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So, on an android tablet I'm getting a 404() for site/apple-touch-icon.png. Which, the 404 makes sense because no such file exists. But what's more, that file is referenced no where in the markup. I understand that apparently this icon can be automatically sought out depending on the inclusion of certain mobile-related META tags, but no such tags are anywhere in the code either. With the exception of the title, description, and keyword tags the only meta tag in said code is a 

<meta name='viewport' content="width=1000">

and from what I've found, this wouldn't cause this 404.

Additionally, the only time said 404 seems to occur is when the user 'logs in.' The user can log in from any page on the site, but navigating such pages normally causes no problems. The login flow takes the user to a designated url, performs validation etc. and then redirects the user back to wherever they came from. No meta tags are output prior to the redirect. But somewhere in this flow, the tablet's browser believes it needs to seek out the 'apple-touch-icon.png' file.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be the culprit? Is it the result of a redirect without any output? If so, how might I discourage the client from behaving as such? I'm just at a loss trying to figure out what's causing it.

In case someone thinks it relevant, the site is built with codeigniter, and the redirect is using their core method. Thanks very much for any help.

EDIT To clarify, because I realize this was written poorly (my bad), the tablet is NOT getting a RESOURCE 404. The tablet's browser is actually navigating to the url of the non-existent file. The result is a dead page.

dgeare
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  • Duplicate http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5199902/isnt-it-silly-that-a-tiny-favicon-requires-yet-another-http-request-how-to-mak ? – Danack Jun 14 '13 at 22:16
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    "Isn't it silly that a tiny favicon requires yet another HTTP request? How to make favicon go into a sprite?" I'm not sure how that's even close to a duplicate... – dgeare Jun 14 '13 at 22:26
  • It's a magic image that the browser is requesting to use as the bookmark - which is the same as your question? The only difference is that it would be – Danack Jun 14 '13 at 22:49
  • he asked how to speed up http requests by substituting a sprite in for his favicon, and I'm asking why I'm getting 404's for an image for which I can discern no reason why the client is even requesting. Might as well label all questions related to mySQL as duplicates because they all have to do with databases. – dgeare Jun 14 '13 at 23:09
  • No - he's asking why does a browser make a request for 'Favicon', which is used by desktop browsers as an icon for the site. You're asking why 'apple-touch-icon.png' is requested by mobile browsers. The answer is, it's to be used as an icon for the site. If you want to get rid of it the answers in the other question will be your solution. – Danack Jun 14 '13 at 23:24
  • And to be precise, he's not asking how to speed up his page loading, he's asking how to get rid of the extra request the browser makes for an icon. – Danack Jun 14 '13 at 23:27
  • Yes (to the second, not the previous because nowhere in the post is the phrase "why do I need a favicon"). And if we're being precise, he's aiming to drop the .2 seconds the additional request requires. Hence- faster. – dgeare Jun 18 '13 at 22:36
  • Apologies, I re-read my question and found it somewhat ambiguous. See the edit. I still disagree that it was a duplicate regardless, but it read closer to one than I thought it did. I just have a general frustration with the prevalence on this site of people running around and shouting 'duplicate,' though that's the first time I've gotten it myself. It's frequently untrue, and rarely helpful. It seems it serves mostly to scold newer members and possibly intimidates them. I'd like the community to be more than that. – dgeare Jun 18 '13 at 22:50
  • I agree, with the edit it's not a duplicate. If the browser page is being redirected to that file, something should be set for the referrer in your access logs. Is there any referrer set? – Danack Jun 18 '13 at 23:26

2 Answers2

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Apple devices make a request to apple-touch-icon or apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png to use that image as a bookmark for your site, similar to how desktop browsers request favicon.png.

Presumably the android devices are just copying the IOS behaviour as they are hoping an icon will be available in that location.

Danack
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I'm seeing requests for this image, plus apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png too, in my Apache http log.

Obviously, I don't carry any apple content on my site. It's probably the result of either someone's client or their carrier botching an ad injection when they visit my site. Favicon requests would be .ico files. I'm thinking of having some fun and putting goatse up with those image names, lol.

roschach
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Austintx
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