safari blue box with question mark

Why Do I Get Question Marks Instead Of Pictures On Safari

• Software & Applications
• Browsers & Extensions

Introduction

Have you ever experienced the frustration of seeing question marks instead of images while browsing the web on Safari? It can be quite perplexing and disrupt your browsing experience. However, fear not, as there are several potential reasons for this issue, and most of them can be easily resolved. In this article, we will delve into the possible causes of this perplexing problem and explore the steps you can take to rectify it.

When you encounter question marks instead of images on Safari, it may indicate a range of underlying issues, from simple browser cache glitches to more complex compatibility problems. Understanding the root causes of this issue is the first step toward finding a solution. By exploring the various factors that can lead to this visual hiccup, you can gain a clearer understanding of how to address it effectively.

So, if you've ever found yourself pondering why those pesky question marks keep popping up where images should be, you're in the right place. Let's embark on a journey to uncover the reasons behind this enigma and equip you with the knowledge to banish those question marks from your Safari browsing experience.

Clear Safari Cache

Clearing the cache in Safari can often work wonders in resolving the issue of question marks replacing images. The cache is a temporary storage location for files that help Safari load websites faster upon revisits. However, if this cache becomes corrupted or outdated, it can lead to various browsing anomalies, including the display of question marks instead of images.

To clear the cache in Safari, start by opening the browser and navigating to the "Safari" menu at the top-left corner of the screen. From there, select "Preferences" and then click on the "Privacy" tab. Within the Privacy tab, you will find the option to "Manage Website Data." Clicking on this will reveal a list of websites with stored data. Here, you can choose to remove all website data, including cached images and files, by clicking "Remove All."

Another method to clear the cache involves accessing the "Develop" menu, which may need to be enabled first. To do this, go to the "Safari" menu, select "Preferences," and then click on the "Advanced" tab. Check the box next to "Show Develop menu in menu bar." Once the Develop menu is visible, click on it and choose "Empty Caches" to clear the cache.

By clearing the cache, you essentially wipe out the stored temporary files that may be causing the display issues. This action prompts Safari to fetch fresh copies of website elements, which can often resolve the problem of question marks appearing instead of images.

It's important to note that clearing the cache may log you out of websites and erase certain browsing history, so be prepared for this outcome. However, the potential benefits of resolving the image display issue make this a worthwhile step to take.

In the event that clearing the cache does not resolve the problem, it's advisable to explore other potential solutions to ensure a smooth and visually appealing browsing experience on Safari.

Check Internet Connection

Ensuring a stable and reliable internet connection is crucial for seamless browsing on Safari. When question marks replace images on websites, it's essential to rule out any connectivity issues that may be contributing to this visual anomaly.

First and foremost, verify that your device is connected to the internet. This can be done by checking the Wi-Fi or cellular signal indicator on your device. If you are using Wi-Fi, ensure that you are within range of the router and that the signal strength is adequate. In the case of a cellular connection, confirm that you have a strong signal and that your data plan is active.

Once you have confirmed the connectivity status, it's important to assess the speed and stability of your internet connection. Slow or intermittent internet connectivity can lead to incomplete loading of web elements, including images, resulting in the display of question marks instead. You can perform a speed test using various online tools or dedicated apps to gauge the upload and download speeds as well as the overall stability of your connection.

Furthermore, consider testing your internet connection on multiple devices, if available, to determine if the issue is specific to a particular device or if it persists across various platforms. This can help pinpoint whether the problem lies with the device, the network, or the internet service provider.

In some cases, network restrictions or firewall settings may interfere with the proper loading of images on Safari. If you are using a public or corporate network, certain restrictions may be in place that affect the display of web content. Contacting the network administrator or IT support team to inquire about any potential restrictions can provide valuable insights into resolving this issue.

By thoroughly examining and addressing any potential internet connectivity issues, you can eliminate this factor as a cause of question marks appearing instead of images on Safari. Once you have confirmed a stable and unrestricted internet connection, you can proceed to explore additional troubleshooting steps to restore the seamless display of images during your browsing sessions.

Update Safari Browser

Keeping your Safari browser up to date is essential for optimal performance and compatibility with the latest web technologies. Outdated browser versions can lead to various issues, including the display of question marks instead of images. By ensuring that you have the latest version of Safari installed, you can mitigate potential compatibility conflicts and benefit from bug fixes and performance enhancements.

