You can use emojis in your Facebook posts to share your current mood with your friends. In addition, you can also send emojis in reply to a message to convey your feelings without using words. But what if a dotted box saying “OBJ” replaces your emoji on your Facebook post or reply?
Are you worried about the OBJ error? Read this article to know “what does OBJ mean on Facebook” and “when the dotted box OBJ symbol appears.”
Facebook users often see the dotted OBJ box instead of an emoji. The OBJ error is very common on social media apps. Therefore, millions of other social media users have seen it. So you are not alone in seeing OBJ on Facebook posts. Many Facebook users are curious to know more about this.
Our objective in this article is to explain why you see OBJ on Facebook posts and how to eliminate it.
What does OBJ mean on Facebook?
OBJ stands for “Object replacement character.” The full form may confuse you a bit, but notice the first three characters of the first word, “Object. ” It will look simple.
Technically, every element of a webpage is an object. The Facebook app has an inbuilt web browser to display content. The OBJ symbol appears when Facebook can’t render (identify) an object used in a post.
What is OBJ in Unicode?
Unicode is the world standard for text and emojis. Your computer and smartphone display unique character sets and emojis.
OBJ on Facebook is a placeholder in Unicode. It appears when your app, device, or web browser has a technical fault. Unicode can display millions of symbols, special characters, and emojis, but a dotted OBJ box appears when incompatibility exists. Let’s move to the next part: why do you see OBJ on Facebook?
Reasons why the OBJ error appears on Facebook
Are you wondering why you see a Unicode object replacement character instead of an emoji? Unicode can interpret any emoji, but it’s not working for you. When Unicode can’t display a symbol or emoji, the reason might be software bugs.
When exploring what OBJ means on Facebook, first understand every technical detail. Otherwise, your findings on why you see OBJ on Facebook will remain incomplete. And you won’t be able to fix the problem on your device.
Hereunder are a few common reasons why OBJ errors appear on your device. Let’s see which fix helps you.
Reason 1: Software bug in Android.
A software bug can cause corrupted data on your device. That’s why Unicode fails to interpret special characters and emojis. Therefore, the OBJ dashed box appears on your screen. Do you see OBJ instead of emoji on your Facebook post? This OBJ error on an Android device often occurs due to a software bug.
The corrupted software libraries or the Facebook app might display corrupted characters and emojis on your device.
How to fix it: First, update your Facebook app. If the problem persists, then update your Android operating system.
Reason 2: The voice-to-text function in the iPhone
Do you use dictation to compose posts and comments on your iPhone? Yes, it can cause OBJ on Facebook. Facebook does not fully support Apple’s diction function, so Facebook may fail to interpret some special characters, symbols, or emojis. As a result, you see the OBJ error on your post.
How to fix it: You must manually change the OBJ dotted box to match your desired emoji.
Reason 3: Apple’s emoji library
iPhone users can update their iOS to update their emoji library. But an Android OS update doesn’t help much. Apple’s emoji library has many new emojis that Android users can’t see on their devices. So, they see the OBJ emoji instead. You can see these special emojis only on iPhones, not Android phones.
How to fix it: Apple users can update the emoji library to fix the emoji error. Android users can buy an iPhone.
Reason 4: Facebook is so slow
Your Facebook is slow due to downtime or a slow internet connection. For this reason, all the data on your app or device is not loading properly. So, you see the OBJ error on your screen. If Facebook servers are down, you can’t do anything, but you can fix your slow internet connection.
How to fix: You can fix your slow internet connection or switch to a different ISP. If Facebook is experiencing a technical problem, it’s better to wait until engineers fix it.
How to remove OBJ from a Facebook post?
Earlier, we discussed a bug in the Facebook app or software update may cause the OBJ error on your device. The first aid to fix the OBJ error is to update your FB app. If it doesn’t work, update the operating system. After updating your app or OS, you may see the right emoji instead of the OBJ dotted box.
If someone posts an emoji that is available only in Apple’s emoji library, then Android users see OBJ on Facebook. You can’t do much from your end because these emojis are only compatible with Apple devices, not Android devices. You must wait until a Facebook or Android software update makes these new emojis available.
You can also try an emoji keyboard. Sometimes, it can be used to create a few additional emojis.
Summing up
I believe our answer to your question about what OBJ means on Facebook satisfies you. OBJ appears mostly when Facebook or your device can’t interpret and display an emoji or special character on your device.
Thus, the OBJ issue can be caused by a software bug, an outdated emoji library, or unsupported dictation. Remember, Android doesn’t support every emoji available in Apple’s emoji library. Therefore, OBJ appears on Android devices. Sometimes, an outdated iOS also doesn’t show the emoji. In this case, iOS users can update their OS.