Instagram carousel saving — Troubleshooting

Worked example

Read the message first: a link error means not a public post, unavailable means it could not be inspected, restricted means a temporary block.

If the field turns red as soon as you paste, check that you copied a post permalink and not a profile, a story or a live broadcast; the tool says profiles are not supported and asks for one public content link. If it says the link belongs to a different platform, you pasted something that is not an Instagram address. If the preview never appears, remove tracking text after the question mark and paste the clean address.

A designer returns an hour later, clicks Prepare and sees that the preview expired. That is expected: previews and finished downloads are temporary, so the tool asks you to check the link again and the finished file may show as no longer available. Start again from the link instead of reusing an old page.

When the message says the source is temporarily rejecting requests, the post may still be public; wait and retry later rather than hammering the button, and an overloaded queue also resolves by waiting a moment. If a download stalls, use Cancel and start a new one. A file that is larger than the available limit needs a smaller option.

Changing the URL again and again will not bring back items that are private, removed or unavailable, so if one slide is missing, check the live post first. If the Prepare button stays grey, you have not yet ticked the rights confirmation or no option has been selected.

Your public Instagram carousel URL

Available media options; availability varies

Error messages are specific on purpose: read them first, since retrying a link that is private or removed will never work.