Two things trip people up here, and neither is obvious until after you have posted.
The grid posts in reverse
Your Instagram profile shows the newest post in the top-left corner, and every older post pushes right, then down. Upload your nine tiles in reading order and the finished grid comes out mirrored and upside down.
Upload the bottom-right tile first. Work backwards along the bottom row, then the middle row, then the top row, finishing with the top-left tile. When the last tile lands, the mosaic snaps into place.
This tool numbers the files in that order, so tile _1 is the first one you post. The naming scheme is {base}_r{row}c{col}_{n}, where r and c say where the piece sits and n says when to post it. Sort the folder by name and post from the top.
One warning: post all nine in one sitting. Anything you publish mid-sequence, including a Reel, shifts every tile after it and breaks the picture.
Instagram will crop your slices unless you stop it
The profile grid has been 3:4 portrait since January 2025, not square. Instagram accepts feed posts from 1.91:1 landscape to 4:5 portrait, but the grid thumbnail is always 3:4. A square post loses its top and bottom there. A post at 1080 × 1350 px loses only thin strips off the sides.
Carousels have their own rule: the first slide sets the ratio and every slide after it is cropped to match. Split a wide panorama into three slices and each one arrives short and wide, so Instagram squeezes them into the first slide’s frame and shaves off the parts you cared about.
The fix is padding, not cropping. Switch on 4:5 output and each slice is placed on a taller canvas with a background you choose (white, black, a blurred copy of the edge, or a custom colour). A 1000 × 1000 slice becomes 1000 × 1250 px with bars added, and Instagram leaves it alone.
Size the source properly and this costs you nothing. A 3240 × 1350 panorama cut into three gives slices of 1080 × 1350 px, already 4:5, so no padding is needed.
The full walkthrough is in how to split a photo for Instagram, and the current pixel figures live on Instagram grid size and Instagram carousel size.