Why does my favicon show on desktop but not on iPhone?

iOS uses the apple-touch-icon, not favicon.ico. If that 180×180 PNG link is missing, iOS falls back to a screenshot. Add an apple-touch-icon link and re-add the page to the home screen.

How long does it take for a favicon to update in Google search?

Google refreshes favicons when it recrawls your site, which can take days to weeks. Ensure the icon is at least 48×48, referenced with a valid rel=icon tag, and reachable by Googlebot.

Troubleshooting

Favicon Not Showing or Not Updating?

Q: Why is my favicon not showing?

The most common causes are aggressive browser caching, a wrong or relative file path, and missing or malformed tags in the . Hard-refresh, confirm /favicon.ico resolves directly, and check your tags.

Q: How do I force my favicon to update?

Append a version query string to the icon URL, e.g. /favicon.ico?v=2. This makes the browser treat it as a new file. Then hard-refresh or clear the site's cache.

The nine causes that break favicons — and the exact fix for each.

Fastest fix

90% of the time it's caching. Add a version query string and hard-refresh:

<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico?v=2" sizes="any">

Still broken? Work through the causes below, then scan your site to confirm.

Causes & fixes

1. Browser or CDN caching

Browsers cache favicons harder than almost any other asset. After a change, hard-refresh (Cmd+Shift+R / Ctrl+F5), and append a version query string so the URL itself changes.

2. Wrong file path

A relative path resolves against the current page, not the root. Use a leading slash — /favicon.ico — and confirm the file actually loads at that URL in a new tab.

3. Missing or malformed <link> tags

No icon link, a typo in rel="icon", or tags placed outside the <head> all prevent the browser from finding the file. Validate the markup in your shared layout.

4. Wrong format or size

A favicon that's too small, the wrong MIME type, or a corrupt .ico can silently fail to render.

5. Apple touch icon not updating

iOS ignores favicon.ico and uses the apple-touch-icon. If it's missing or stale, remove and re-add the page to the home screen after fixing the link.

6. Manifest icon issues

On Android and installed PWAs the icon comes from manifest.json. A bad path or wrong size there breaks the home-screen and splash icons.

Format or size suspect? Compare ICO vs PNG and check the required favicon sizes. iOS trouble? See apple-touch-icon. Manifest trouble? Read what is manifest.json.

7–9. Platform-specific gotchas

Some frameworks and CMSs overwrite or cache the favicon in ways plain HTML doesn't. Build output can strip your tags, a theme can inject its own icon, or a build cache can serve a stale file. Check the guide for your stack:

Next.js favicon guide React favicon guide WordPress favicon guide Shopify favicon guide

Confirm the fix with a scan

Guessing is slow. Run an automated scan that fetches your live site, lists every favicon tag it finds, and flags the ones that are missing or broken — so you know the fix actually landed.

Scan your site and confirm the fix →

Want to test manually across browsers and devices too? See how to test & check your favicon.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my favicon not showing?

Usually caching, a wrong or relative file path, or missing/malformed <link> tags. Hard-refresh, confirm /favicon.ico resolves directly, and check your tags.

How do I force my favicon to update?

Append a version query string like /favicon.ico?v=2 so the browser treats it as a new file, then hard-refresh or clear the site cache.

Why does it show on desktop but not iPhone?

iOS uses the apple-touch-icon, not favicon.ico. Add the 180×180 PNG link and re-add the page to the home screen.

How long until Google updates my favicon?

It refreshes on recrawl — days to weeks. Make sure the icon is at least 48×48, has a valid rel=icon tag, and is reachable by Googlebot.

Check your favicon now

Scan your live site for missing or broken favicon tags in seconds — free.

Verify Your Site