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I have a favicon icon which isn't showing up in Chrome (I'm not sure about other browsers as I only use Chrome) but the strange thing is if I type the path to the icon in the URL bar it shows up!

Why doesn't the icon appear?

Eric Leschinski
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Chris
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  • We would give ideas, but that would be repeating the ways you can add a favicon. What have you done so far? – Amelia May 04 '13 at 14:57
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    http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12754613/favicon-wont-show-up-in-chrome-but-show-up-in-other-browsers-like-ie-firefox http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12705906/favicon-is-not-showing-on-chrome http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13780402/html-favicon-wont-show-on-google-chrome http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13711648/why-wont-my-sites-icon-show-up-in-google-chrome ... take your pick. – JJJ May 04 '13 at 14:59
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    For me it was kind of cache issue. In inspector window I found the (href) url of the icon, right clicked and "open in new tab". After that it started displaying the favicon as well – Elnoor Sep 29 '17 at 15:52
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    An interesting page for checking (and creating) favicons: https://realfavicongenerator.net/favicon_checker – elachell Mar 09 '18 at 14:37
  • Most of time it happens, just close the inspector window of your browser and your favicon icon will show up. – Sunny Chaudhari Aug 21 '18 at 17:48

4 Answers4

300

Cache

Clear your cache. http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95582 And test another browser.

Some where able to get an updated favicon by adding an URL parameter: ?v=1 after the link href which changes the resource link and therefore loads the favicon without cache (thanks @Stanislav).

<link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="favicon.ico?v=2"  />

Favicon Usage

How did you import the favicon? How you should add it.

Normal favicon:

<link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />

PNG/GIF favicon:

<link rel="icon" type="image/gif" href="favicon.gif" />
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="favicon.png" />

in the <head> Tag.

Chrome local problem

Another thing could be the problem that chrome can't display favicons, if it's local (not uploaded to a webserver). Only if the file/icon would be in the downloads directory chrome is allowed to load this data - more information about this can be found here: local (file://) website favicon works in Firefox, not in Chrome or Safari- why?

Renaming

Try to rename it from favicon.{whatever} to {yourfaviconname}.{whatever} but I would suggest you to still have the normal favicon. This has solved my issue on IE.

Base64 approach

Found another solution for this which works great! I simply added my favicon as Base64 Encoded Image directly inside the tag like this:

<link href="data:image/x-icon;base64,AAABAAIAEBAAAAEAIABoBAAAJgAAACAgAAABACAAqBAAAI4EAAAoAAAAEAAAACAAAAABACAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AIaDgv+Gg4L/hoOC/4aDgv+Gg4L/hoOC/4aDgv+Gg4L/hoOC/4aDgv////8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCGg4L/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCGg4L/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AhoOC/////wCGg4L/hoOC/4aDgv+Gg4L/hoOC/4aDgv////8AhoOC/////wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AIaDgv////8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AIaDgv////8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCGg4L/////AHCMqP9wjKj/cIyo/3CMqP9wjKj/cIyo/////wCGg4L/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AhoOC/////wBTlsIAU5bCAFOWwgBTlsIAU5bCM1OWwnP///8AhoOC/////wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AU5bCBlOWwndTlsLHU5bC+FOWwv1TlsLR////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AFOWwvtTlsLuU5bCu1OWwlc2k9cANpPXqjaT19H///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wBTlsIGNpPXADaT1wA2k9dINpPX8TaT1+40ktpDH4r2tB+K9hL///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////ADaT1wY2k9e7NpPX/TaT16AfivYGH4r23R+K9u4tg/WQLoL1mP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wA2k9fuNpPX5zaT1zMfivYGH4r23R+K9uwjiPYXLoL1+S6C9W7///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8ANpPXLjaT1wAfivYGH4r22x+K9usfivYSLoL1oC6C9esugvUA////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AH4r2zx+K9usfivYSLoL1DC6C9fwugvVXLoL1AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AB+K9kgfivYMH4r2AC6C9bEugvXhLoL1AC6C9QD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wAugvXyLoL1SC6C9QAugvUA////AP//AADgBwAA7/cAAOgXAADv9wAA6BcAAO+XAAD4HwAA+E8AAPsDAAD8AQAA/AEAAP0DAAD/AwAA/ycAAP/nAAAoAAAAIAAAAEAAAAABACAAAAAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AhISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/////wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCEhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AISEhP+EhIT/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AhISE/4SEhP////8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AhISE/4SEhP////8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCEhIT/hISE/////wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCEhIT/hISE/////wD///8AhISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP8AAAAA////AISEhP+EhIT/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AISEhP+EhIT/////AP///wCEhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/4SEhP+EhIT/hISE/wAAAAD///8AhISE/4SEhP////8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AhISE/4SEhP/4+vsA4ujuAOLo7gDi6O4A4ujuAN3k6wDZ4OgA2eDoANng6ADZ4OgA2eDoANng6ADW3uYAJS84APj6+wCEhIT/hISE/////wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCEhIT/hISE/9Xd5QBwjKgAcIyoRnCMqGRwjKhxcIyogHCMqI9wjKidcIyoq3CMqLlwjKjHcIyo1HCMqLhogpwA/f7+AISEhP+EhIT/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AISEhP+EhIT/xtHcAHCMqABwjKjAcIyo/3CMqP9wjKj/cIyo/3CMqP9wjKj/cIyo/3CMqP9wjKj/cIyo4EdZawD///8AhISE/4SEhP////8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AhISE/4SEhP+2xNMAcIyoAHCMqJhwjKjPcIyowHCMqLFwjKijcoymlXSMpIh0jKR6co2mbG+OqGFqj61zXZO4AeXv9gCEhIT/hISE/////wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wCEhIT/hISE/6i5ygDF0dwAIiozACQyPQAoP1AALlBmADhlggBblLkGVJbBPFOWwnxTlsK5U5bC9FOWwv9TlsIp3erzAISEhP+EhIT/////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AAAAAAAAAAAALztHAAAAAAAuU2sAU5bCClOWwkNTlsKAU5bCwFOWwvhTlsL/U5bC/1OWwv9TlsL/U5bC/ViVvVcXOFAAAAAAAAAAAAD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AAAAAAAAAAAALDhEALVFoAFOWwjpTlsL6U5bC/1OWwv9TlsL/U5bC/1OWwvxTlsLIV5W+i2CRs0xHi71TKYzUnyuM0gIJHi4AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wAAAAAAAAAAACtNZABTlsIAU5bCD1OWwv1TlsL6U5bCxFOWwoRVlsBHZJKwDCNObAA8icJAKYzUwimM1P8pjNT/KYzUWCaCxgALLUsAAAAAAAAAAAD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AAAAAAApS2EAU5bCAFOWwgBTlsIAU5bCNVOWwgg+cJEAIT1QABU/XQA1isg4KYzUuymM1P8pjNT/KYzU/ymM1LAti9E0JYvmDhdouAAAAAAAAAAAAP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8AFyk1AE+PuQBTlsIAU5bCAER7nwAmRVoADBojABRFaQAwi80xKYzUsymM1P8pjNT/KYzU/ymM1LgsjNE2MovXFB+K9MUfivbBH4r2BgcdNAARQH8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wD///8A////AP///wAAAAAAAQIDABIgKgAPGiIABRMcABdQeQAti9AqKYzUrCmM1P8pjNT/KYzU/ymM1MAqjNM9HmqmACWK7SIfivbZH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rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" />