To update Safari on a Mac, begin by checking for system updates. This can be done by clicking on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen, selecting "System Preferences," and then clicking on "Software Update." If there is a Safari update available, it will be listed here along with other system updates. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the update.

For iOS devices, such as iPhones and iPads, updating Safari involves keeping the entire operating system up to date. To check for iOS updates, go to "Settings," select "General," and then tap on "Software Update." If there is a new version of iOS available, it will include updates for Safari as well.

By regularly updating Safari, you ensure that the browser is equipped with the latest security patches, feature enhancements, and performance optimizations. This proactive approach not only addresses potential issues with image display but also enhances the overall browsing experience by providing access to the latest web technologies and standards.

In addition to updating the browser itself, it's important to stay informed about any relevant updates for browser extensions or plugins that you may have installed. These add-ons can also impact the display of web content, and ensuring that they are up to date can contribute to a smoother browsing experience.

In the event that updating Safari does not immediately resolve the issue of question marks replacing images, it's advisable to explore additional troubleshooting steps. However, staying current with browser updates remains a fundamental practice for maintaining a secure, efficient, and visually consistent browsing environment.

By prioritizing the regular updating of Safari and associated extensions, you can proactively address potential compatibility issues and enjoy a seamless browsing experience with images displaying as intended, free from the intrusion of question marks.

Disable Content Blockers

Content blockers, while designed to enhance browsing security and privacy, can sometimes inadvertently interfere with the proper display of images on Safari. These blockers, also known as ad blockers or content filtering extensions, work by preventing certain types of content, such as advertisements and tracking scripts, from loading on web pages. However, in some instances, they may also block legitimate images, leading to the appearance of question marks instead of the intended visual content.

To address this potential issue, it is advisable to review and, if necessary, disable content blockers within Safari. This can be done by accessing the browser's preferences and examining the installed extensions or plugins.

Start by clicking on the "Safari" menu at the top-left corner of the screen and selecting "Preferences." Within the Preferences window, navigate to the "Extensions" tab. Here, you will find a list of installed extensions, including content blockers.

To disable a content blocker, simply uncheck the box next to its name. This action effectively deactivates the blocker, allowing all content, including images, to load unhindered. It's important to note that disabling content blockers may result in the display of advertisements and tracking elements on websites. However, this temporary measure can help determine if the content blockers are indeed contributing to the issue of question marks replacing images.

In some cases, content blockers may have specific settings that can be adjusted to allow certain types of content while still blocking others. Reviewing the settings within the content blocker extension can provide insights into its behavior and allow for more targeted adjustments to address the image display issue.

After disabling or adjusting the settings of content blockers, it's recommended to revisit the websites where question marks were previously observed. By doing so, you can assess whether the images now load correctly without being replaced by question marks. If the issue is resolved after disabling the content blockers, it indicates that the blockers were indeed contributing to the image display anomaly.

If disabling content blockers does not resolve the issue, it's important to re-enable them to maintain browsing security and privacy. In such cases, it may be necessary to explore additional troubleshooting steps to identify and address the underlying cause of the image display problem.

By reviewing and, if needed, temporarily disabling content blockers, you can effectively assess their impact on the display of images in Safari. This proactive approach allows you to pinpoint potential sources of the issue and take targeted steps to restore the seamless and visually appealing browsing experience that Safari is known for.

Check Website Compatibility

Ensuring website compatibility is a crucial aspect of resolving the issue of question marks replacing images on Safari. Incompatibilities between the browser and the website's design or coding can lead to visual anomalies, including the failure to display images as intended. By examining the compatibility between Safari and the websites you visit, you can gain valuable insights into potential factors contributing to this perplexing problem.

One of the primary considerations when assessing website compatibility is the adherence to web standards and best practices. Websites that follow established standards for HTML, CSS, and image formats are more likely to render correctly across various browsers, including Safari. However, deviations from these standards, such as the use of proprietary or outdated coding techniques, can result in inconsistencies in how web content is displayed.

Another aspect of website compatibility involves the use of responsive design principles. Responsive websites are designed to adapt to different screen sizes and device capabilities, providing an optimal viewing experience across desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. If a website is not responsive or lacks proper mobile optimization, it may encounter challenges in rendering images effectively on Safari, particularly on smaller screens.

