# Thumbnails missing **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Tags:** library-management\ **Created:** [April 17, 2024, 3:15am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209 "2024-04-17T03:15:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 3:15am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/1 "2024-04-17T03:15:15Z")
Every few months, the thumbnails go blank. Not sure if it’s the same shows but it happens to around 20-50% of shows. The only way to fix it is to rematch the show. I’m on Debian PMS. It happens on the web and Android, and I assume for every client. I’ve been doing the [plex dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064) before I found the “rematch” fix. So removing/purging/re-adding the files and letting the folders regenerate metadata from scratch doesn’t fix this issue, it just keeps coming back. This happens for Korean and Chinese Shows but happens rarely for English shows. Is that a clue? I use PMM, but it doesn’t touch season or episode thumbnails. Please, Plex gods, help me! lol, I’ve been dealing with this for maybe years now. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/0/0/e/00ee00095a2a33ce6320836bcd7c7dd7ce37fa7c.jpeg) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/2/d/4/2d4d9e71414916b23c9e78167ebab19ea67ea401.jpeg) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/5/c/c/5ccb22b204b392b9eb353c30adf428d6ed559042.jpeg) > [@Plex sometimes doesn't generate episode thumbnail](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-sometimes-doesnt-generate-episode-thumbnail/845242): > > Server Version#: 1.32.3.7089 Player Version#: I’m getting this issue on some shows (not all) where it will not generate a thumbnail for TV Shows. Sometimes its hit and miss, sometimes its a whole season, sometimes its none. I believe it downloads tmdb/tvdb images fine, but the ones where a show doesn’t have anything to download it becomes blank as per my screenshot. Is there a way to fix this? ---
**Author:** ![BigWheel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/bigwheel/32/78783_2.png) [@BigWheel](https://forums.plex.tv/u/BigWheel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 4:17am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/2 "2024-04-17T04:17:21Z")
I don’t know anything about PMM or how it works but there is a fix in current server beta related to Thumbnails. > [@Plex Media Server](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-media-server/30447/622): > > Plex Media Server 1.40.2.8383 is now available to Plex Pass users in the Beta update channel. NEW: (PLEASE NOTE) Please also be patient when updating to this version if you have a very large database and allow the upgrade process to finish. Rename ‘un/played’ to ‘un/watched’ terminology for video types (PM-1042) We have identified an issue where automatic updates were not respecting custom paths for existing Windows 64-bit installs. Unfortunately, any automatic fix would introduce security vu… ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 4:42am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/3 "2024-04-17T04:42:58Z")
I’m currently running on latest PMS beta. This is probably some obscure problem that only affects 2 people on the planet lol. ---
**Author:** ![BigWheel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/bigwheel/32/78783_2.png) [@BigWheel](https://forums.plex.tv/u/BigWheel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 5:01am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/4 "2024-04-17T05:01:14Z")
What types of files are they. what codecs do they use? Do they play fine and if you force a transcode by lowering quality do they transcode fine? Neither of those shows seem to have any metadata images at [TVDB](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/that-fool/seasons/official/1) or [TMDB](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/44576-the-accidental-couple/season/1?language=en-US) so wondering if some issue with the thumbs the the server creates via screen grabs which the transcoder makes. Since you’re using Debian I am assuming you have some familiarity with using command line. I’m not sure why it is happening but you could use the `--generate` option to create them. ( afaik that command is not deprecated) [https://support.plex.tv/articles/201242707-plex-media-scanner-via-command-line/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/201242707-plex-media-scanner-via-command-line/) ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 5:29am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/5 "2024-04-17T05:29:50Z")
Yup they’re perfectly fine, and they’re HEVC encoded just like everything else that works fine. There’s nothing wrong with them playing at all. I will check the --generate option. But just to mention, I can fix the problem and regenerate the thumbnails by doing a “fix match” and re-matching the show. It fixes the problem right away. So my suspicion is that something changes where it can’t find the generated thumbnails. The generated thumbnails are probably still inside the bundles, but I haven’t checked. I think I’ll check it now. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 6:43am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/6 "2024-04-17T06:43:33Z")
So I opened db browser on a backup DB. The episode that’s blank looks like this. I tried to find it in the media folder, but the bundle doesn’t exist. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/2/e/b/2ebfd89500b70cdbf202bf9bba5a91dab8dd866d.png) The episode that is not blank looks like this: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/8/b/d/8bd727792ec2fccce568281bb6c7a64f86e1fb37.png) ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 7:23am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/7 "2024-04-17T07:23:59Z")
