MacBook Air M4: Local image preview fails with server error

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MacBook Air M4: Local image preview fails with server error

I just started having an issue with my Macbook Air M4, running Sequoia 15.7.3, when opening a graphic file (jpg, png) which lives on my internal (local) drive, using preview or viewing in the finder (pressing the space bar).

When viewing in the finder, it shows a generic icon, rather than the actual image; and when opening in preview, it doesn't open and I get the error message "Your device couldn’t connect to the server. There may be a problem with the server or network."

When I reboot, the issue seems to go away, but then it returns within a day or two.

Any suggestions?

(tags: sequoia 15.7.3, graphic image, jpg, png, preview, finder)

Posted on Jan 21, 2026 1:28 PM

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Answer 1

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david white7 Author

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Jan 21, 2026 3:31 PM in response to david white7

FYI, I just discovered that although the files are stored on my local drive, they are being synched with MIcrosoft Onedrive, so I suspect that the problem is related to that fact. If I move the file out of a folder which is synched with Onedrive, it works fine again.

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