Furthermore, the utilization of modern web technologies, such as scalable vector graphics (SVG) and responsive image techniques, can significantly impact image display across browsers. Websites that leverage these technologies can ensure that images are rendered crisply and efficiently, enhancing the overall visual experience for Safari users.

In some cases, websites may rely on third-party services or content delivery networks (CDNs) to host and serve images. Compatibility issues can arise if these external services encounter technical difficulties or if there are network connectivity issues between the user's device and the service provider. By investigating the source of image delivery and assessing its compatibility with Safari, you can identify potential points of failure and take appropriate measures to address them.

Additionally, the use of secure connections, indicated by the presence of HTTPS in website URLs, is essential for maintaining compatibility with modern browsers, including Safari. Insecure content, such as images loaded over unencrypted connections, may be blocked by the browser for security reasons, leading to the display of question marks instead. Verifying that websites utilize secure connections for image delivery can help mitigate this issue.

By thoroughly evaluating the compatibility of websites with Safari, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of the technical aspects influencing image display. This insight enables you to make informed decisions and recommendations to website owners and developers, fostering a more harmonious browsing experience for Safari users.

In summary, website compatibility plays a pivotal role in determining the seamless rendering of images on Safari. By examining adherence to web standards, responsive design practices, modern web technologies, external image delivery mechanisms, and secure connections, you can identify and address potential compatibility issues, ultimately ensuring that images are displayed as intended, free from the intrusion of question marks.

Reset Safari Settings

When all other troubleshooting methods have been exhausted and the issue of question marks replacing images persists on Safari, resetting the browser settings may offer a viable solution. Resetting Safari settings essentially reverts the browser to its default state, eliminating any customizations, preferences, and potentially problematic configurations that may be contributing to the image display anomaly.

To initiate the process of resetting Safari settings, begin by opening the browser and accessing the "Safari" menu at the top-left corner of the screen. From the dropdown menu, select "Preferences" and navigate to the "Privacy" tab. Within the Privacy tab, you will find the option to manage website data. Click on "Remove All" to clear all website data, including cached images and files, as well as cookies and other browsing data.

In addition to clearing website data, it may be necessary to reset other aspects of Safari, such as its history, extensions, and other browsing settings. To accomplish this, go to the "Safari" menu once again and select "Clear History." This action removes all browsing history, effectively resetting the record of visited websites and associated data.

Furthermore, reviewing and potentially disabling or removing installed extensions and plugins can contribute to the reset process. By accessing the "Extensions" tab within the Safari Preferences window, you can manage and uninstall extensions that may be impacting the display of images.

It's important to note that resetting Safari settings will result in the loss of certain preferences, customizations, and stored data. This includes logged-in sessions on websites, autofill information, and other personalized settings. However, by sacrificing these temporary conveniences, you may gain a refreshed and optimized browsing environment that resolves the perplexing issue of question marks replacing images.

After resetting Safari settings, it is advisable to revisit the websites where the image display problem was observed. By doing so, you can assess whether the images now load correctly without being replaced by question marks. If the issue is successfully resolved, it indicates that the reset process effectively addressed the underlying cause of the anomaly.

In the event that resetting Safari settings does not immediately resolve the issue, it may be necessary to explore additional troubleshooting steps or seek further assistance from technical support resources. However, the proactive act of resetting the browser settings demonstrates a commitment to resolving the image display anomaly and restoring a visually consistent and enjoyable browsing experience on Safari.

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Safari 15.6.1 and dreaded blue question marks

• Thread starter Racineur
• Start date Dec 14, 2023
• Tags ali express mail question mark safari
• Sort by reaction score

macrumors 6502a

• Dec 14, 2023

Hi to all. Well known problem as I found scouring the Net for answers. Safari (Catalina) displays blue question marks on Ali express site. Also Mail shows question marks instead of pictures from Ali. iPad (iPad OS 16.7.2), iPhone (iOS 16.7.2) and even iPhone 6s (iOS 14.8.1) displays pictures fine both in Safari and Mail. So I'm forced to switch to Firefox 120.01 on Catalina to browse and purchase from Ali express. Or on the iPad or iPhone. I did all that Could find concerning the bue question marks. No results whatsoever. Is there a secret setting fro Safari. Could it be AdGuard? If so, what setting? There are a ton of them A bit lost here. Attached: screen of Safari and Firefox. Thanks for the help  

Attachments

Cyby-CyberDog

Macrumors member.

