error itself. Avoid these:

• Giving your username and password to a "login fixer" website, follower app or automation tool. Whoever holds your password can use, change or lock your account.
• Deleting the app before you have checked you can still get a login link or code. If two-factor authentication is on and your only codes are in that phone, you may lock yourself out further.
• Tapping links in DMs, SMS or emails that claim to fix the error. Instagram's recent emails page says it will never reach out about account security through Direct Messaging.
• Calling a "Meta support" phone number from a search result or a comment. Instagram's phone support page says Meta has no general public phone number for customer service, and that numbers claiming to be Meta support are potentially scams.

#If You Already Shared a Code or Lost Money

If you typed your password into a fake page, shared a code or paid someone to fix the account, act on the money and the codes first, then the account.

• Money lost: call the National Scam Response Centre on 997. The Malaysian government's NSRC page says to call within 24 hours of discovering the scam so authorities can try to block the transactions, then contact your bank and make a police report at the nearest police station.
• Code or password shared: change the Instagram password and your email password from a device you trust, log out other sessions and turn on two-factor authentication, using the steps above.
• Phishing page or fake login site: you can report it to Cyber999, CyberSecurity Malaysia's point of contact for reporting computer security incidents, which also helps escalate abuse reports.

#What If Nothing Works?

If every step above fails, the answer depends on what you still control. If you still have the email or phone on the account, keep using "Forgot password?" and the login link, and check the spam folder. If you have lost both, Instagram's lost email or phone page says that if you cannot access the email you registered with and did not link Instagram to Facebook, it is unable to give you access to the account. Our guide to recovering an account after losing the email, phone or 2FA walks through what is still possible.

#When Expert Recovery Help Makes Sense

Most people clear this error on their own. A second pair of eyes helps when the account is your income, when the error came with signs of a takeover, or when every official route loops back to the same screen. SocialSafe by AwareXone is AwareXone's recovery service. We look at what you have seen and tried, tell you honestly whether an official route is still open, and help you use it properly, and we never ask for your password or a login code. Our Instagram account recovery service explains how a review works, and our Trust Center sets out what we will and will not do.

#Frequently Asked Questions