diff --git a/models/common.py b/models/common.py
index 4f93887c55e0..f914c9d60fdb 100644
--- a/models/common.py
+++ b/models/common.py
@@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ def forward(self, imgs, size=640, augment=False, profile=False):
             files.append(Path(f).with_suffix('.jpg').name)
             if im.shape[0] < 5:  # image in CHW
                 im = im.transpose((1, 2, 0))  # reverse dataloader .transpose(2, 0, 1)
-            im = im[..., :3] if im.ndim == 3 else np.tile(im[..., None], 3)  # enforce 3ch input
+            im = im[..., :3] if im.ndim == 3 else cv2.cvtColor(im, cv2.COLOR_GRAY2BGR)  # enforce 3ch input
             s = im.shape[:2]  # HWC
             shape0.append(s)  # image shape
             g = (size / max(s))  # gain