Have you tried creating a new user on your mac to test if a clean and fresh safari has the same problem?  

macrumors 68030

macrumors 603

Racineur said: Could it be AdGuard? If so, what setting? There are a ton of them A bit lost here. Click to expand...

macrumors Penryn

• Dec 15, 2023

Easiest solution is to try a different browser. I keep a bunch of browsers around - Orion - Brave - Epic - Opera - Firefox - Mullvad - Dissenter - Waterfox - Microsoft Edge - Vivaldi (probably one or two more). Fishrrman's "Mac Rule Number 4": Use the right tool for the job at hand.  

masotime said: Looks like Catalina was released in 2019. That version of Safari doesn't support WebP. View attachment 2325177 By contrast, iOS 14+ does: View attachment 2325178 Why are you still using Catalina anyway? That is a really ancient OS in relative terms of software progress. Time to upgrade.... Click to expand...

masotime said: nvm I see you mentioned Safari 15.6... but you still need Big Sur at least for that. Really just upgrade your macOS.... View attachment 2325179 Click to expand...

Racineur said: S I said, since it has an Intel i5 and it's a dinosaur (2012), can't upgrade it. Life... Click to expand...

masotime said: Fair enough - I apologize for being flippant. I think in this case you don't have much of a choice - you can't use Safari to browse any website that uses WebP (in your example, AliExpress), so you'll have to use another browser. There's not much alternative here. Click to expand...

Racineur said: I understand but why is it that Safari within version 14.8.1 shows pictures from Ali express on an iPhone 6s. Far from recent and far from as performant as on Catalina. Tend to believe this is a problem within Catalina. Click to expand...

masotime said: Yes Apple probably decided not to support WebP on Catalina for some reason. Without an upgrade path it’s basically Apple intentionally blocking WebP on Safari for older machines. Click to expand...

• Dec 16, 2023

Racineur said: So I'm fckd...Sometimes Apple rally makes me sweat. Guess Firefox will become default soon. It's the less disagreeable browser of the others available. Click to expand...

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

How to fix font problems on your Mac that can make Safari and Mail unreadable

Font problems can make websites unreadable even if the site isn't using that font

Last updated 3 years ago

The history of fonts on computers is quite long, quite complex and also oddly acrimonious, but it does all come back to the Mac. Specifically, it comes back to Steve Jobs who dropped out of college yet stayed on campus and tried out different courses including a calligraphy one.

"If I had never dropped in on that single course in college," Jobs later told Walter Isaacson, "the Mac would never have had multiple typefaces or proportionally-spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them."

We owe a debt to that college class, then, and usually we also unthinkingly owe one to the Mac's designers who made fonts so easy. It is so preposterously easy to use and install fonts on a Mac that there's a good chance you've never had to think about it. And that's why when it goes wrong, things are hard to fix.

It's not as font problems are an arduous job to fix but they aren't obvious. There are points where the Mac will warn you something is wrong and you just cannot discover what it is.

Plus the reason you typically discover something isn't working is startling. Maybe you just installed a client's font for a job you're doing in Adobe InDesign. The absolute worst you can imagine is that InDesign might not like it. And instead, this is what you can see.

That's the regular AppleInsider front page and one font problem has made everything unreadable. It's not as if AppleInsider even uses the font that has gone wrong, either. With one font issue on your Mac, everything can render like this.

When it happens, it tends to either be visible in your web browser or in Apple Mail. In either case, you can select this incoherent stream of question marks and when you then paste them into, say, Word, all of the text becomes readable.

So if it's just happened to you and you absolutely have to get this text out to a client, you do have that temporary workaround. Select All, Copy and then paste into some other applications.

You can't work like this for long, though. You need a permanent fix and while there can be many reasons the problem has come up, the solution does tend to be the same.

Undo the problem

There are apps that install fonts on your Mac but those don't tend to cause the problem. Adobe's apps, for instance, will tell you that they need such and such a font and then they will download it from Adobe's servers. They'll also install it into your Mac and all you've had to do is click OK.

For anything else, any other circumstance, you're using the Font Book app that comes with macOS. There are other tools by third-party companies but usually even if you drag a font attachment out of your client's email and double-click to install it, the Mac is using Font Book.

