Troubleshooting Polylang Media Library Issues: Images Not Showing or Duplicating

Many WordPress users who implement multilingual sites with the Polylang plugin encounter a common and frustrating set of problems related to their media library. Issues range from images not appearing when editing in a secondary language to the creation of confusing duplicate media entries. This guide will explain why these problems occur and provide the most effective solutions based on community reports and common fixes.

Why Do These Media Library Issues Happen?

The core of these problems lies in how Polylang handles media when its media translation feature is active. By default, WordPress media items are not associated with a language. When Polylang's media translation is enabled, it treats images, PDFs, and other uploads as translatable content, much like posts or pages. This means each media item can have translations, and the media library filter will try to show only media in the current language you're editing.

This intended behavior often leads to unexpected results, such as:

• An empty or seemingly incomplete media library when editing a post in a secondary language.
• Duplicate media entries appearing after enabling or disabling the feature.
• Inability to set a featured image because the meta box disappears or the correct image can't be found.
• Conflicts with other plugins that manage the media library (e.g., folder organizers like Happy Files).

Common Solutions and How to Apply Them

1. Configure Media Translation Settings

The first and most important step is to understand and configure Polylang's media settings according to your needs.

• Navigate to: Languages → Settings in your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Find the setting: "Activate languages and translations for media".
• If you do NOT need to translate media (e.g., use the same image across all languages with one caption/description): Keep this option UNCHECKED. This is the most common solution and will prevent most of the issues described above. The media library will behave normally and show all items regardless of the post's language.
• If you DO need to translate media (e.g., have unique image titles, alt text, or descriptions for each language): Keep this option CHECKED. You will then need to ensure you assign the correct language to each media item and create translations for them, just as you would for a post.

2. Assign Languages to Existing Media (If Using Media Translation)

If you have chosen to use media translation and your library is empty in secondary languages, your existing media likely has no language assigned. To fix this:

1. Go to the main Media Library screen.
2. Switch the language filter at the top of the screen to "All languages" to see every media item.
3. Edit each media file and assign it the appropriate language in the language meta box. You can then create translations for it.

3. Resolving Duplicate Media Entries

This problem often occurs when media translation has been enabled, disabled, or when there is a conflict. Warning: Proceed with caution and always backup your database first.

• If media translation is now disabled but you have duplicates, the duplicates are likely broken entries. Use a dedicated database cleanup tool or plugin designed to safely remove orphaned media entries from the database without breaking posts they are attached to.
• Do not manually delete duplicates from the media library screen, as they may share underlying files and deleting one can break the other, causing missing images on your site.

4. Check for Plugin and Theme Conflicts

As seen in the sample threads, themes like Uncode and plugins like Happy Files Media Folder can sometimes interact poorly with Polylang's media handling.

1. Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four).
2. Deactivate all plugins except Polylang.
3. Check if the media library issue is resolved.
4. If it is, reactivate your theme and plugins one by one, testing after each activation, to identify the source of the conflict. Once identified, you may need to contact the theme/plugin developer for compatibility advice or look for an alternative solution.

Conclusion

Most media library issues in Polylang stem from a misunderstanding of the media translation feature. For the vast majority of users who simply want to use the same images across different languages, disabling the "Activate languages and translations for media" setting is the simplest and most effective solution. For those who require translated media metadata, careful management of media language assignments is necessary. Always remember to clear your cache and create a backup before making significant changes to your settings or database.