Game Error Fortnite

Fortnite Banner Symbol Resets to Pickaxe Icon - Locker Bug Fix Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-05 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-05 👥 Reports: 3 ⚡ Severity: 🟢 Low

🎯 Quick Answer

Clear the game's local cache files via the Epic Games Launcher to resolve the banner icon reset bug, as corrupted local data prevents proper profile synchronization.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

The Fortnite banner symbol reset bug is a client-side profile synchronization error. The error manifests as a failure to commit the selected banner icon identifier to the local player profile cache, while the associated color data persists. This issue occurs exclusively on the Windows PC platform across both the native Epic Games Launcher and the Xbox App/Game Pass version. The problem is reproducible in the Chapter 5, Season 3 build of Fortnite and persists through subsequent minor updates. This is a common error with a high reproduction rate under specific conditions. The severity is classified as a minor cosmetic annoyance; it does not affect gameplay, progression, or server-side account data. No explicit error codes or system messages are generated. The bug's trigger is tied to the local caching mechanism failing to retain the icon selection before the next synchronization check with Epic's backend services.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The application fails to retain the user-selected banner icon within the Locker customization menu. The symptom occurs approximately 10 seconds after confirming the icon selection. The UI displays the selected icon temporarily before automatically reverting to the default Pickaxe icon. The banner color customization linked to the same menu retains its modified state without reversion. This behavior is isolated to the Lobby and Locker screens. No application crashes, performance degradation, or network disconnections accompany this symptom. The issue is repeatable across multiple game sessions and persists after a full game restart, indicating a failure in local data persistence rather than a temporary display glitch.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Configuration Error Specific Technical Explanation: Corrupted local game configuration files (GameUserSettings.ini, ClientSettings.sav) contain invalid or conflicting entries for the banner cosmetic ID. The game client reads the correct ID initially but overwrites it with a default value upon the next configuration validation cycle. Why this causes the problem: The configuration validation routine detects malformed data for the banner icon field and forcibly resets it to a safe default (the Pickaxe icon) while leaving less complex data types like color values intact. Category: Software Conflict Specific Technical Explanation: Anti-virus or ransomware protection software quarantines or locks the Fortnite profile data file ([AccountID].profile) during write operations. This prevents the client from saving the new banner icon selection to disk. Why this causes the problem: The game client receives a successful write confirmation from its own process, but the underlying system call is blocked or rolled back by security software, resulting in the saved data reverting to its pre-edit state. Category: Game Bug Specific Technical Explanation: A race condition exists between the UI layer confirming the icon selection and the backend service call that validates the cosmetic item ownership. If the validation call is delayed or fails silently, the client-side cache is purged of the unverified selection. Why this causes the problem: The client's fallback logic for an unverified cosmetic item is to default to a universally owned item (the Pickaxe banner), which occurs after a fixed timeout period (approximately 10 seconds). Category: Network Problem Specific Technical Explanation: Intermittent packet loss during the specific UDP transaction that updates the player's banner profile on Epic's cloud storage. The transaction for the icon fails, while the subsequent transaction for the color succeeds. Why this causes the problem: The game uses separate but sequential calls for icon and color updates. A network failure during the icon update call results in the server rejecting the change, and the client later receives the old icon data from the server, overriding the local choice. Category: Configuration Error Specific Technical Explanation: Incorrect permissions or ownership attributes on the user's %LOCALAPPDATA%\FortniteGame directory prevent the application from creating or modifying the necessary .profile and .sig files that store cosmetic loadouts. Why this causes the problem: The game operates with standard user privileges and cannot write to the protected directory, causing all profile modifications made in-session to be lost when the process attempts to commit them to storage. Category: Hardware Issue Specific Technical Explanation: A failing storage drive (SSD/HDD) with bad sectors located precisely where the Fortnite profile data is written causes silent data corruption. The write operation for the banner icon fails, but the operating system does not report the error to the application. Why this causes the problem: The game engine assumes the write was successful and proceeds, but upon reading the data back (triggered by a UI refresh or sync check), it retrieves corrupted or stale data, triggering a reset to default values.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Clear Fortnite Local AppData and Cache

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Fortnite must be fully closed. Steps:

Completely exit the Fortnite client and the Epic Games Launcher. Verify closure via Task Manager (End Task on FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe and EpicGamesLauncher.exe).
Press Windows Key + R, type %LOCALAPPDATA%, and press Enter. This opens the C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local directory.
Locate and open the FortniteGame folder.
Delete the entire Saved subfolder within the FortniteGame directory.
Navigate back to %LOCALAPPDATA% and open the EpicGamesLauncher folder.
Delete the Saved subfolder within the EpicGamesLauncher directory.
Restart the Epic Games Launcher, launch Fortnite, and reconfigure your banner icon.

Technical Explanation: This procedure forces the game to regenerate all local configuration and cache files from scratch, removing any corrupted data blocks in the .profile files that store cosmetic selections. A fresh ClientSettings.sav file will be created upon next launch. Verification: After re-selecting your banner icon, wait for 60 seconds and navigate away from and back to the Locker Banner tab. The selected icon persists without reverting to the Pickaxe.