When you do this or when you open the Font Book application and choose File , Add Fonts , you'll see a regular progress bar as it works. And then you might also see a warning.

If you're installing a single font and you get a warning then it practically doesn't matter what that warning is, you know which font it's about.

You can also use Font Book, though, to add very many fonts at once and when you do that, it's slightly less clear what's causing the problem.

It's a bit of a mixed message here. Saying that "minor problems were found" is one thing, but then "proceed with caution" feels like it's just ramped up the danger a bit. It would be better if the error message actually told you what the problem was and which fonts it was about.

You can tell which ones are involved by looking at the status icon to the right of each font in the list. Most will be green ticks but you'll also see the odd yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in them.

These are of course the fonts that are for some reason troublesome but let us tell you the reason since these error messages don't. The most likely problem is that you already have these fonts.

You can use Font Book to export typefaces as easily as you can import them with it. So maybe you were moving to a new Mac and over the years had accrued hundreds of specialist fonts. Rather than schlep through exporting each one individually and then importing each one individually, you would export them all. And you would expect Font Book to notice when this means you're adding ones that are already in the Mac's standard set.

It does notice. That's what the "minor problems" usually are.

Typically the reason you're getting these warnings and the reason Safari is going insane is that you have duplicate fonts. It's hard to understand why it would cause such a problem and it's harder to imagine why Font Book doesn't point out duplicates as it's installing them. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop you and if you do get duplicates, you can get this problem. If you then remove the duplicates, the issue goes away.

but if you duplicates, you can get this and if you remove them, the issue goes away.

Avoid future problems

Before you try to fix this issue, make yourself a backup copy of all your fonts.

Open Font Book, click on All Fonts , then click on any of them in the list and press Command-A to Select All .

Then choose File , Export Fonts and save them all to somewhere on your Mac.

Try this solution first

Underneath where it says All Fonts , Open Font Book has a section marked User . Click on that and it brings up a list of all the fonts that you have installed. It's a list of every font you have that didn't come as standard with your Mac.

All you'll see is a list of fonts in the next column but click on each one in turn and eventually you'll hit a screen like this.

It seems a little ridiculous to have to manually press a button that's labelled Resolve Automatically . However, you might as well click it because 'resolve' just means 'remove'. Font Book will automatically remove the duplicate font file or at least it will when you first click on Resolve Automatically and then confirm you want one copy to be moved to the trash.

If you instead press Resolve Manually , you'll see some metadata about when the fonts were installed and you'll see that one or both are labelled as Active.

Maybe that helps you in some way, but you're going to end up checking that the box marked Resolve duplicates by moving duplicate font files to the Trash is ticked. And then you'll click Resolve All Duplicates .

It doesn't work the way you'd expect, though. Resolve All Duplicates doesn't just chuck the lot in the bin, it really just throws away the first duplicate it finds. If you have a font with many different faces in it such as Bold or Oblique then you can end up having to go through the process of finding the font and choosing this option repeatedly.

So if Resolve All Duplicates does not remove the warning that there are multiple copies of the font installed, choose Resolve this Duplicate . Click that, then click to say OK, you do want the duplicate moved to the trash, and repeat until it stops asking you.

If even that doesn't rid you of the duplicates, there's another step you can take. Back in the main Font Book view with User selected, click on the font that's causing problems.

Right click and from the menu that appears, choose Remove "Font Name" Family . There is the option in that same menu to resolve the duplicates but you've been through that. There's also the option to disable this font and that ought to be as good as removing it. Yet you've got your backup saved away safely somewhere, just destroy this copy.

Whichever resolution you follow, you'll end up with the duplicates removed and almost all of the time, your problems are over. Your web browser and Mail both look fine once you've done this with every font that the Mac tells you has minor problems.

Except of course you can do all this and find it didn't help. In that case, the next step is to go nuclear on all your fonts and remove everything that didn't come with your current Mac.

This is hardly ideal but it can be necessary. Plus, you've got your backup — and Font Book is going to do you another one.

In Font Book, click on File and then choose Restore Standard Fonts .

Yes, it strips out all the fonts you've so carefully and possibly expensively added over the years, but Mail and Safari or other browsers will now work correctly.

Unlike when you choose any of the Resolve options, Font Book here moves all the non-standard fonts out to a new folder it creates called Resolve . So you have a copy of them there.

