Changing English texts automatically also change translated previous texts back

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
If you're experiencing issues where updating English text on your website causes translations in other languages to revert to the newly updated English text, we can help.
Solution:
We recommend performing a SQL query to address this issue. Before proceeding, ensure you have a full backup of your website to prevent any critical issues. If possible, test this on a staging version of your site. Open your database administration tool (like PhpMyAdmin) and execute the following SQL query:

DELETE FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_key = '_icl_lang_duplicate_of';

Remember to adjust the table prefix 'wp_' if yours is different.

This solution might be outdated or not applicable to your specific case. We highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the issue persists, please open a new support ticket.

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Tagged: Documentation request

This topic contains 3 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Lucas Vidal de Andrade 1 week, 5 days ago.

Assisted by: Lucas Vidal de Andrade.

Author	Posts
April 9, 2025 at 3:22 pm #16914867
robbertB-6	Background of the issue: I am trying to manage translations on my website hidden link using WPML. Whenever I change an English text on the website, the translations in other languages revert to the newly updated English text. Symptoms: Changing English texts automatically changes translated texts back to English. Questions: Is there a way to prevent translated texts from reverting to English when I update the English text?
April 9, 2025 at 3:33 pm #16914911
Lucas Vidal de Andrade WPML Supporter since 11/2023 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Portuguese (Brazil) (Português ) Timezone: America/Sao_Paulo (GMT-03:00)	Hey there, It's possible that the translation is a duplicate of the original. If that's the case, it's expected that the translation gets overwritten by the original, when the original content is updated. Please refer to this documentation for more details: https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/displaying-untranslated-content-on-pages-in-secondary-languages/ If the document is a duplicate, you should be able to see the "Translate independently" option in the Language options inside the page, which should solve it. See attached image. Let me know if the option is available to you and if it works.
April 9, 2025 at 9:19 pm #16915982
robbertB-6	Hi Lucas, Thanks! So, if I understand correctly, if I don't want this to happen again, I have to go through all different languages and then all different pages and posts to switch it off? No, 'do for all' button? 😛 (Just to be sure, before I spend hours on disabling it). Once again, thank you!
April 10, 2025 at 7:08 pm #16920333
Lucas Vidal de Andrade WPML Supporter since 11/2023 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Portuguese (Brazil) (Português ) Timezone: America/Sao_Paulo (GMT-03:00)	Hey there, Thank you for waiting. There's a SQL query that does that in Bulk. Please make to sure to have a full website backup before proceeding, as this can cause critical issues. If possible, it's best to test in a staging version of your website. Open your DB admin (you can use PhpMyAdmin, or other tool of your choice) and run this query: DELETE FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_key = '_icl_lang_duplicate_of'; Please note that your table prefix 'wp_' might be different, so adjust it if needed. Let me know how it goes.