diff --git a/copyparty/svchub.py b/copyparty/svchub.py
index cf0340e9..ab02cbb3 100644
--- a/copyparty/svchub.py
+++ b/copyparty/svchub.py
@@ -35,14 +35,14 @@ from .mtag import HAVE_FFMPEG, HAVE_FFPROBE, HAVE_MUTAGEN
 from .pwhash import HAVE_ARGON2
 from .tcpsrv import TcpSrv
 from .th_srv import (
-    HAVE_AVIF,
+    H_PIL_AVIF,
+    H_PIL_HEIF,
+    H_PIL_WEBP,
     HAVE_FFMPEG,
     HAVE_FFPROBE,
-    HAVE_HEIF,
     HAVE_PIL,
     HAVE_RAW,
     HAVE_VIPS,
-    HAVE_WEBP,
     ThumbSrv,
 )
 from .up2k import Up2k
@@ -371,10 +371,6 @@ class SvcHub(object):
             t = ", ".join(self.args.th_dec) or "(None available)"
             self.log("thumb", "decoder preference: {}".format(t))
 
-            if "pil" in self.args.th_dec and not HAVE_WEBP:
-                msg = "disabling webp thumbnails because either libwebp is not available or your Pillow is too old"
-                self.log("thumb", msg, c=3)
-
             if self.args.th_dec:
                 self.thumbsrv = ThumbSrv(self)
             else:
@@ -954,14 +950,14 @@ class SvcHub(object):
             (HAVE_SQLITE3, "sqlite", "sessions and file/media indexing"),
             (HAVE_PIL, "pillow", "image thumbnails (plenty fast)"),
             (HAVE_VIPS, "vips", "image thumbnails (faster, eats more ram)"),
-            (HAVE_WEBP, "pillow-webp", "create thumbnails as webp files"),
+            (H_PIL_WEBP, "pillow-webp", "create thumbnails as webp files"),
             (HAVE_FFMPEG, "ffmpeg", t_ff + ", good-but-slow image thumbnails"),
             (HAVE_FFPROBE, "ffprobe", t_ff + ", read audio/media tags"),
             (HAVE_MUTAGEN, "mutagen", "read audio tags (ffprobe is better but slower)"),
             (HAVE_ARGON2, "argon2", "secure password hashing (advanced users only)"),
             (HAVE_ZMQ, "pyzmq", "send zeromq messages from event-hooks"),
-            (HAVE_HEIF, "pillow-heif", "read .heif images with pillow (rarely useful)"),
-            (HAVE_AVIF, "pillow-avif", "read .avif images with pillow (rarely useful)"),
+            (H_PIL_HEIF, "pillow-heif", "read .heif pics with pillow (rarely useful)"),
+            (H_PIL_AVIF, "pillow-avif", "read .avif pics with pillow (rarely useful)"),
             (HAVE_RAW, "rawpy", "read RAW images"),
         ]
         if ANYWIN:
diff --git a/copyparty/th_cli.py b/copyparty/th_cli.py
index 2b860f4c..f2a1379c 100644
--- a/copyparty/th_cli.py
+++ b/copyparty/th_cli.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import stat
 from .__init__ import TYPE_CHECKING
 from .authsrv import VFS
 from .bos import bos
-from .th_srv import EXTS_AC, HAVE_JXL, HAVE_WEBP, thumb_path
+from .th_srv import EXTS_AC, H_PIL_JXL, H_PIL_WEBP, thumb_path
 from .util import Cooldown, Pebkac
 
 if True:  # pylint: disable=using-constant-test
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ class ThumbCli(object):
 
         # defer args.th_ff_jpg, can change at runtime
         nonpil = next((x for x in self.args.th_dec if x in ("vips", "ff")), None)
-        self.can_webp = HAVE_WEBP or nonpil
-        self.can_jxl = HAVE_JXL or nonpil
+        self.can_webp = H_PIL_WEBP or nonpil
+        self.can_jxl = H_PIL_JXL or nonpil
 
     def log(self, msg: str, c: Union[int, str] = 0) -> None:
         self.log_func("thumbcli", msg, c)
diff --git a/copyparty/th_srv.py b/copyparty/th_srv.py
index 3cfdd3c9..7d461579 100644
--- a/copyparty/th_srv.py
+++ b/copyparty/th_srv.py
@@ -46,10 +46,10 @@ if PY2:
 
 HAVE_PIL = False
 HAVE_PILF = False
-HAVE_HEIF = False
-HAVE_AVIF = False
-HAVE_WEBP = False
-HAVE_JXL = False
+H_PIL_HEIF = False
+H_PIL_AVIF = False
+H_PIL_WEBP = False
+H_PIL_JXL = False
 
 TH_CH = {"j": "jpg", "p": "png", "w": "webp", "x": "jxl"}
 
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ try:
             raise Exception()
 
         Image.new("RGB", (2, 2)).save(BytesIO(), format="webp")
-        HAVE_WEBP = True
+        H_PIL_WEBP = True
     except:
         pass
 
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ try:
             pass
 
         Image.new("RGB", (2, 2)).save(BytesIO(), format="jxl")
-        HAVE_JXL = True
+        H_PIL_JXL = True
     except:
         pass
 
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ try:
             from pyheif_pillow_opener import register_heif_opener
 
         register_heif_opener()
-        HAVE_HEIF = True
+        H_PIL_HEIF = True
     except:
         pass
 
@@ -168,12 +168,12 @@ try:
             raise Exception()
 
         if ".avif" in Image.registered_extensions():
-            HAVE_AVIF = True
+            H_PIL_AVIF = True
             raise Exception()
 
         import pillow_avif  # noqa: F401  # pylint: disable=unused-import
 
-        HAVE_AVIF = True
+        H_PIL_AVIF = True
     except:
         pass
 
@@ -309,19 +309,19 @@ class ThumbSrv(object):
             ]
         ]
 
-        if not HAVE_HEIF:
+        if not H_PIL_HEIF:
             for f in "heif heifs heic heics".split(" "):
                 self.fmt_pil.discard(f)
 
-        if not HAVE_AVIF:
+        if not H_PIL_AVIF:
             for f in "avif avifs".split(" "):
                 self.fmt_pil.discard(f)
 
-        if not HAVE_WEBP:
+        if not H_PIL_WEBP:
             for f in "webp".split(" "):
                 self.fmt_pil.discard(f)
 
-        if not HAVE_JXL:
+        if not H_PIL_JXL:
             for f in "jxl".split(" "):
                 self.fmt_pil.discard(f)
 
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ class ThumbSrv(object):
                         ext in self.fmt_ffa or ext in self.fmt_ffv
                     )
 
-                    if lib == "pil" and ext in self.fmt_pil:
+                    if lib == "pil" and ext in self.fmt_pil and tex in self.fmt_pil:
                         funs.append(self.conv_pil)
                     elif lib == "vips" and ext in self.fmt_vips:
                         funs.append(self.conv_vips)