It's not a lot of use to you and your work if the fonts are backed up on your Mac but you can't use them. And if you got into this because a client sent you a font, they need you to use that. So the last job is to put all of these fonts back — just not necessarily all at once.

Start with the font from your client. In Font Book, choose File , Add Fonts and just add that one. Look for yellow warning triangles and soon as it's installed, trying to read a message in Mail and go to a new web page in your browser.

If it goes wrong, then the problem is not a duplication, it's some kind of corruption in the font file and there's nothing you can do to fix it yourself. You'll have to go back to your client.

Next add the rest of your fonts back in the same File , Add Fonts way. Perhaps you should do it one font at a time but we've got no more patience than you have so go on, add the lot back in and see what happens.

If you get the problem back, remove them all again and start adding them back in a few at a time.

If none of this is truly arduous and none of it takes as long to do as it did to describe, still it's not an instantaneous fix. It's not like you wanted the problem in the first place or are doing all of this because you want to learn how fonts work on the Mac.

Yet it does fix the problem and it does make web browsers and Mail usable again.

Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube , Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.

Good information, thanks. 

All these steps but you failed to suggest the most obvious solution to font problems, as a first recourse, anyway. Whenever I get the “greeked” text problem, the first thing I do is to clear font caches. Of course, I almost never use the Font Book app since I have close to 10,000 fonts in my library. All of the third-party font management applications should have a utility for clearing font caches, but the average user can use a system maintenance app (e.g., Onyx) to perform the operation. You should also know that you need to restart your computer right after this, so I suggest saving open documents and quitting all running programs before clearing your fonts cache.

How about fixing bugs like from High Sierra making e-mails black background? You know that changing color profile for display just to workarond issue for one application problem is really od way to go and hard to understand. It is also hard to understand how macOS developers operate and why their automated testing did not catch all those obvious issues. Do they actually autmomate their testing? And please do not give me this Microsoft old excuse "that software became so complex that you need to reboot and it will fix itself". If you do not have proper testing strategy, mindset and team then you credibility will suffer more and more with every release and patch. CPU to run automated tests is cheap - human work is not and market is watching and judging.

maciekskontakt said: How about fixing bugs like from High Sierra making e-mails black background? You know that changing color profile for display just to workarond issue for one application problem is really od way to go and hard to understand. It is also hard to understand how macOS developers operate and why their automated testing did not catch all those obvious issues. Do they actually autmomate their testing? And please do not give me this Microsoft old excuse "that software became so complex that you need to reboot and it will fix itself". If you do not have proper testing strategy, mindset and team then you credibility will suffer more and more with every release and patch. CPU to run automated tests is cheap - human work is not and market is watching and judging. None of this is relevant to the article.

On a side note, it looks like Apple fixed my font gripe where if you use FontExplorer X, in High Sierra and earlier, emojis displayed as question boxes in Mail and Safari (maybe elsewhere) because macOS automatically enables the emoji font on the fly, and FEX required you disable FontBook's auto-activation feature to prevent conflicts. It appears that this is now fixed in Mojave! This article just inspired me to go check. Hooray!

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Safari's Blue Question Marks

• Thread starter Lea1952
• Start date Oct 17, 2005
• Oct 17, 2005

I've been using Safari on my PowerMac G5 for a long time--works great. About one week ago, I removed my Airport Express from the system (Airport Extreme Card still is inside). I had tried to put some encryption on the Express--just couldn't figure it out. Then I couldn't connect via Express--so now I'm back with the DSL connected to the box, which is fine--I just offer it as history. Soon after that (also soon after downloading "DVD player 4.6," Airport 4.2 and DVD Playback Update (again, just more history), I suddenly started seeing the question marks where graphics should be. I still get some, but not most, photos. Same thing in FireFox. The pattern has been that I take some intervention (which I will describe), it works for about an hour of surfing, then everything deteriorates very badly. Speed is awful. Eventually typing in one URL gets me to another page. I see wierd stuff in the background of pages--behind the question marks some times, like "Forbidden" on my Earthlink home page, path names with a lot of backslashes where there should be ads on the NY Time page. AppleCare has had me monkey around with a Test User (with that Safari worked), took out my preference folder and set it on the desktop. Told me to use all my programs for a few days, get everything back to normal, then throw that off the desktop, That worked for one evening. Then...same thing. Next guy had me reset Safari (which I've done quite a few times--doesn't fix it), empty caches from my Library folder, pull the Safari onto the desktop, put it back in Applications. Everything then worked fine--for a few hrs, then the same stuff again. I ended up putting the Airport Express back on (no encryption), reset it, etc. Voila--Safari working fine. You guessed it. For about an hour. Earthlink had me do their "usual" fix for everything last night, where I go to the network settings and create a new location. That worked for about 2 hrs last evening. This morning everything is messed up again--the net is littered with the blue boxes. It's even more than that, text is missing too. I was advised to Run disk permissions--and whatever that other thing is in the disk utility. I did. I was told to boot from the Tiger CD, and repair disk permissions and disk--which I did, a few nights ago. It said no repairs were necessary. I've used Macs for a long time, but I am not a techie. If anyone knows what the fix for this might me, I would really appreciate the help.  

