YouTube Thumbnail Not Showing? How to Fix It

You uploaded a custom thumbnail for your YouTube video, but the old auto-generated one still shows up. Or worse — no thumbnail appears at all. This is a common issue with several possible causes.

Here's a systematic walkthrough of every reason your YouTube thumbnail might not be showing, and how to fix each one.

1. YouTube Is Still Processing

The most common cause. After uploading or changing a thumbnail, YouTube needs time to process and propagate it across all devices and platforms.

How long it takes:

• Usually appears within 5-15 minutes
• Can take up to several hours in some cases
• YouTube Studio may show the new thumbnail before it appears publicly

What to do: Wait at least 30 minutes before troubleshooting further. Clear your browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Delete) and reload the page, as your browser may be showing a cached version of the old thumbnail.

2. Your Thumbnail Doesn't Meet Requirements

YouTube silently rejects thumbnails that don't meet its specifications. Check every requirement:

• File size: Must be under 2 MB
• Resolution: Minimum 640px wide, recommended 1280x720
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Format: JPG, PNG, GIF (static), or BMP

See our YouTube Thumbnail Size Guide for full specifications.

3. You Haven't Verified Your Account

YouTube requires phone verification before you can upload custom thumbnails. Without verification, you're limited to the three auto-generated thumbnails YouTube provides.

How to verify:

1. Go to youtube.com/verify
2. Sign in to your YouTube account
3. Enter your phone number for a verification code
4. Enter the code to complete verification

After verification, the custom thumbnail upload option will appear in YouTube Studio when you edit a video.

4. Browser Cache Is Showing the Old Thumbnail

Your browser aggressively caches images. Even after YouTube processes the new thumbnail, you might see the old one.

Solutions:

• Hard refresh: Press Ctrl+Shift+R (Cmd+Shift+R on Mac)
• Clear cache: Ctrl+Shift+Delete, select "Cached images and files"
• Incognito window: Open the video in a private/incognito window to see the current version
• Different browser: Try viewing the video in a different browser

5. Thumbnail Was Rejected for Policy Violations

YouTube's automated systems scan thumbnails for policy violations. If your thumbnail is rejected, YouTube reverts to an auto-generated one without always notifying you clearly.

Common reasons for rejection:

• Sexually suggestive content or nudity
• Graphic violence or gore
• Misleading content (clickbait that violates policies)
• Hate speech or symbols
• Content that violates YouTube's community guidelines

6. YouTube Studio Upload Error

Sometimes the thumbnail upload appears to succeed in YouTube Studio but doesn't actually save.

How to fix:

1. Go to YouTube Studio and open the video details
2. Click the thumbnail section
3. Delete the current custom thumbnail
4. Save the video (this resets to auto-generated)
5. Upload your custom thumbnail again
6. Click Save and wait for the confirmation message

Make sure you see "Changes saved" or similar confirmation before leaving the page.

7. Mobile App Showing Old Thumbnail

The YouTube mobile app caches thumbnails aggressively. The new thumbnail may show on desktop but not on your phone.

Solutions:

• Close and reopen the YouTube app
• Clear the YouTube app cache (Settings > Apps > YouTube > Clear Cache)
• Wait — mobile apps typically update cached images within 24 hours

8. Video Is Processing or Recently Uploaded

If you just uploaded the video and it's still processing, the thumbnail system may not have caught up yet. YouTube processes video and thumbnails on different pipelines.

What to do: Wait until the video is fully processed (shows HD quality) before worrying about the thumbnail. You can check processing status in YouTube Studio.

Still Not Working? Checklist

If you've gone through everything above, run through this checklist:

1. Is your account phone-verified?
2. Is the image under 2 MB and at least 640px wide?
3. Is it JPG, PNG, GIF, or BMP format?
4. Did you click Save after uploading in YouTube Studio?
5. Have you waited at least 30 minutes?
6. Have you checked in an incognito/private browser window?
7. Does the thumbnail violate any YouTube policies?

If nothing works, try uploading a completely different image as a test. If that works, the issue is with your specific image file. Try re-exporting it from your image editor with different settings.