I change the hosting and some text translation are broken now

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

Problem:
After changing hosting, text translations are broken, particularly in the Hungarian menu and WooCommerce orders in the admin area. This issue is due to character-encoding corruption likely caused by incorrect database charset settings during the migration.
Solution:
1. Back up your site and database.
2. Ensure your wp-config.php file includes the following settings:

define( 'DB_CHARSET', 'utf8mb4' );
define( 'DB_COLLATE', '' );

3. Convert your database and tables to UTF-8. Ensure all tables, including WPML’s icl_* tables, use charset utf8mb4 and collation utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci or utf8mb4_unicode_ci. Your hosting provider can assist with this change via phpMyAdmin or SQL/CLI.
4. If some text appears garbled (e.g., “PÃ©nztÃ¡r”), re-import the database with the correct encoding or repair the affected fields post-conversion.
5. After fixing the database:
• In WPML, go to Support → Troubleshooting and clear WPML caches and run safe repair tools.
• In Appearance → Menus, open and save each menu once.
• In WooCommerce → Status → Tools, clear transients and regenerate product lookups.
For more details, visit https://wpml.org/faq/texts-showing-as/

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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 issues persist, please open a new support ticket at our support forum.

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Tagged: Exception, Not WPML issue

This topic contains 7 replies, has 1 voice.

Last updated by mariyaG-3 4 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Andrey.

Author	Posts
October 23, 2025 at 7:27 pm #17513817
mariyaG-3	Background of the issue: I changed the hosting for my site hidden link and now some text translations are broken. I tried unregistering and registering WPML again, but the issue still exists. Symptoms: Text translations are broken after changing hosting. Specifically, the menu in Hungarian and WooCommerce orders in the admin area are affected. Questions: how can I fix the translations and order information (order information in admin)
October 23, 2025 at 7:56 pm #17513878
mariyaG-3	There is a problem with URL translation as well - cart and checkout pages... that causes a lot of trouble, with menus... in some languages (CZ, SK and others) I can't go to checkout page...
October 23, 2025 at 9:46 pm #17514195
Andrey WPML Supporter since 06/2013 Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский ) Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+02:00)	Thank you for contacting WPML support. What you’re seeing is classic character-encoding corruption after the hosting change. During the migration, the database export/import (or the MySQL connection) was likely set to latin1, while your data is UTF-8. That doesn’t affect English, but it breaks languages with accented characters. This isn’t a WPML bug—the data is being read with the wrong charset. You would see the same issue even with WPML disabled and WordPress set to one of those languages. How to fix it: 1. Back up the site and database first. 2. In wp-config.php, make sure: define( 'DB_CHARSET', 'utf8mb4' ); define( 'DB_COLLATE', '' ); 3. Convert the database/tables to UTF-8: ensure the database and all tables (including WPML’s icl_* tables) use charset: utf8mb4 and collation: utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci (or utf8mb4_unicode_ci if 520 isn’t available). Your host can help change this in phpMyAdmin or via SQL/CLI. 4. If some text is already garbled (e.g. “PÃ©nztÃ¡r”), re-import the database with the correct encoding, or repair the affected fields after the conversion (your host can assist). 5. After fixing the database: • WPML → Support → Troubleshooting: clear WPML caches and run the safe repair tools. • Appearance → Menus: open and save each menu once. • WooCommerce → Status → Tools: Clear transients and Regenerate product lookups. Some additional details: https://wpml.org/faq/texts-showing-as/ I hope this helps to resolve this issue.
October 23, 2025 at 10:20 pm #17514203
mariyaG-3	The main issue still remains: when I try to make a purchase for HU hidden link it redirect me to checkout and it is OK (EN, HR and SI are OK too) When I try to make a purchase for SK, CZ or RO it redirect me to wrong page and I cannot make an order: hidden link hidden link hidden link hidden link for these 3 countries SK, CZ or RO I cannot make a purchese, because it tedirect me to cart instead of checkout
October 24, 2025 at 5:27 am #17514582
mariyaG-3	after the hosting change, some redirects don't work: when I try to make a purchase for HU hidden link it redirect me to checkout and it is OK (EN, HR and SI are OK too) When I try to make a purchase for SK, CZ or RO it redirect me to wrong page and I cannot make an order: hidden link hidden link hidden link hidden link for these 3 countries SK, CZ or RO I cannot make a purchese, because it tedirect me to cart instead of checkout New threads created by Andrey and linked to this one are listed below: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-after-the-hosting-change-some-redirects-dont-work/
October 24, 2025 at 8:01 am #17515129
Andrey WPML Supporter since 06/2013 Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский ) Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+02:00)	Thank you for your feedback. I’ve opened a new ticket to address your other redirect issue. This helps ensure each problem receives the attention it deserves and makes it easier for other users with similar issues to find solutions when searching the forum. I’ll continue assisting you with that matter here: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-after-the-hosting-change-some-redirects-dont-work/
October 24, 2025 at 11:58 am #17516280
mariyaG-3	Martfű is Martf? ű and some other sumbols are not shown properly
October 24, 2025 at 12:22 pm #17516448
Andrey WPML Supporter since 06/2013 Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский ) Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+02:00)	Yes—“Martfű” showing as “Martf?” is the same encoding problem. What to do: 1. Make sure everything now uses utf8mb4 (wp-config, DB, and tables) so it doesn’t keep happening. 2. If it’s Martf?, you’ll need to restore from a pre-migration backup or manually retype that text (e.g., order address, term, string).
October 27, 2025 at 8:59 pm #17523712
mariyaG-3	thanks