Why is my EPUB cover not showing, and how do I fix it?

Published November 3, 2026 · 6 min read

An EPUB cover usually goes missing for one of two reasons: the file never tells reading apps which image is the cover, or the device is showing an old or generic thumbnail instead of the real one. The first is fixed by marking a cover inside the EPUB, the second by clearing the device's copy and adding the book again. This guide shows how to tell which case you have, then walks through the fix for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and Calibre.

How an EPUB tells apps which image is the cover

An EPUB is a ZIP file of web pages, images and one package file (the OPF) that lists everything inside. A picture of the cover sitting in the images folder is not enough: the OPF has to point at it, and reading apps look for that pointer in one of two places:

• EPUB 3: the image's entry in the manifest carries properties="cover-image".
• EPUB 2: a <meta name="cover" content="…"> line in the metadata gives the ID of the cover image.

Well-made books include both, because many apps only read the older line. When neither is there, each app guesses. Some show the first page of the book, which is often a plain title page; others show a generic placeholder with the title printed on it. That is why the same file can have a cover in one app and none in another.

A cover page at the start of the book, the first thing you see when you open it, is a separate thing. A book can have a cover page and still show a blank thumbnail in the library, because the thumbnail comes from the marked cover image, not from the first page.

Step 1: check whether the file has a cover

Before changing settings on your e-reader, find out whether the problem is in the file. The quickest way is to open the book in our EPUB cover changer: it reads the cover the same way reading apps do, from the cover-image property, the EPUB 2 meta line or, as a last resort, an image with "cover" in its name.

1. Open the cover changer and choose your EPUB, or drag it onto the box.
2. Look at the cover area. If you see the image, the file has a cover that apps can find, and the problem is on the device: skip to the section for your device.
3. If it says No cover found, the file has no cover marked. Go to step 2.

If the tool says the EPUB is DRM-protected, it can't be edited; the cover can only come from the store you bought it from.

Step 2: add or mark the cover in the EPUB

If the file has no cover, or the wrong one, add the image you want and mark it properly:

1. In the cover changer, click Replace cover and pick a JPEG or PNG image.
2. If the book had no cover, leave Also add a cover page at the start of the book ticked, so the cover also appears when you open the book.
3. Click Download edited EPUB. You get a new copy and the original is left untouched.

The tool marks the new image as the cover for both EPUB 3 and EPUB 2 readers. If the old cover was a GIF, WebP or SVG image, which some e-readers don't display as a thumbnail, it is replaced with a JPEG and every page that showed it is updated.

While the book is open, check the title and author too. A library that shows a file name instead of a title usually has the same kind of gap in its metadata, and the EPUB metadata editor fixes it in the same step.

Cover missing on Kindle

How you get the book onto the Kindle decides where the cover comes from.

Books sent with Send to Kindle

Amazon converts the EPUB and builds the thumbnail from the cover marked in the file. If the cover is missing here, the file is almost always the cause: fix it as in step 2, delete the old copy from your Kindle library (and from Content & Devices → Docs in your Amazon account, if you want a clean slate), then send the fixed file. Our guide to putting EPUB books on a Kindle covers each sending method, and EPUB won't send to Kindle helps if the book doesn't arrive at all.

Books copied over USB

Kindles don't read EPUB over USB, so books copied by cable are usually AZW3 or MOBI files made with Calibre. These are the ones most likely to show a grey placeholder. According to the Calibre FAQ, at the time of writing:

• The Kindle tries to download the thumbnail from Amazon's servers, which have no cover for your own file, and can replace a working cover with a generic one.
• Calibre uploads its own thumbnail when you send the book with Calibre over USB, and restores covers that the Kindle removed the next time you connect it. Copying the file by hand in a file manager doesn't do this.
• On the Kindle Colorsoft and newer models, this thumbnail workaround no longer works. The FAQ's suggested way around it is to send books as personal documents, which then appear under Docs instead of Books.

If you only need the book on your Kindle, sending the EPUB with Send to Kindle avoids the whole problem, because Amazon then makes the thumbnail itself.

Cover missing on Kobo

Kobo e-readers open EPUB directly, so a missing cover is usually the file or the device's thumbnail cache:

• Check the file first with step 1. A book without a marked cover may show its first page or a plain placeholder.
• Replace the old copy. Kobo keeps the thumbnail it made the first time it saw the book. Remove the book from the device in My Books, then copy the fixed file over USB and eject the e-reader properly so it rescans the library.
• If you use Calibre to send books, open the settings of Calibre's Kobo driver (right-click the device icon and choose Configure this device) and make sure the option to upload covers is on.

Cover missing in Apple Books and other apps

Apple Books, Google Play Books, Thorium and most phone reading apps take the cover from the same place in the OPF. If one of them shows a blank cover:

1. Check the file with step 1, and fix it if it says No cover found.
2. Remove the old copy from the app. Apple Books in particular keeps its first thumbnail, so adding the fixed file next to the old one can leave you with two copies and the same blank cover.
3. Add the fixed EPUB again. In Apple Books on a Mac, choose File → Add to Library or drag the file onto the window; on an iPhone or iPad, open the file from the Files app and share it to Books.

For which app to use on each device, see how to open EPUB files.

The cover shows in Calibre but not on the device

This one surprises many people. Calibre stores each book's cover as a separate cover.jpg in its library folder and shows that image in its book list, whether or not the cover is inside the EPUB. So a book can look perfect in Calibre and still arrive on a Kobo or in Apple Books without a cover, because the EPUB itself was never updated.

Two ways to put the cover inside the file:

• In Calibre: select the book, click Convert books and set both the input and output format to EPUB. The new EPUB has the cover embedded and marked. Then send that copy, or use Save to disk to get the file.
• Without Calibre: open the EPUB in the cover changer and add the image there.

The same applies to books you made from a MOBI or AZW3 file. Our AZW3 to EPUB guide explains how the converter carries the cover over, and what to do if the original file had none. For other changes to the file, see how to edit an EPUB.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my EPUB show the wrong cover?

Either the file marks a different image as the cover, or the app is still showing the thumbnail of an earlier copy. Check the file in the cover changer; if the cover there is right, remove the book from the device or app and add it again.

Why does my Kindle show a grey cover with just the title?

It couldn't find a cover thumbnail. For books sent with Send to Kindle, add a cover to the EPUB and send it again. For books copied by USB, see the Kindle section above: send them with Calibre, or send the EPUB with Send to Kindle instead.

How do I add a cover to an EPUB?

Open the book in a cover editor, choose a JPEG or PNG image and save. Our EPUB cover changer does it in the browser; in Calibre, edit the book's metadata, set the cover and convert EPUB to EPUB.

Can I change the cover of a book I bought?

Only if it is DRM-free. Books with DRM from the Kindle, Kobo or Apple Books stores can't be edited, and our tools tell you when a file is protected.

Related guides

Free EPUB tools