Quick fix for Google Chrome Broken Image Icon error

by Matthew Adams

Windows & Software Expert

Matthew is a freelancer who has produced a variety of articles on various topics related to technology. His main focus is the Windows OS and all the things surrounding it. He is passionate about... Read more

Posted: Apr 27, 2021

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When a website image doesn’t display in Google Chrome, you’ll usually get a broken image icon. This red x or broken image icon highlights a missing picture on a page.

If lots pages are opening in your Chrome browser without their images, try adjusting any of the following settings.

Google Chrome is a great browser, but many users reported broken image icon in Chrome. This problem will make certain websites unusable, so it’s important to fix it.

Speaking of image problems, users reported the following issues:

• Broken image icon Firefox, Internet Explorer – According to users, you might be able to experience this issue in other browsers including Firefox and Internet Explorer. If the problem appears in other browsers, the issue is related to your system or to your network configuration.
• Pictures not loading on websites Chrome – Many users reported that pictures aren’t loading on websites in Chrome. To fix the problem, be sure to check your Chrome settings and disable your antivirus.
• Images won’t load in Chrome – Sometimes this issue can appear if JavaScript is disabled in your browser. If that’s the case, simply enable JavaScript and the problem will be resolved.
• Chrome showing broken images – In some cases, extensions can lead to this problem, and if you noticed that your images are missing, simply disable or uninstall your extensions and check if that solves the problem.

How do I fix a broken image icon in Chrome?

1. Check if the Show all images option is selected

1. First, you should click the Customize Google Chrome button at the top right of the browser and select Settings.
   
2. Select Advanced at the bottom of the Settings page.
   
3. Then you should press the Content settings button to open the window below.
   
4. Is the Do not show any images option selected? If so, click the Show all images radio option and press the Finish button.
   
5. Restart the browser, and check if broken image icon is gone.

If some images aren’t loading in Chrome, then that might be because the Show all images option isn’t selected.

2. Try a different browser

If you notice a missing image icon in Chrome, you should know that this issue can be related to your system, therefore it’s important to try other browsers.

To test that, we advise you to try a different browser, such as Opera for example. Unlike Chrome, this browser has many privacy-related features including built-in VPN, tracking protection, and built-in file scanner.

If you’re looking for a browser similar to Chrome, but that is more privacy-oriented, you might want to give Opera Browser a try.

Opera

Open as many pages as you like and enjoy their images with Opera browser’s smooth experience. Try it out now!

DownloadVisit website

3. Switch on JavaScript

If images are not showing on website, that might be due to your JavaScript settings. Having JavaScript switched off will remove some images from pages.

So open the same Content Settings window as outlined above, and select Allow all sites to run JavaScript if that’s not currently selected.

4. Switch off your extensions

1. Extensions might be behind some broken images. To check if that is the case, press Ctrl + Shift + N to open Incognito mode in Chrome. If the same pages don’t have any broken images in the Incognito mode, then you should switch off your extensions.
   
   
2. Press the Customize Google Chrome button and click Settings.
3. Click Extensions to open the page below.
4. Click the Enable check box beside each selected extension to disable it.
5. Now restart the browser and the broken image icon should be gone.

If Chrome images are missing, the problem might be caused by one of your extensions.

There’s a wide array of extensions available for Chrome, and certain extensions can interfere with your browser and cause this issue to occur.

However, you can fix the issue simply by disabling the problematic extensions.

5. Check your antivirus

According to users, sometimes your antivirus can interfere with Chrome and cause your images to become missing. To check if your antivirus is the problem, be sure to disable it temporarily.

Even if you disable a third-party antivirus, Windows will activate Windows Defender instead, so your security won’t be compromised.

If you don’t want to disable your antivirus entirely, you can disable certain network-related features such as firewall and check if that helps.

If not, try removing your antivirus and check if that helps. If the removing the antivirus solves the problem, then you should consider switching to a different antivirus solution.

There are many great antivirus tools, and if you’re looking for a new antivirus, be sure to consider Bitdefender (World’s Nr.1).

⇒ Get Bitdefender

6. Clear Google Chrome’s Cache

1. Type chrome://history/ into the address bar and press Enter.
2. Press the Clear browsing data button to open the window below.
   
3. You could just select every check box there. If you want, you can go to the Advanced tab and select all options there as well.
   
4.  Press the Clear data button, and restart the browser.

The cache stores browsing data, and if images won’t load in Chrome, it’s possible that your cache is the problem. To fix that, follow the above steps.

7. Reset the Browser

1. Enter chrome://settings/ into the address bar to open the Settings page.
2. Click Show advanced settings to expand the page’s options.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and press the Reset settings button.
   
4. Click Reset to restore the original browser settings.

If none of the above solutions have fixed broken image icon in Chrome, you need to reset the browser. This will effectively restore its original settings and delete all installed extensions, plug-ins etc.

8. Use Google’s DNS

1. Click the network icon in your Taskbar. Now select your network from the menu.
   
2. Now select Change adapter options.
   
3. List of network connections will appear. Right-click your network and choose Properties from the menu.
   
4. Now select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and choose Properties from the menu.
   
5. Select Use the following DNS server addresses and enter 8.8.8.8 as the Preferred and 8.8.4.4 as Alternate DNS server. Now click OK to save changes.
   

If your browser isn’t showing images, the issue might be your DNS. Sometimes there might be a problem with your ISP or network connection leading to this issue.

To fix the problem, you might want to try using Google’s DNS. Switching to Google’s DNS is simple and you can do it by following the above steps.

After doing that, check if the problem is resolved. Keep in mind that switching to a Google DNS might make your connection slower, but it should fix the problem with images.

9. Check if Chrome is up to date

1. Open Chrome and click the Menu icon in the top right corner. Now choose Help > About Google Chrome from the menu.
   
2. A new tab will now appear and Chrome will check for updates. If any updates are available they will be downloaded and installed automatically.
   

If you’re having issues with Google Chrome and broken images, you might be able to fix the issue simply by updating Chrome to the latest version.

Usually Chrome checks for updates automatically, but you can also check for updates manually.

Once Chrome is up to date, check if the problem is resolved. The latest updates usually fix major problems, so be sure to keep your browser up to date.

10. Rename Chrome’s data folder

1. Make sure that Google Chrome isn’t running.
2. Press Windows Key + R and enter %localappdata%. Now press Enter or click OK.
   
3. Navigate to GoogleChromeUser Data directory. Now locate Default folder and rename it.
   

According to users, if you see a missing image icon in Chrome, the issue might be related to Chrome’s data folder. To fix the problem, you need to find this folder and rename it.

After doing that, start Chrome again and check if the problem is resolved.

11. Try using Beta or Canary version

If images won’t load in Chrome, you might want to try out a Beta version of Chrome.

This version has the latest patches, and if this problem is caused by a bug in Chrome, the Beta version should fix it.

Keep in mind that Beta version might have few issues now and there, but it might fix your problem with broken images.

In addition to the Beta version, you can also try using the Canary version. This version has some upcoming features, but it’s also a testing version, so it might not be as stable as other versions.

It’s worth noting that broken images might have more to do with the Web pages than your Google Chrome settings. The images might have been removed without updating the site page.

Alternatively, the page might not include the correct image location. However, the above steps could still restore lots of missing pictures on websites. 

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