Solution 2: Verify Game Files via Epic Games Launcher

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 10-20 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Active internet connection for file download. Steps:

Open the Epic Games Launcher and navigate to your Library.
Locate Fortnite and click the three dots (...) below the game title.
Select Manage from the dropdown menu.
Click the Verify button. The launcher will scan all game files against the official manifest.
Allow the process to complete. This will download and replace any missing or altered core game files, including configuration templates.
Launch Fortnite and test the banner icon selection.

Technical Explanation: Corrupted or modified game pak files can contain faulty logic for handling cosmetic IDs. Verification replaces these files with clean versions, eliminating one source of the profile write error. Verification: The verification log will display "Verification Complete" with no errors. Successful fix is confirmed by the banner icon remaining set after the 10-second period.

Solution 3: Disable Controlled Folder Access for Fortnite

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Windows 10/11 with Windows Security enabled. Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type windowsdefender:, and press Enter to open Windows Security.
Click on Virus & threat protection.
Scroll down and click Manage ransomware protection under "Ransomware protection."
Under Controlled folder access, click Manage Controlled folder access.
Toggle the switch to Off.
Launch Fortnite, set your banner, and test.
*(Optional)* If this resolves the issue, you can re-enable the feature and add the Fortnite executables as allowed apps via Allow an app through Controlled folder access.

Technical Explanation: Windows Security's Controlled Folder Access can block the Fortnite client from writing to its own Saved directory in AppData\Local, intercepting the profile save command and causing the reset. Verification: The banner icon remains saved. You can further verify by checking the Windows Security "Protection history" for any blocked events related to FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe.

Solution 4: Create a New Local Windows User Profile

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 15 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Administrator account access on the PC. Steps:

Open Windows Settings (Windows Key + I) and go to Accounts > Family & other users.
Under "Other users," click Add account.
Follow prompts to create a new local user account (a Microsoft account is not required).
Log out of your current Windows session and log into the newly created account.
Install/Launch the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite from this new profile. The game will create a pristine set of configuration directories.
Log in to your Epic account within the game and test the banner icon selection.

Technical Explanation: This isolates the issue to system-level profile corruption or permission inheritance errors. A new user profile has clean registry entries and AppData directories, eliminating any deep-seated permission conflicts affecting file writes. Verification: If the banner saves correctly in the new user profile, the fault is confirmed to be within your original Windows user profile's configuration or permissions.

Solution 5: Perform a Clean Boot and Test

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Administrative rights to modify system configuration. Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
In the System Configuration window, go to the Services tab.
Check the box Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all.
Navigate to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager.
In Task Manager, disable every startup item.
Close Task Manager, click OK in System Configuration, and restart your PC.
After booting into the clean environment, launch only the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite. Test the banner icon.

Technical Explanation: Third-party services (especially from peripheral software, overlays, or system utilities) can inject code or hook into the game process, interfering with its normal file I/O operations and causing silent write failures. Verification: If the bug is resolved in the clean boot state, a conflicting service is the cause. Re-enable services in groups via msconfig to identify the specific conflict.

Solution 6: Manually Edit GameUserSettings.ini with Banner ID

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Low Prerequisites: Knowledge of your banner's internal cosmetic ID; Fortnite must not be running. Steps:

Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA%\FortniteGame\Saved\Config\WindowsClient.
Open GameUserSettings.ini in a text editor like Notepad.
Locate the [CreativeQuickMenu] or [/Script/FortniteUI.FortUISettings] section.
Find the line BannerIcon= or LastUsedBannerIcon=.
You must identify the correct cosmetic ID for your desired banner (e.g., from a prior uncorrupted config file or community resource). Replace the value after the equals sign with this ID.
Save the file, right-click it, select Properties, and check Read-only to prevent the game from overwriting it.
Launch the game and check the Locker.

Technical Explanation: This bypasses the game's UI and directly writes the banner ID to the primary configuration file. Setting it to read-only prevents the game's faulty save routine from overwriting the correct value. Verification: The Locker displays your chosen banner icon. The read-only attribute confirms the fix; if the icon is correct, the game's live write process is the faulty component.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

Regularly verify game file integrity through the Epic Games Launcher after major game updates. Maintain a whitelist for Fortnite executables (FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe, EpicGamesLauncher.exe) in any active security software, including Windows Defender Controlled Folder Access. Avoid manually modifying files within the %LOCALAPPDATA%\FortniteGame\Saved directory. Establish a schedule to clear the game's local cache every 2-3 months via the launcher's "Verify" function, which serves as a prophylactic reset. Monitor the size and health of your system drive using chkdsk /f periodically to prevent data corruption from bad sectors.

SECTION 6: WHEN TO CONTACT SUPPORT

Contact Epic Games Player Support only after all technical solutions fail and the issue persists across a newly created Windows user profile. This confirms the problem is account-bound rather than local. Provide the diagnostic output from the Epic Games Launcher (Help > Diagnostics) and specify the exact build version of Fortnite. Include the file modification timestamps for the ClientSettings.sav file located in %LOCALAPPDATA%\FortniteGame\Saved\SaveGames. Official support channels are accessible via the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the Epic Games Support website.