After “re-matching” the show. The user\_thumb\_url entry is updated/changed (on live db) and I can see the thumbnail file in my system and I confirmed it is the same thumbnail that is now showing for the epsiode. The file was created 2024-04-04 so it wasn’t created when I “re-matched” the show just now. It also now has a different hash bundle directory. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/9/f/e/9fe5a135d03a51522c76d918856eb98ac7c0c458.png) The media file (MKV) itself has a modification time of 2024-04-03, so a day before the thumbnail was created. I’ve had this file/show since 2022. Now I remember modifying the tracks of some of these MKV files, like setting audio language, or embedding subtitles, maybe remove some non-english subtitle tracks. So now I wonder if this is because the file hash changes while the filesize remains exactly the same. It’s probably my edits that is confusing Plex. I use MKVToolNix/mkvmerge CLI to straighten files. But this happens randomly. Some shows are fine even after I make some edits. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 8:23am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/8 "2024-04-17T08:23:17Z")
It also means that Plex doesn’t check if the file in user\_thumb\_url exists during refresh metadata? ---
**Author:** ![BigWheel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/bigwheel/32/78783_2.png) [@BigWheel](https://forums.plex.tv/u/BigWheel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 9:02am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/9 "2024-04-17T09:02:48Z")
If you don’t mind sharing your [server logs](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/) after refreshing metadata for some show that is still not showing images I can give them to devs to have a look ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 11:51am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/10 "2024-04-17T11:51:29Z")
So you’d like me to trigger a refresh metadata just on the show that’s missing, then save logs? I’ve been rematching them for a few hours now, but I still have more to go, so I’ll try and line up a few titles that have blank thumbnails, and I’ll refresh them all one by one. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/11 "2024-04-17T12:09:03Z")
Done! I’ll send the log zip file via PM. Thanks for your help 🙂 I triggered the refresh metadata at 5:00 AM on 6 shows. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 12:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/12 "2024-04-17T12:59:51Z")
Okay! Big update. I checked the same file that was generated earlier after I did the “rematch” trick (the same file I’ve been talking about) and it’s gone! I suspect that it’s because I performed “clean bundles” earlier. I can still see the thumbnail on plex web because that thumbnail still exists in the Photo Transcoder folder. But I checked my phone and it’s blank! So if I clear the thumbnail cache it would be blank again on plex web. So, all this time when I thought I “fixed” it, it was still broken as soon as maintenance was performed. I just assumed it worked, but I was looking at the cached image. I checked the database and that entry for that file that used to work is still there. So the problem, for some reason, “cleaning bundles” is deleting the thumbnails. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/1/7/e/17ee378efad1b231ab089cf59e0ed7a2d0eb4ad9.png) I don’t actually know how to fix it now because there’s no use doing the [plex dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064) either because I’ve done that many times before and it still keeps happening. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/13 "2024-04-17T13:27:53Z")
I have no idea what’s going on anymore because I can’t reproduce it! LOL… 1. I looked for a show with blank thumbnails. 2. I did the rematch trick. 3. Verify the thumbnails load up on Plex Web. (Result: it shows up) 4. Perform “Clean Bundles” 5. Verify the thumbnails load up on Plex Web. (Result: it shows up) 6. Delete Photo Transcoder cache. 7. Verify the thumbnails load up on Plex Web. (Result: it shows up) 8. Clear browser cache. Do a hard refresh. 9. Verify the thumbnails load up on Plex Web. (Result: it shows up) 10. Check on android 11. Verify the thumbnails load up on Android Phone. (Result: it shows up) lol… hahaha… I can’t reproduce the disappearing thumbnails. So not sure how that 699c9ea… bundle disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/14 "2024-04-17T14:29:32Z")
> [@ChristianKent](#): > > Now I remember modifying the tracks of some of these MKV files, like setting audio language, or embedding subtitles, maybe remove some non-english subtitle tracks. Just for reference, what I remember doing a lot of was adding “Name” to the audio and subtitle tracks using mkvpropedit. So it’s just adding text like Chinese, Japanese, English, Forced, Dialogue, SDH, etc, to the “Name” field of the tracks. The filename stays the same, but the hash would now be different. The date modified would also be different. I’ve tested it before. Even just changing 1 value, like making a track “forced” from 0 (disabled) to 1 (enabled), changed the hash, but the filesize and filename would be the same. I’m just not sure how Plex determines that a file is the same file or if it’s been modified and therefore needs a “full” refresh. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/15 "2024-04-17T16:21:05Z")
I also want to add that this almost never happens in Anime Shows and American Shows. Even tho I edit those MKV files in the same way. ---
**Author:** ![ChristianKent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@ChristianKent](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChristianKent)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/16 "2024-05-06T22:22:02Z")
> [@BigWheel](#): > > Since you’re using Debian I am assuming you have some familiarity with using command line. I’m not sure why it is happening but you could use the `--generate` option to create them. ( afaik that command is not deprecated) So it happened again, and I finally tried the command to regenerate thumbnails, and it works! Thanks for your help 🙂 I had to add this variable, otherwise it was giving me some error about some machine id requirement. `PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR="/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support"/ /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Plex\ Media\ Scanner --generate --section id` ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/thumbnails-missing/875209/17 "2024-08-04T22:22:24Z")
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