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How to Fix Missing Images and Broken Formatting in Outlook
Applies to: Classic Outlook for Windows, New Outlook, Outlook on the Web
Article Type: Troubleshooting
Last Updated: 2026-07-10
Summary
If you receive a company newsletter or a marketing email and it looks like a chaotic mess of text with red X's where the pictures should be, Outlook is blocking the content to protect you. This guide shows you how to safely download images and fix emails that are stuck in "Plain Text" mode.
Symptoms
- Emails have a red "X" box where a logo or picture should be
- A banner at the top of the email says "Click here to download pictures"
- Emails that should have colors, fonts, and buttons appear as plain, unformatted text
- The email formatting is completely broken or unreadable
Prerequisites
- You must be viewing the broken email in Outlook
Instructions
1. Download Pictures for a Single Email
By default, Outlook blocks automatic picture downloads to prevent spammers from knowing your email address is active (via tracking pixels hidden in images).
- Open the email with the missing images.
- Look for the yellow or grey banner at the top of the message that says: "To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of some pictures in this message."
- Click on that banner.
- Select Download Pictures.
- The email will refresh and display the images.
2. Trust the Sender (Always Download Their Pictures)
If you receive a daily newsletter or regular emails from a trusted client, you don't want to click "Download Pictures" every single time. You can tell Outlook to always trust them.
- Open an email from the sender.
- Click the banner at the top.
- Select Add Sender to Safe Senders List (or Add the Domain @domain.com to Safe Senders List to trust anyone from that company).
- From now on, Outlook will automatically load images from that sender.
3. Fix Emails Stuck in "Plain Text" Mode
If the email doesn't have missing pictures, but all the formatting (colors, bold text, tables) is stripped out, Outlook might be forcing the message into Plain Text format.
To fix it for the current email:
- Open the email in a separate window (double-click it).
- Look at the top banner of the email (the "InfoBar"). If it says "This message was converted to plain text," click the banner.
- Select Display as HTML.
To check your global settings (Classic Outlook):
- Click File > Options > Trust Center.
- Click Trust Center Settings...
- Click Email Security on the left.
- Under "Read as Plain Text", ensure the box for Read all standard mail in plain text is unchecked.
- Click OK.
4. Fix Outlook on the Web Formatting
If you are using Outlook in your web browser and images aren't loading:
- Click the Gear icon (Settings) in the top right.
- Go to Mail > Junk email.
- Scroll down to the Filters section.
- Uncheck Block attachments, pictures, and links from anyone not in my Safe senders and domains list.
- Click Save.
Troubleshooting
WARNING
Never click "Download Pictures" or "Add Sender to Safe Senders" if you do not recognize the sender, or if the email looks suspicious. This can trigger tracking pixels that tell hackers your email address is a valid target.
| Symptom / Error | Potential Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| "The linked image cannot be displayed" error | Network block or deleted source image | You cannot fix this; the sender deleted the image from their server |
| Images download, but the email still looks scrambled | HTML formatting error from sender | View the email in a web browser (Message > Actions > View in Browser) |
| Every single email is in Plain Text | Trust Center settings | Uncheck "Read all standard mail in plain text" in Trust Center |
| Banner is missing entirely | Corrupted Outlook profile, or the setting is locked centrally | If Trust Center Settings > Automatic Download is greyed out, ask IT to confirm whether a policy controls picture downloads. If it is not greyed out, ask them to rebuild your Outlook profile |