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How do I see thumbnails for my video files?

Anonymous
2025-06-03T00:12:22+00:00

I have a brand new PC, with Windows 11 home. I attached my Android phone to transfer some video files to the PC and there are no thumbnails showing. Only the basic video icon. I have tried some solutions found online but nothing is working. Please help! I can't work on these files without being able to see a thumbnail it's super frustrating.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-06-04T02:01:21+00:00

    That solution doesn't work. That box was already unchecked. Are you seriously telling me that with my brand new phone AND brand new computer that I can now no longer see thumbnails on any of the video files I transfer to my computer?! I have copied the files to my computer... and they still don't display thumbnails. I didn't have the issue with Windows 10 and I held out as long as I could before going to 11. I had expected to have better functionality. This is terrible!

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  2. Munkhu 2,690 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-06-04T19:41:37+00:00

    In that case, you should be able to see thumbnails IF the file is already on your PC. Can you try setting the View option to Large icons under View in File Explorer as shown in the photo highlighted in green:

    Image

    Also, are you able to see thumbnails of images? Let me know how it goes.

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  3. Munkhu 2,690 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-06-03T00:56:02+00:00

    Thank you very much for reaching out! As an Independent Advisor and fellow Microsoft user, I'm more than happy to assist you.

    Have you tried enabling Thumbnail Previews in File Explorer?

    1. Open File Explorer > click the View menu > Options > Change folder and search options
    2. Go to the View tab
    3. Uncheck "Always show icons, never thumbnails"
    4. Check "Display file icon on thumbnails"

    If it doesn't work, unfortunately, it's not possible due to the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), commonly used for external devices like smartphones. MTP prioritizes basic file transfers over advanced features like thumbnails. You could try copying every file into your PC as a workaround.

    Let me know if you have any questions.

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