cyclyst1964

see if you can get it work long enough to download " Mac Sweeper 3.0" http://www.shareup.com/Mac_Sweeper-download-14189.html It is a free utility that will run all kinds of maintenance scripts for you and also includes a great disk repair utility . You can also choose to "run everything". It is an option that takes some time , but it should fix most problems that a "real techie" would easily figure out after spending a little time sitting at your machine. If that doesn't do it, you can boot to your osX installer disk, re-install osX using the " Archive and Install" option. Be sure to back up your important stuff to removeable media such as an external hard drive ,dvd or cd first. Good luck.  

• Oct 23, 2005

Well, none of this makes any sense to me. My blue question mark Safari problem continued unabated--through all kinds of efforts, both from Applecare, my ISP (Earthlink) and my own research. Also Fire Fox and even Internet Explorer were showing me the icons they use when graphics don't load--it wasn't just Safari. I have a DSL line, an Airport Extreme Card in my G5 PowerMac and an Airport Express. A friend came to my house and tried to help out. When he went into Airport Administrator, he checked the box to allow only "g" type (not the type that ends in "b") wireless cards to connect to my network. I had the box checked to allow both 'g" and "b." He only made that change because he said no one who would legitimately want to use this has a "b" type card. Anyway, after he saved that change...everything is working fine on the pages again. He doesn't understand why that would make a difference...but I pass it on just on the off chance somebody else has this configuration and this problem. Thanks for your help. This site is an excellent resource!  

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Images no longer display – replaced by blue box with question mark

Recently I found that some (but not all) images in my site are no longer displaying and have been replaced by a little blue box with a question mark. This is the same for both my media library and previously published posts. I have tried deleting the old image and uploading it again as well as trying with a completely different image. Whatever I do they only display as the box/question mark. I thought perhaps it was an issue with my computer (Mac) so tried with a Windows PC but have the same problem. I can’t say exactly when the problem occurred but the first time I noticed it was also when I noticed that WordPress changed the image library arrangement. Are they related – but more importantly please can someone help me fix it! Thank you.

The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

Can you pleas give a link to a specific post or page where this can be seen?

Our logs indicate that during August and September you deleted a large number of files from the media library, which could be the cause of this, but if I can see an affected post I can make sure.

Thank you for your help – and hopefully this will work …. https://cottonownersclub.wordpress.com/events-2/cotton-centenary-rally/

As a little further clarification; many of the images in the media library also display as a blue box/question mark. I have just tried to upload a new image to the media library (72ppi, 600 pixels longest length) but it only shows as the box/question mark.

Thank you for the link.

I can see all the images on that post, but I noticed something that might help us figure out why you can’t.

The three images in that post all reference the site, http://cottonownersclub.com/ . The first image’s link, for example, is https://i0.wp.com/www.cottonownersclub.com/USERIMAGES/Pre%20war.jpg , indicating the image is not in your media library, but is being hotlinked from the other site. Those three images are not in your WordPress.com site’s media library at all.

How exactly did you add those images to that page? Add Media ->Insert via URL or a different method? And what post editor did you use? The one with the blue bar at the top, or the black?

If you click on https://i0.wp.com/www.cottonownersclub.com/USERIMAGES/Pre%20war.jpg , does it load an image in your browser? How about http://www.cottonownersclub.com/USERIMAGES/Pre%20war.jpg ?

many of the images in the media library also display as a blue box/question mark

All the images in your site’s library appear fine to me, including https://cottonownersclub.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/img_0348.jpg which you added today. So it could be a problem specific to your setup that’s causing this.

