To display 3D content in real-time, Sketchfab relies on WebGL, which is a standard rendering library in most modern browsers. You can check if your browser is compatible on https://get.webgl.org/
For more technical details about WebGL on your machine, visit WebGL Report.
Desktop
Sketchfab is compatible with all modern browsers, including:
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome
- Opera
- Safari
- Microsoft Edge
- Any other Chromium-based browser
Mobile
- iOS 8+
- Android 4.0+
Troubleshooting
WebGL
On older browsers or devices with WebGL disabled, models are displayed with an image-based fallback that gives a 360° turntable view of the model.
If you run into problems, make sure your graphics driver and browser are up-to-date. If that doesn’t help, try one of the other browsers listed above. https://get.webgl.org/ is a good place to start troubleshooting.
Sometimes, your browser may disable WebGL based on your GPU. If you are using a compatible browser, but you see an incompatible warning or the viewer performs very badly, try forcing the browser to use your GPU:
Chrome
-
- Go to System Settings ( chrome://settings/ → Advanced → System ) and make sure Use hardware acceleration when available is enabled.
- Go to chrome://flags/#ignore-gpu-blacklist and enable the Override software rendering list flag.
If you go to WebGL Report and see "SwiftShader" listed as the renderer, the steps above should solve the problem.
Firefox
Type about:config into the address bar and enable webgl.force-enabled.
Edge
Modern versions of Microsoft Edge run in Enhanced security mode by default. This mode does not support WebAssembly (WASM), which is required by the Sketchfab viewer. If models are failing to load in Microsoft Edge, visit Troubleshooting Microsoft Edge to learn how to fix it.
Safari
In Safari 7.1.3 (OS X 10.9) and earlier, WebGL must be enabled manually.
Go to Safari → Preferences → Advanced and check Show Develop menu in menu bar. Go to Develop → Enable WebGL.
Touch Screens / Tablets
Sometimes, navigating a model may not work on a touch screen or tablet device. This is especially common on certain Windows 10 devices. In Chrome, for example, visit chrome://flags/#touch-events and enable the "Touch Events API" flag.
Scripts
In order to load correctly, the viewer needs to run various JavaScript scripts.. If script execution is blocked by browser settings, plugins, sandboxing the Sketchfab iframe, or other methods, the viewer will not load. If you must sandbox the iframe for some reason, you must also lift several restrictions to make sure all viewer features work as expected:
- allow-scripts (needed to load the frame whatsoever)
- allow-same-origin (needed to allow the frame to communicate with our servers)
- allow-popups (needed for links within the frame to work)
- allow-forms (needed if the model is password-protected so that you can enter the password)
You will want your iframe HTML code to look something like this (note the sandbox attribute).
<iframe sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms" frameborder="0" width="xxx" height="xxx" src="https://sketchfab.com/models/xxxxxxxx/embed"></iframe>
You can also remove the sandbox attribute completely if possible.
<iframe frameborder="0" width="xxx" height="xxx" src="https://sketchfab.com/models/xxxxxxxx/embed"></iframe>
WordPress Users
Sketchfab must be added as 'Trusted oEmbed Provider', otherwise WordPress will automatically add sandbox restrictions to Sketchfab iframes.
Adding the following line to a plugin or functions.php in the theme directory solves that:
wp_oembed_add_provider( '#https?://sketchfab\.com/.*#i', 'https://www.sketchfab.com/oembed', true );
It is also added by the JetPack plugin.
Comments
175 comments
Have had issues with compatibility on two older (2-3 yrs old) macbook pros. I followed the advice listed on this page with no success. Any ideas?
@harriergeographics - Which browsers have you tried? Can you describe the behavior you see? What does the WebGL site say about your device/browser?
I tried safari, chrome (fresh install), and firefox on two macbook pros (my clients) and couldn't get past the page alerting the user that there might be WebGL issues. In safari I enabled WebGL as instructed with no success. Interestingly, when I clicked on the compatibility link (orbiting box), it always worked? I'll have time tomorrow to learn more about these macbook pros. Everyone else who has viewed my model so far have not had issues.
That's very strange. I'm using a 4-5 year old MacBook Pro myself without a problem. Do you see out 360-degree fallback image, or is the viewer completely blank? Is this happening on all models or just your own?
@thomdejager - Do you see the same problem on other browsers? Incognito?
You might try going to chrome://flags and enabling 'Override software rendering list'
The editor is more intensive than the normal viewer, but this is still a bit strange. Do you see the same thing in Firefox? Have you tried with a super simple model, like a cube?
Are there known compatibility limitations with annotations? When viewing the model from an iPhone I'm able to see the hotspots but tapping them does not display the text. When using the viewers annotation navigation controls the text does finally appear, it just seems to be when trying to show them by directly tapping the hotspots it doesn't register.
@stperona - thanks for the report, we reproduced the problem and are looking into it.
ios 8.3 on Ipad doesn't support sketchfab, any suggest?
@FabioSiccardi - iOS 8.x on iPad is fully supported. If you're having issues, please email me: support@sketchfab.com
I know that nobody really cares about this type of phone, but is there any chance that there will be compatibility with Windows Phone?
@artsupport - It should work on Windows Phones. Are you having trouble? What model/version are you using?
Oh wow. My apologies. It may just be me then. I'm using a Nokia Lumia 635.
Sorry, I don't have that device to test with, but I tried a Virtual Machine Nokia Lumia 630 and the model viewer worked ok. Do you see an error?
Yes, I do.
"For compatibility reasons, 3D is not available (see requirements). You are seeing a 360 image instead."
Ok, so there is an issue with WebGL on that device. What browser are you using? Are you able to install another browser, like Chrome?
This might help troubleshoot: https://get.webgl.org/
I'm using Internet Explorer, on this device. I just saw that WebGL support is currently experimental for it, and (unfortunately) the only other familiar browser, that is in the Windows App store, is Opera. Hopefully, they get WebGL running at full functionality soon. In the meantime, I'll stick to viewing Sketchfab content on my PC. Thank you for your help, James.
Ah that's a shame, thanks for letting me know!
Hi Im having issue displaying models on an android 6.0 device (nvidia shield k1) am i the only one?
Is there any way to hide the Compatibility message that is displayed on phones. I find it very distracting and I am sure others do to when it covers your scene. Maybe have it appear and fade? I'm using IOS 7 btw
@takeko - I'm not sure about the nvidia shield issue. I'm asking around.
@paulelderdesign - Not at the moment. The best thing to do is upgrade to iOS 8.
@James - Any known content issue with android 6.0 device (nvidia shield k1) ? I am also seeing corruption while displaying models. I can see it even when I try very simple models mentioned in Tutorials->debugging resources of this site, I see corruption at the edge of these simple polygons.
Also, let me know if we can get a plain WebGL source for any of these models so that I can debug it further. Plain webGL source may be at least for basic models mentioned in Tutorials->debugging resources.
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