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Troubleshooting
Common symptoms and what causes them.
Nothing happens when I comment
Work down this list:
- Is the flow Active? The toggle in the flows list, and in the builder.
- Are you testing from the connected account? Events authored by the connected account are ignored on purpose — otherwise the flow would answer its own comment reply forever. Test from a second Instagram account.
- Is it a top-level comment? Replies underneath another comment don't start an automation.
- Does the keyword match? Capitalisation doesn't matter, but the word does have to be in there. An empty keyword list matches everything.
- Is the flow watching that post? A flow pinned to one post ignores every other post. Set it to All Posts to widen it.
- Has that comment already triggered? Each comment gets exactly one run, ever.
- Is the Instagram account paused? Settings → Instagram accounts shows a Paused badge when your plan doesn't cover it. All its events are dropped.
- Are you out of contact allowance? When it's used up, events are dropped rather than half-run. Check the sidebar meter.
The public reply appears but no DM arrives
The opening message is what sends the DM. Check:
- Opening Message is switched on and has text. A comment flow with response steps and no opening message can't be activated at all.
- The person's DM settings. Some accounts restrict message requests from people they don't follow.
- The DM may be in Requests, not the main inbox — a first message from a business often lands there.
The DM arrives but the rest of the flow never does
That's the design. The opening message is Instagram's single allowed private reply; the response steps only run after the person taps the button or replies. Until they do, the conversation waits.
If taps aren't converting, the fix is copy: say what they get, and make the button an action. See Opening Message.
The ask-to-follow gate says I'm not following
The check asks Instagram at the moment of the tap.
- A follow made seconds earlier may not be visible yet — wait a moment and tap again.
- Every tap that fails the check sends the re-ask message back with both buttons, so the way through never disappears. Nothing else is sent and the flow stays parked, so a person who walks away isn't chased.
- Instagram can only tell us about the relationship once that person has messaged the account. Inside a flow they always have, so this affects manual checks more than gates.
Contacts show "Unknown" relationship
Instagram only lets a business look up a profile once that person has messaged the account. Contacts who only ever commented stay Unknown until they open a DM thread. "Unknown" is not the same as "not following". See Contacts.
I can't activate my flow
The builder lists the blocking problems in a red panel. The usual ones:
- An empty text step, a card with no title, an image step with no images.
- A lead form step with no form selected — this one is rejected on every save, even as a draft.
- A comment or live flow with response steps but no opening message.
- An opening message or follow-up switched on but left empty.
- A link button missing its label or URL.
I can't pick a post in the media picker
Tiles are locked when another flow of the same trigger type already watches that post — two flows on one post would try to answer the same commenter twice, and Instagram only allows one private reply. Edit the other flow, or point this one at different media.
I can't connect another Instagram account
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
| Your plan doesn't cover another Instagram account | Add accounts on the Plans page, or disconnect one you're not using. |
| That Instagram account is already connected to another workspace | Disconnect it from the other workspace first. |
| We couldn't connect that Instagram account | The consent screen was cancelled or Instagram errored. Try again. |
Also confirm the account is Business or Creator, not Personal.
Flows stopped working after a while
Look at Settings → Instagram accounts. A Reconnect required badge means Instagram refused our access for good — the app was removed, the password changed, or the account logged out everywhere — and nothing sends until you reconnect. Expiry alone is handled for you automatically, in the background. Refresh token does it on demand if you want to be sure.
My follow-up never sent
Follow-ups reach only people who tapped the opening message and then stalled at an ask-to-follow or lead-form step. Silent commenters can never receive one — their single private reply is spent. The nudge is also cancelled the moment they progress or the flow completes.
Someone got the flow twice
For comment events the first matching flow wins and the rest are skipped, so duplicates there are unusual. For DM and story triggers there's no such limit: two active flows with overlapping keywords will both fire. Keep keyword lists distinct.
Payment went through but my plan didn't change
The confirmation page waits until the payment settles. If you closed the tab early, reopen Settings → Billing; it should be live within a minute. If it isn't, contact support with the payment date and amount.
The AI isn't reading anything
Three things to check, in order:
- The feature is switched on under Settings → AI features.
- The Instagram account is in that feature's account list — a hand-picked list doesn't add newly connected accounts automatically.
- You still have credits. Reading stops at zero and resumes the moment you top up.
Remember both features only work on messages and comments arriving after you switched them on. They don't process your history.
A brand DM didn't appear in Brand Collabs
Usually it wasn't read as an offer — someone praising your work and mentioning their brand isn't proposing anything. It may also have been a reply your flow was already handling, which is skipped on purpose so you're not charged for your own automation. Check your credit balance too. See Collab Detection.
A comment was deleted that I wanted to keep
Take that kind off your delete list so it doesn't recur. The text is in the moderation log so you can see exactly what went — but Instagram deletions are permanent and cannot be restored by anyone, including us. See Comment Moderation.
The ask-to-follow gate isn't sending buttons
Instagram doesn't render buttons or cards on desktop. Someone reading your DM on instagram.com sees the message text with nothing tappable beneath it.
The gate accepts a typed reply as well as a tap for exactly this reason, so the conversation still works — but it's worth wording your prompt so it makes sense to someone who has to type, e.g. "Follow us, then reply DONE."
Still stuck?
Check what your role allows first — members are read-only and simply won't see edit controls.
Then try the chat widget on this page; it resolves most questions immediately. If it can't, see Contact & Support for what to include in a ticket so it gets solved on the first reply.