diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 18a83f755..88b0dc2bc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 - rendering of panoramas with inconsistent metadata
 - failing scan of items copied to SD card on older devices
+- unreplaceable covers set before v1.7.1
 
 ## <a id="v1.7.1"></a>[v1.7.1] - 2022-10-09
 
diff --git a/lib/model/covers.dart b/lib/model/covers.dart
index 5d4338a31..dfd07b8d3 100644
--- a/lib/model/covers.dart
+++ b/lib/model/covers.dart
@@ -55,14 +55,14 @@ class Covers {
 
     final oldRows = _rows.where((row) => row.filter == filter).toSet();
     _rows.removeAll(oldRows);
+    await metadataDb.removeCovers({filter});
+
     final oldRow = oldRows.firstOrNull;
     final oldEntry = oldRow?.entryId;
     final oldPackage = oldRow?.packageName;
     final oldColor = oldRow?.color;
 
-    if (entryId == null && packageName == null && color == null) {
-      await metadataDb.removeCovers({filter});
-    } else {
+    if (entryId != null || packageName != null || color != null) {
       final row = CoverRow(
         filter: filter,
         entryId: entryId,
diff --git a/lib/model/db/db_metadata_sqflite.dart b/lib/model/db/db_metadata_sqflite.dart
index 3e12a018a..2bf986395 100644
--- a/lib/model/db/db_metadata_sqflite.dart
+++ b/lib/model/db/db_metadata_sqflite.dart
@@ -470,9 +470,23 @@ class SqfliteMetadataDb implements MetadataDb {
   Future<void> removeCovers(Set<CollectionFilter> filters) async {
     if (filters.isEmpty) return;
 
+    // for backward compatibility, remove stored JSON instead of removing de/reserialized filters
+    final obsoleteFilterJson = <String>{};
+
+    final rows = await _db.query(coverTable);
+    rows.forEach((row) {
+      final filterJson = row['filter'] as String?;
+      if (filterJson != null) {
+        final filter = CollectionFilter.fromJson(filterJson);
+        if (filters.any((v) => filter == v)) {
+          obsoleteFilterJson.add(filterJson);
+        }
+      }
+    });
+
     // using array in `whereArgs` and using it with `where filter IN ?` is a pain, so we prefer `batch` instead
     final batch = _db.batch();
-    filters.forEach((filter) => batch.delete(coverTable, where: 'filter = ?', whereArgs: [filter.toJson()]));
+    obsoleteFilterJson.forEach((filterJson) => batch.delete(coverTable, where: 'filter = ?', whereArgs: [filterJson]));
     await batch.commit(noResult: true);
   }
 
diff --git a/lib/widgets/viewer/debug/debug_page.dart b/lib/widgets/viewer/debug/debug_page.dart
index 24d6c9d3f..cf89f3ed2 100644
--- a/lib/widgets/viewer/debug/debug_page.dart
+++ b/lib/widgets/viewer/debug/debug_page.dart
@@ -1,11 +1,7 @@
-import 'dart:ui' as ui;
-
 import 'package:aves/app_mode.dart';
 import 'package:aves/model/entry.dart';
 import 'package:aves/model/entry_images.dart';
-import 'package:aves/model/settings/enums/enums.dart';
 import 'package:aves/theme/icons.dart';
-import 'package:aves/widgets/home_widget.dart';
 import 'package:aves/widgets/viewer/debug/db.dart';
 import 'package:aves/widgets/viewer/debug/metadata.dart';
 import 'package:aves/widgets/viewer/info/common.dart';
@@ -31,7 +27,6 @@ class ViewerDebugPage extends StatelessWidget {
       if (context.select<ValueNotifier<AppMode>, bool>((vn) => vn.value != AppMode.view)) Tuple2(const Tab(text: 'DB'), DbTab(entry: entry)),
       Tuple2(const Tab(icon: Icon(AIcons.android)), MetadataTab(entry: entry)),
       Tuple2(const Tab(icon: Icon(AIcons.image)), _buildThumbnailsTabView()),
-      Tuple2(const Tab(icon: Icon(AIcons.addShortcut)), _buildWidgetTabView()),
     ];
     return Directionality(
       textDirection: TextDirection.ltr,
@@ -186,32 +181,4 @@ class ViewerDebugPage extends StatelessWidget {
           .toList(),
     );
   }
-
-  Widget _buildWidgetTabView() {
-    return ListView(
-      padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16),
-      children: [303, 636, 972, 1305]
-          .expand((heightPx) => [
-                Text('Widget heightPx: $heightPx'),
-                FutureBuilder<Uint8List>(
-                  future: HomeWidgetPainter(
-                    entry: entry,
-                    devicePixelRatio: ui.window.devicePixelRatio,
-                  ).drawWidget(
-                    widthPx: 978,
-                    heightPx: heightPx,
-                    outline: Colors.amber,
-                    shape: WidgetShape.heart,
-                    format: ui.ImageByteFormat.png,
-                  ),
-                  builder: (context, snapshot) {
-                    final bytes = snapshot.data;
-                    if (bytes == null) return const SizedBox();
-                    return Image.memory(bytes);
-                  },
-                ),
-              ])
-          .toList(),
-    );
-  }
 }