Have you noticed that some of your custom Windows icons have reverted to the default look after the latest update? If so, don't worry; you're not alone. Microsoft has made some tweaks to how custom icons are handled in Windows 11, and if the operating system cannot verify they came from a trusted source, it will silently revert them to the defaults without warning you.

Yes, it's one of those rare moments where what may seem like a Windows bug is, in fact, entirely by design.

Microsoft confirms that 'untrusted' icons will no longer show in Windows 11

But you can fix it pretty easily

Over on the Microsoft blog, the tech giant has confirmed that people downloading the Windows 11 June update may notice that their custom folder icons may have vanished. Specifically, if you defined a folder icon or name through desktop.ini, it will revert to the default instead.

Before you reach for that bug report form, Microsoft explains that this is now expected behavior. The company is adding security hardening protocols where, if a desktop.ini file comes from an untrusted source, it will stop showing custom icon changes and instead reverts them to their defaults. Microsoft defines the following areas as untrusted sources:

• Files downloaded from the internet that carry Mark-of-the-Web (MOTW).
• Files copied from certain remote locations, such as some WebDAV or HTTP-based locations.
• Files on network paths that are not classified as intranet or trusted by zone policy.

If your icons are broken, Microsoft recommends three solutions. You can either add the source to your Trusted Sites, enable the "Allow the use of remote paths in file shortcut icons" policy, or remove the Mark-of-the-Web tag from your file. This should inform Windows 11 that the file is trusted and restore its custom icon.