# Assets troubleshooting

> What to check when an upload is refused, images stop loading on your site, a file is missing in the draft preview, or visitors' uploads fail.

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Source: https://www.willo.ai/docs/troubleshooting/assets

## An upload to the Assets tab is refused

- **Too big.** PDFs can be up to 25 MB and videos up to 50 MB. Compress the PDF, trim the video, or host a long video elsewhere and ask Willo to embed it.
- **Wrong type.** Images must be PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP or HEIC; videos MP4, WebM or MOV. SVG, TIFF and CSV files aren't accepted in the Assets tab. Attach a CSV in chat instead if you want Willo to read it.
- **Upload limit reached.** There is an hourly limit on uploads per business. Wait a while and try again.
- **"Still being set up" or paused.** Published files are stored in your business's backend. It is created when your first build starts, so a business that has never been built must start a build first; otherwise wait a minute or two and retry. If the message says the backend is paused, see [Backend troubleshooting](https://www.willo.ai/docs/troubleshooting/backend).
- **You're a viewer.** Viewers can browse and download but not upload. Ask an owner or admin for editor access.

## Images stopped loading on my site

When pages load but images, forms and logins don't, the usual cause is that your backend has paused after using its included monthly usage. Your data and files are safe. Ask Willo "is my backend paused?". See [Backend troubleshooting](https://www.willo.ai/docs/troubleshooting/backend) for how to bring it back.

If only one image is broken, its file may have been deleted from the Assets tab. Upload it again and ask Willo to put it back on the page.

## A video plays sound but no picture

It is almost certainly an iPhone video in HEVC format, which many Windows and Android browsers can't display. Re-record with the iPhone set to **Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible**, or convert it to an H.264 MP4, then upload it again. A video already uploaded can't be fixed in place.

## Video thumbnails show as grey boxes on iPhone

iPhone Safari doesn't draw a frame for a video that hasn't been played. The fix is a thumbnail image captured when the video is uploaded and shown in its place. Ask Willo to add thumbnails to your video uploads.

## A file shows as missing in the draft preview

The draft backend has the same storage buckets as live but none of the live files, so a page that shows a member's upload will show it missing in the preview. That is expected. Upload a test file in the draft preview to check the page. Images you published through the Assets tab are not affected.

## Visitors' uploads fail

Ask Willo to look into it, and give it what you know: the device and browser, the file's size and type, and the exact message on screen. Willo reads the backend's logs to see why each upload was refused before it changes anything. The usual causes:

- **The file is over the size limit**, often phone video. The default limit is 50 MB per file.
- **The type isn't on the bucket's list**, for example HEIC photos or `.mov` video.
- **The person isn't signed in**, or the access rules don't let them write there.
- **A dropped connection on a phone.** Large files should use a resumable upload, which picks up where it left off. Ask Willo to check that the form does.

If uploads went through more than once, Willo lists the duplicates, but it can't delete files from a bucket. Contact support to clean them up.

## Uploads need to be bigger than 50 MB

The per-file limit can be raised on request through Willo support. Willo itself can't raise it.

## Still stuck

Contact support from **Help** (the **?** at the bottom of the left rail), or email support@willo.ai.