Used this page here for this: http://www.motobit.com/util/base64-decoder-encoder.asp

Generate favicons

I can really suggest you this page: http://www.favicon-generator.org/ to create all types of favicons you need.

DominikAngerer
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  • Hi, nope. Didn't work. Well it did when I first accessed my website and after that it no longer shows. I'm using '.ico' format. – Chris May 04 '13 at 15:02
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    You uploaded it to a websever? – DominikAngerer May 04 '13 at 15:05
  • I could not make it work with ico file in Chrome (FireFox is fine), but it works with png file. Thanks a lot! – newman May 20 '14 at 15:24
  • Closing and reopening tab in Chromium worked for me! – csharpfolk Sep 06 '15 at 07:50
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    Also the link needs to be in the header and not in the body of an html webpage. Firefox wont have issues loading it, but chrome wont (since it should not). Also a nice way to force refresh is to use ?v=1 at the end of the file location. `` – Stanislav Sep 14 '15 at 02:32
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    Great answer. I would make sure you use both `link rel = icon` and `link rel=shortcut icon`. – Dhruv Ghulati Feb 23 '17 at 18:24
  • @DominikAngerer I am not sure what `Another thing could be the problem that chrome can't display favicons, if it's local (not uploaded to a webserver).` this is supposed to mean. I have displayed favicon.ico while serving pages from files locally using exactly the same way as you suggested for `.ico` in your answer. – Saurabh Tiwari May 26 '17 at 14:08
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    The Base64 solution works on my Chrome on local dev. Thanks. – Daniel C. Deng May 16 '18 at 06:45
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    Only solution works for me is Base64. – coderpc Jun 02 '18 at 21:14
  • None of these solutions work for me. Firefox displays it fine. No others do. It's running locally but in docker so it is using a webserver (nginx). Even the base64 solution does nothing in chrome. – ss7 Oct 23 '18 at 15:45
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    Point 6 was really helpful. It worked for me. – Sikandar Khan Mar 01 '20 at 06:58
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    @Stanislav thanks. Your solution should be as an answer of this question. It was the only one what worked for me ;-) – Adriana Hernández Apr 17 '20 at 08:30
  • None works. What works for me is I just ditch the .ICO format and go with PNG. It works all the time. ICO winblows format sucks. – GeneCode Dec 22 '20 at 00:39
  • Adding ?v=2 worked like a charm. Thanks. – NoBullMan Feb 11 '21 at 18:18
  • base64 make problem in google mobile SERP, it is not visible – cyril Jun 01 '21 at 18:41
  • Weird that clearing cache doesn't fix it but changing the url does fix it... – Steve Moretz Aug 17 '23 at 10:41
71

I read a bunch of different entries till I finally found a solution that worked for my scenario (ASP.NET MVC4 project).

Instead of using the filename favicon.ico for my icon, I renamed it to something else, ie myIcon.ico. Then I just used exactly what Domi posted:

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="myIcon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />

And this worked!

It's not a caching issue because I tested this with Fiddler - a request for favicon never occurred, even if I cleared my cache "From the beginning of time". I believe it's just some odd bug with chrome?

DominikAngerer
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pmalbu
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Upload your favicon.ico to the root directory of your website and that should work with Chrome. Some browsers disregard the meta tag and just use /favicon.ico

Go figure?.....

Shahzad Barkati
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metafarmsMikeG
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I also experienced the same thing. I found out that my favicon.ico had not been processed as a legitimate shortcut icon. I understand that favicons must be scaled to 16x16 and follow the Microsoft Icon format.

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    for me i was calling other .php files with full html sytax... like head body etc... into my file... removing the sytax from the source files fixed it for me – DragonFire Mar 22 '17 at 00:14