# "format-less" cover issue **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [March 14, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376 "2023-03-14T16:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/delfear123)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/1 "2023-03-14T16:02:23Z")
Hello everyone, for the last couple of hours I've been trying to solve an issue where couple hundreds of my mp3 has this "format-less" cover (idk how else to describe it), which results in windows explorer not being able to recognize the cover for thumbnail I think. These couple hundreds of mp3's were edited (including having their artwork inserted) via some random android-based mp3 tagger (it's called autotagger, I used to use it to edit stuff on-the-go) and all of them suffer from this issue. this is a normal one (stuff that I edit with mp3tagger on pc, no problem whatsoever) ![Screenshot_35](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/9/931814c66bc09925f9cf447001af29a2260d069e.png) while this is the problematic one ![Screenshot_36](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/0/055002d2e757d018a8b90d826679357c5ce228d4.png) see how there's no "image/jpeg" stuff in the second image? is there anyway I can fix it, preferably in bulk, via mp3tag or maybe some other app? I realize this is not related to mp3tag as my issue is caused by third party tool, but I'm hoping I can resolve this with mp3tag. I know I can just remove/readd the artwork or just straight up redownload/crawl the tag again, but I'm hoping I can just "fix" it, I tried with foobar verifier and mp3 diags, both of which did not detect/fix the issue. or maybe I could just somehow make windows explorer able to recognize it? idk, I have icaros for what it's worth, but these mp3 with "format-less" cover still shows no thumbnail in explorer. it's also worth noting that audio players like foobar2000 and poweramp (android) do recognize the artwork/front cover, unlike windows explorer. thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/c6cbf5/32.png) [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/2 "2023-03-14T16:10:04Z")
What you could try as a test: Load one of this songs into Mp3tag. Then right click on this cover and choose "Adjust cover". Then choose a format like JPEG or PNG. Choose the quality (maybe push the slider to the right for best quality): As Max. Size choose the same picture size as you already see, like 500. Then click on the OK-Button. Save this test song. Does it change the visible picture format in Mp3tag? If yes, do you see the thumbnail in the Windows File Explorer for this test song? ---
**Author:** ![delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/delfear123)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/3 "2023-03-14T16:18:03Z")
woah, it works! I've tried adjusting the image before, tinkering the image quality while keeping the format (defaults to JPEG) to no avail. Changing the format to PNG tho, actually works! now windows explorer are able to recognize the artwork/cover. thanks a lot stranger, cheers! ![Screenshot_37](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/6/6913e5b864f486d83ac3e468bfbd9d296691edb1.png) ---
**Author:** ![LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/c6cbf5/32.png) [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/4 "2023-03-14T16:20:06Z")
Just in case you want to filter all your songs without the correct MIME type (that's the technical term for the missing picture information): > [@Cover export gives a \*.bin file?](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cover-export-gives-a-bin-file/57682/22): > > As @ohrenkino wrote: [image] %\_cover\_mimetype% MISSING All files listed with the above filter does not have a MIME type. The MIME types is necessary to identify the picture type (JPG, PNG) for your embedded data. But we should find the reason, how and why such \*.bin files are embedded in your songs. Ignore the part with the \*.bin extension. It's just about the filter (activated by F3) `%_cover_mimetype% MISSING` ---
**Author:** ![delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/delfear123)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/5 "2023-03-14T16:25:34Z")
ah yeah, I somehow forgot that term. idk why that third party android-based audio tagger did not properly include the MIME type on artwork/cover insert. thanks for the useful tips! ---
**Author:** ![MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/motleyg/32/440_2.png) [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/6 "2023-03-14T16:38:10Z")
> [@delfear123](#): > > idk why that third party android-based audio tagger did not properly include the MIME type on artwork/cover insert. I'm not too keen on using mobile apps to make significant library changes. I think this is one example of how things can cause problems when you try to sync these back to your main library. This is just my opinion - I note any changes I need to make that I notice when listening on portable devices, but make the updates at home where it can be done reliably. I make the occasional sync back to the portables to grab the updates. ---
**Author:** ![delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/delfear123)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/7 "2023-03-14T16:53:41Z")
well, I used to not understand about metadata/tags as a whole (well, I probably still don't completely understand it even now, but at least my current knowledge about it is somewhat more decent) including different variations of it like id3v1, id3v2 etc (I used to just edit stuff manually via windows explorer properties, thousands of files, without metadata crawler), and for some period of time I'm not able to properly use my pc (and therefore not being able to access my main collection), so the new stuff is just on my phone. That's why I used mobile apps. There won't be issues I thought, it's just cover art I thought. I've just realized the mimeless cover thingy after I'm able to properly use my pc again and exported the newer stuff back from my mobile. So yeah, lesson's learned, better stay with proper audio tagger like mp3tag XD. also, it's not that bad, all things considered. I just filtered my collection with %\_cover\_mimetype% MISSING AND NOT %\_covers% IS "" and adjusted the artwork altogether. ---
**Author:** ![LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/c6cbf5/32.png) [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/8 "2023-03-14T17:01:36Z")
> [@delfear123](#): > > better stay with proper audio tagger like mp3tag 👍 To complete this topic: After your change you can see the MIME type like `image/png`. But you still don't see the cover art type, like **Front Cover** as you can see it on you first screenshot. This type is not mandatory to see the picture in Windows File Explorer, but if you want to have different covers for Front, Back and others, it could be useful to choose it the same way: Right click on the cover, then "Set cover type" and choose the matching type. ---
**Author:** ![delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@delfear123](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/delfear123)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/9 "2023-03-14T17:03:44Z")
yeah, I've set everything to front cover (I usually only use front cover). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/c/ce7035d426cb755a7916793326d23b465222a407.png) [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/format-less-cover-issue/60376/10 "2023-04-13T17:04:14Z")
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