Why do airdropped or imported photos show as white icons no preview?

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Why do airdropped or imported photos show as white icons no preview?

I've had a running issue when I import files from my iPhone to my Mac that they sometimes will show as a white solid icon with no preview. I've tried changing the file type on the iPhone, doesn't change the behavior. Yes, show preview is checked. Sometimes it will show the preview normally but if I change the file name, it then changes to white. The usual behavior is even if I airdrop 3 photos at the same time, often two will show as normal and one will be solid white like this photo. Is there something I can do to stop this behavior? Thank you.

Mac mini (M4)

Posted on Jun 27, 2025 6:04 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 28, 2025 10:55 AM in response to Ramblinmanva

Well, that's weird. First thing, though, is that I use AirDrop to send pictures from my phone to my Mac all the time, and this doesn't happen, so it's not normal. Unfortunately, you didn't tell us what macOS you're using, or anything about the phone.

To narrow things down, try these steps:

* Restart the computer (of course)

* Re-start in Safe Mode. This bypasses certain potentially disruptive processes, and it often helps. Safe Mode is different for different computers, so see this:

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

* Make a new user and see if the same problem recurs with it.

Let us know what happens…

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