50 mega pixel making image preview not working in SharePoint SE

Y.M. Poon 0 Reputation points
2026-11-04T04:32:52.6833333+00:00

We are running SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (SE) on-premises. Following our recent upgrade, we discovered that thumbnail previews fail to display in picture libraries using the classic view if an image exceeds 50 megapixels. This functionality worked correctly on our previous platform, SharePoint 2013 on-premises. Can I know why?

Microsoft 365 and Office | SharePoint Server | For business
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  1. Teddie Dang 1,970 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-11-04T04:59:34.1633333+00:00

    Hi @Y.M. Poon

    Microsoft has documented a similar issue in SharePoint Online, where thumbnail previews in classic Picture Libraries fail for images exceeding 50 megapixels. However, that documentation does not explicitly state that the same restriction applies to SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (SE).

    Since this functionality worked in SharePoint 2013, one possibility is a change in how thumbnails are generated in SharePoint SE. Large images require more memory and processing resources, and a difference in the thumbnail generation process could explain the behavior.

    As a test, try reducing one affected image to under 50 megapixels and upload it again. If the thumbnail appears, that would strongly suggest that you are encountering the same thumbnail preview limitation documented by Microsoft.

    For reference, Microsoft has documented similar behavior in SharePoint Online: Picture Library doesn't display thumbnail previews.

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