You mention this happening on both your Mac and Windows PC. What browser are you using on those machines? Please try clearing the browser cache and cookies, and make sure you have JavaScript enabled in the browser. Also check if it works if you use a different browser.

Then, if possible, can you see if a different internet connection perhaps cause the images to display?

Thank you for your help – and I’ll do my best here, but unfortunately I cannot fully answer your points. This is a club site and there are two editors, myself and another member in Canada (BD). He is the official ‘owner’ and it was he who constructed the site; I basically maintain the events and add picture content as most things happen in the UK.

To your first point: BD created that post and I’m afraid I cannot get hold of him so don’t know how the images were added. However, from the first link you provide I think that he must have copied the URLs or ‘saved as’ from the redundant site. My MAC warns me not to open the second link as it is not secure – not being particularly computer savvy I don’t want to risk it! The third link comes up with the same warning but the fourth link (without the i0.wp.com) opens correctly. The fifth link (img_0348.jpg) also opens in my browser although I can still only see the box/question mark in the media library.

For your information, the most recent images I successfully loaded are shown on the ‘past events’ page. I can see them on the page but they are shown as box/question mark in the media library. I add fully edited media to the library directly from my computer and don’t use any post editing.

I use Safari on the Mac and Internet Explorer (the big ‘e’) on Windows. I have cleared the history (I understand this also clears the cache on cookies on the Mac?) and have Java script enabled. I have tried using Google Chrome but have the same issues.

I don’t know if this helps but I have my own WordPress photo blog: https://noelinesmith.wordpress.com That all looks OK (if I’m logged in or not) but all the photos in the media library show as box/question marks. When I load a new image I see a ghosted version of it behind the progress bar but when it’s fully loaded I see only the box/question mark. The same happens with the club site.

I’ll try a different internet connection when I get a chance in the next few days. Thank you for your patience!

If you’re seeing a security warning for the i0.wp.com links, that’s a false positive. I’m going to guess you’re using Safari, right? It’s completely safe to open those links – the whole point of the i0.wp.com link is to allow us to serve images at non-secure sources, like http://cottonownersclub.com/ , over a secure https connection.

I don’t know if this helps but I have my own WordPress photo blog: https://noelinesmith.wordpress.com That all looks OK (if I’m logged in or not) but all the photos in the media library show as box/question marks. When I load a new image I see a ghosted version of it behind the progress bar but when it’s fully loaded I see only the box/question mark

Okay, so this happens on more than one site? That means it’s not the site that’s the problem, but more likely your computer. As you see it on both a Mac and a Windows machine, and across different browsers, that points to your internet connection as the most likely cause.

Can you please take a screen shot for me of what you see and upload it to your site’s media library? Also visit this page in your browser, take a screen shot, and upload that to your library for me:

http://supportdetails.com/

Please let me know once you’ve been able to try a different internet connection.

Sorry for the delay in responding. Yes, I am using Safari and thank you for explaining the i0.wp.com link – I’ll know for next time! I have uploaded three new images to the media library; one showing an events page from our site with the boxes/questionmarks (I ‘shrank’ the screen to show more of the page), the second is from the link you provided and the third shows the media library (with the final image uploading).

I tried a neighbours internet and everything is fine – so you’re right, it must be something to do with me! Our internet started running very slowly a while ago, down to about 4/5Mbps download. We have asked our provider to look into it but I fear that could be a long, drawn out process. I’m sorry, I hadn’t thought that our internet could be the issue. Would it be down to speed alone (I assumed web sites might take a while to load rather than not load) or could it be something more technical?

Thank you once again for your help.

Thank you for the screen shots. I don’t see anything out of place in your browser settings.

I’m on a connection that’s typically around 6Mbps, though I’ve occasionally been stuck with connections as slow as 300Kbps, and have never experienced the issues you’re describing, so no, I don’t think it’s down to speed alone. It could be that your ISP is blocking the IP addresses we use to serve the images, though – I assume your neighbour uses a different internet provider? If so, perhaps try contacting them, give them the links that aren’t loading for you, and ask them to check if the issue isn’t on their end.

• The topic ‘Images no longer display – replaced by blue box with question mark’ is closed to new replies.

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Safari Blue Question Mark on Pictures

iMac 10,1, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

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