Quick Answer
There are a few ways to get GIFs back on your iPhone if they have disappeared or stopped working:
- Check your iOS version – Older iOS versions don’t support GIFs in the Photos app.
- Update the GifViewer app – If you use this third party app to view GIFs, make sure it’s updated.
- Re-download the GIF – Try deleting and re-downloading the GIF file that’s not working.
- Clear the app cache – Clearing the cache for apps like Photos or GifViewer may help.
- Hard reset your iPhone – A hard reset can clear any glitches that are preventing GIFs from working.
The most likely reasons a GIF might not be working on an iPhone are that the iOS is outdated, the app needs an update, or the GIF file itself is corrupted. Trying the steps above should get your animated GIFs back up and running again.
GIF Support in iOS
The iPhone’s native Photos app did not support animated GIFs until iOS 9 in 2015. So if you are running a very old version of iOS, animated GIFs will not work in the Photos app.
Here are the iOS versions that added GIF support:
- iOS 9 – First added support for GIFs in Photos app (released September 2015)
- iOS 10 – Expanded GIF support (released September 2016)
- iOS 11 – Added ability to create GIFs inside the Photos app (released September 2017)
To check what iOS version you are currently running:
- Open the Settings app
- Go to General > About
- Look at the number next to “Software Version”
If your iOS version is older than iOS 9, you won’t be able to view animated GIFs in the native Photos app. You will need to update to a newer iOS version to get GIF support.
The latest version of iOS as of October 2023 is iOS 16. Updating to the latest iOS version will ensure you have full GIF support.
How to Update iOS Version
To update your iPhone’s iOS version:
- Open the Settings app
- Go to General > Software Update
- Tap “Download and Install” to update to the latest iOS version
- Follow the prompts to complete the iOS update
Updating to the latest iOS version may resolve issues with GIFs not displaying, especially if you were running a very old iOS without GIF support.
Updating GifViewer App
If you primarily view GIFs using a third party app like GifViewer, make sure you have updated it to the latest version.
App developers frequently release updates to fix bugs and optimize performance. An outdated version of GifViewer could have issues properly displaying GIF files.
To update GifViewer or any app on your iPhone:
- Open the App Store
- Tap your profile icon in the top right
- Scroll down to “Available Updates” and look for GifViewer
- Tap “Update” to update GifViewer to the latest version
Updating to the most recent version of GifViewer may help resolve any problems loading and viewing GIFs within the app.
Alternative GIF Viewer Apps
If updating GifViewer does not resolve your GIF issues, try downloading an alternative GIF viewer app. Some popular options include:
- GIPHY – Free app from the GIPHY platform to search and view GIFs.
- Tenor – Search and share GIFs with this free app.
- GIFX – Full-featured GIF manager and viewer for $3.99.
Downloading a different GIF app can help determine if the issues are isolated to GifViewer or exist across GIF apps. If GIFs load properly in a different GIF viewer app, the GifViewer app itself is likely the problem.
Re-Downloading the GIF
Another simple troubleshooting step is to delete the problematic GIF from your iPhone and re-download a fresh copy.
A GIF file can become corrupted or glitchy if there was an issue downloading it or transferring it to your iPhone originally. Deleting the file and starting over with a new download can often resolve GIF display issues.
To re-download a GIF:
- Open the Photos app and find the GIF that is not working properly
- Swipe left on the GIF and tap “Delete”
- Navigate back to where you originally found the GIF – a website, app, social media, etc
- Re-download or save the GIF file to your iPhone again
Once the GIF is downloaded again, open it and check if it now loads and displays properly. This simple fix resolves many common GIF issues.
Clearing the App Cache
App caches can sometimes become corrupted over time, which can prevent GIFs from loading correctly. Clearing the cache often resolves problems loading GIFs within apps.
To clear the cache for apps like Photos, GifViewer, or others where you view GIFs:
- Open the Settings app
- Find the app and open its settings
- Look for a “Clear Cache” button within the app’s settings
- Tap to clear the app’s cached data
After clearing the cache, open the app and try loading the GIF again. The cache will regenerate as you continue using the app.
Clearing caches intermittently can help prevent performance issues over time and fix any corrupted data that may be causing your GIF to fail loading.
Hard Reset iPhone
If you’ve tried all other troubleshooting steps and your GIFs still do not load, a hard reset can clear out any system-level software glitches.
Resetting your iPhone essentially clears out system memory and resets all software back to its original state. This forces iOS to reload properly and can resolve persistent glitches.
**Note: Hard resets will erase all data and settings from your iPhone. Be sure to backup your iPhone before resetting.**
Here is how to hard reset an iPhone:
- Backup iPhone data via iCloud or iTunes
- Open the Settings app
- Go to General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings
- Enter your passcode if prompted
- Tap through the warning prompts and confirm the reset
- The iPhone will reboot, wipe data, and reload iOS
- Restore your data and settings from the backup
Once your iPhone has been reset, try viewing the GIF again. A clean software slate can resolve bugs that may have been preventing GIFs from loading and displaying properly.
GIF Troubleshooting Recap
To recap, here are the steps to troubleshoot GIFs not working on your iPhone:
- Check iOS version – Update to iOS 9 or later
- Update GifViewer app – Or try an alternative GIF viewer
- Re-download the GIF file
- Clear app caches
- Hard reset iPhone (backups up first)
Following these troubleshooting tips should help identify and resolve the cause of your malfunctioning GIFs. In most cases, a simple fix like updating software, re-downloading the file, or clearing the cache will get your GIFs back up and running again.
Conclusion
Animated GIFs are fun, sharable images that have become incredibly popular online. Like any media file, GIFs can sometimes fail to load properly on your iPhone due to glitches, outdated software, caching issues, and other technical reasons.
Luckily, there are many straightforward troubleshooting steps you can follow to diagnose and correct GIF issues on your iPhone:
– Check your iOS version and update if needed. iOS 9+ is required for GIF support.
– Make sure any GIF viewer apps like GifViewer are updated to their latest versions.
– Re-downloading the actual GIF file itself often resolves corrupted or faulty files.
– Clear app caches periodically to wipe out any corrupted data.
– As a last resort, reset your iPhone to completely refresh the operating system.
By identifying whether the problem lies with iOS, the viewing app, or the GIF file itself, you can zero in on the proper solution. With a few simple software updates, re-downloads, and cache clears, you’ll be back to enjoying your favorite goofy, animated GIFs in no time.