MacOS 26.4 update broke custom icons on my Intel iMac (Retina 5k, 27inch, 2020, 3.6 i9). I also cannot paste custom icons onto files, folders, or disks.
Anyone else seeing this? Is this Intel Mac specific?
iMac 27″, macOS 26.4
Apr 9 2026 ➜ CUSTOM ICONS ARE BACK ON INTEL MACS!
The macOS 26.4.1 update released this afternoon—and just installed by me—has returned visible custom icons to my Intel Mac.
You won't read about it in the release notes, but the missing icons fix was included.
That was a 16-day turnaround since the bug was introduced, so I do credit Apple for not making us wait for the future macOS 26.5 release—which is likely more than a month away.
What you are describing may in fact be an icon related 26.4 bug but it is a different issue from what the OP and I are seeing. With 26.4, there are NO custom icons on Intel machines. No way to make custom icons on Intel machines. This particular bug is not present on Apple Silicon.
zafarjafree wrote:
Subject: Custom Folder Icons (PNG) Disappeared and Cannot Be Re-applied in macOS Tahoe 26.4
sir:
Hello,
I am writing to report a persistent issue I’ve encountered after updating to macOS Tahoe 26.4.
The Problem:
Before the update, I had several folders with custom PNG images set as icons. Immediately after the 26.4 update, all these custom icons disappeared and reverted to the default blue folder icon.
What I’ve Tried:
1.I tried to re-apply the PNG images using the standard "Get Info" (Cmd+I) method.
2.I copied the image from Preview and tried to paste it onto the folder icon in the Info window, but it simply does not show up or revert back instantly.
3.I have tried restarting the Finder and the system, but the custom images are still not appearing.
Device Details:
OS: macOS Tahoe 26.4
Processor: 3.2 GHz 16-Core Intel Xeon W
Is this a known bug in version 26.4? If anyone has found a fix or a workaround to restore custom folder icons, please let me know.
Thank you.
Hello ma'am,
This is a user-to-user forum. Apple doesn't participate here.
Yes, the same thing on an Intel 2019 Mac Pro rack. Updated from macOS 26.3.1 (a) to 26.4 and all custom icons on folders, drives, server shares and folders reverted to stock icons. I can not paste new icons in the Get info window on any of them. Pasting an icon into a get into window of a new folder will increase the folder size and change the modify date but the custom icon will not display. I have a ticket in with Apple.
Yessss!!! It's a huge bug!!! Same problem on my 16" 2019 MacBook Pro... I suddenly lost about 50 icons... this bug was also present in the RC, at least
I tried everything there was to try...
deleting finder's .plist, clearing the desktop cache, forcing Finder to reopen, etc., etc.... NOTHING
[Edited by Moderator]
You are among a large number of users reporting this on community. However, if one can give credence to the report that only one user has reported directly to Apple, maybe it's time we all did that and see what the powers tha be at Apple techie town have to say. I've already reported it to Apple, so I guess I'm the only one who did -- he said with dripping sarcasm. Will this help? I'm not holding my breath, but hope springs eternal, right?
Reported by one other user. You can file a bug report with Apple.
macOS Tahoe 26.4 broke Custom Folders - Apple Community
Same thing after update to 26.4. Tried different methods to change icon, safe boot, clear icon cache etc. Best I can get is that the icon preview in Get Info blinks, as if to show that I've done something, but does not change.
PREVIOUS POST:
Here was the result:
AMENDED POST:
I am convinced this is an Intel processor issue with 26.4.. My Powerbook M3 works as advertised. Two Intel iMac's exhibit the problem...no standard machinations fix the problem.
It's not 100% intel specific. There is also a bug rendering those new customized folders in 3rd party apps that try to mimic the Finder appearance of a folder. If you create a customized folder and set a non-default accent colour, the Finder will display the customized folder using the user-specified accent colour. But 3rd party apps will display the customized folder using the default colour. And this bug shows up on Apple Silicon.
I’m seeing reports of 26.4 fixing the Studio Display XDR 120Hz kernel panic issue (DCP / dual-pipe crash), but looks like it may have introduced regressions like this on Intel Macs. Curious if others are seeing both sides of this update.
usajoe
Thanks for confirming that it is not just me! The fact that your external drive has icons when attached to another Mac does seem to indicate that this may be an Intel only bug. To update my issue a bit more, all of my custom icons are gone EXCEPT for the icon of my internal data hard-drive and one one file that likely had a .icns pasted icon.
My annoyance with this bug is that on my work computer I keep several frequently used web location shortcuts in my Dock, each with a custom icon. Without those icons, they all look identical, so I have to hover over each one to make sure I’m opening the right shortcut.
Before this, in earlier versions of Tahoe, I noticed a similar issue. It's again on my Intel Mac. Shortcuts on my desktop that pointed to SMB shares, both folders and excel files, would eventually lose their icons (the default ones, nothing custom here) after the network connection dropped. I never reported it at the time, assuming Apple would fix it. Has anyone else experienced this on an M-series Mac?
Zenderamsterdam wrote:
Apple, please fix this!!!!
Get my icons back, and in the future. Please test an update before release.
Even the Adobe icons have disappeared.
Apple doesn't read here in this user-to-user forum for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:
I have a 2020 intel iMac. I tried restarting and force restarting Finder. Still doesn’t work
MacOS 26.4 update broke custom icons on my Intel iMac
