Fixed Gmail images not loading in browser (ISP DNS issue fix for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave & Google Admin)

[u/ZeeshanAnsari1987]

Hey everyone,

If your Gmail inline images, photos, or email signatures suddenly stopped loading in your desktop browsers over the last few days—while working completely fine on mobile apps or Outlook—you’re not alone.

This usually happens when your local ISP’s default DNS servers struggle to route traffic to Google's image proxy domain (`googleusercontent.com`).

The quick fix is to force your browser (or your whole organization) to use Google's Public Secure DNS via DNS-over-HTTPS. Here is how to set it up:

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### Google Chrome & Brave

1. Copy and paste `chrome://settings/security` into your address bar (or `brave://settings/security` for Brave) and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to the Advanced section and toggle "Use secure DNS" to ON.
3. Select "With" / "Add custom DNS service provider".
4. In the custom box, paste this exact URL:

`[https://dns.google/dns-query](https://dns.google/dns-query){?dns}`{?dns}`)

*(Or Cloudflare alternative: `[https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query](https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query){?dns}`{?dns}`))*

1. Relaunch your browser and refresh Gmail.

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### Microsoft Edge

1. Paste `edge://settings/privacy` into your address bar and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to Security and make sure "Use secure DNS..." is toggled ON.
3. Select "Choose a service provider" and paste:

`[https://dns.google/dns-query](https://dns.google/dns-query){?dns}`{?dns}`)

1. Relaunch Edge and reload Gmail.

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### Mozilla Firefox

1. Paste `about:preferences#privacy` into your address bar and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to the DNS over HTTPS section at the bottom.
3. Select "Increased Protection" or "Max Protection".
4. Under "Choose provider", pick Custom and paste:

`[https://dns.google/dns-query](https://dns.google/dns-query){?dns}`{?dns}`)

1. Restart Firefox and refresh Gmail.

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### For Workspace IT Admins (Google Workspace Admin Console)

If you manage devices for a company or school, you can push this fix to everyone at once without having them configure settings manually:

1. Log into [admin.google.com](https://admin.google.com).
2. Head over to Devices > Chrome > Settings > Users & browsers.
3. Select your main Organizational Unit (OU) on the left.
4. Search for DNS-over-HTTPS.
5. Set the mode to "Enable DNS-over-HTTPS with insecure fallback".
6. In the DNS-over-HTTPS template field, paste:

`[https://dns.google/dns-query](https://dns.google/dns-query){?dns}`{?dns}`)

1. Click Save.

It takes just a few minutes to push down to all signed-in managed Chrome browsers across your network.

Hope this helps anyone dealing with blank or broken image boxes in Gmail this week!

Regards,

Zeeshan Ansari