Why Some Software Still Can't Open a WebP Image

WebP is newer than most image software

WebP was introduced well after formats like JPG and PNG had already been supported by decades of existing software. Any application, plugin or system built or last updated before WebP existed or gained wide adoption simply has no built-in code to decode it, regardless of how popular the format later became.

Where this shows up in practice

Older versions of image editors, some email clients, certain e-commerce platforms' upload systems, and various specialized business or design tools can fail to open a WebP file entirely, or silently fail to display it, even though the same file opens perfectly fine in a modern web browser.

Why browsers caught on faster than everything else

Web browsers are updated far more frequently and automatically than most desktop software, and browser vendors had a direct incentive to support WebP quickly since it was originally created specifically to speed up web pages. Standalone desktop and mobile applications updated on much slower cycles simply didn't add support as quickly.

The practical workaround

Since JPG and PNG remain almost universally supported by literally every piece of image software ever made, converting a WebP file to one of those formats is the most reliable way to guarantee it opens anywhere, at the cost of typically increasing the file size back up.

Try it yourself

Our WebP to PNG converter handles this instantly in your browser, keeping full quality and transparency.