Figma Prototype Not Working? Why It Happens and How to Fix It

The forum thread on On click being disabled has about 26.4k views. Figma's help centre doesn't list a single cause, but the documented rules explain most cases. Check these in order:

• The layers aren't inside a frame. "The design must be within a frame in order to Preview or Present." Loose shapes on the canvas can't start or receive a connection. Select them and press ⌥⌘G (Ctrl+Alt+G on Windows) to frame them.
• The destination is nested. A connection has to point at a top-level frame "in most cases". The only action that can target a layer inside the same top-level frame is Scroll to.
• You're in the Design tab. Interactions live in the Prototype tab. Press Shift+E to switch.

Figma "will only display those frames with connections while playing the prototype." A screen with no arrow into it won't appear, even if it sits right next to the others. Draw a connection to it, or give it its own flow starting point: right-click the frame and choose Add starting point.

The prototype also opens from the flow's starting point. If it starts on the wrong screen, pick a different flow in the presentation sidebar or move the starting point. Figma adds one automatically on your first connection between two frames, which isn't always the screen you meant.

After delay isn't offered on every layer. Figma forum users report it only works on top-level frames, and that it greys out when the frame already has an After delay interaction. The help centre doesn't state the top-level rule, but it matches what people see: put the trigger on the screen frame, not a layer inside it. The delay is set in milliseconds.

Change to only exists for interactive components, and it can only switch between variants in the same component set. If the option is missing or greyed out, the likely reason is that the layer isn't a variant inside a component set. Build the states as variants first; the component variants guide walks through it.

Scroll needs content bigger than the frame. Figma's own warning reads: "For scrolling to work on this frame, the content needs to be bigger than the frame." Set Overflow on the frame and check its size; how to add scroll in a Figma prototype has the full fix.

If Fixed is greyed out, the layer is inside auto layout. Turn on Ignore auto layout for it. More in why Fixed is greyed out.

Figma's documented cause: when an instance has a prototype interaction and its variant has an interaction with the same trigger, "Figma will use the prototype interaction and ignore the variant interaction." Remove one of the two. The hover effect guide covers the setup that works.

Missing fonts in prototypes is one of the most-viewed Report a Problem threads (about 21k views). Changing variants can also swap a custom font to Inter. Start with fonts not showing in Figma.

• Check link access in Share. "Only invited people" blocks anyone you didn't invite.
• Prototype-only links are a paid-plan feature. On Starter, viewers can choose Open in editor and see the whole file.
• On phones, the browser back action isn't supported. Build a back button into the screens. See how to view a Figma prototype on your phone.

New to wiring screens? Start with how to prototype in Figma, which covers connections, triggers, overlays and flows.