Switching back to default language (NL) has wrong link, it stays on the same domain (.de or .eu)

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

Problem:
You are experiencing issues with language switching on your website using WPML with three domains. Specifically, when switching back to the default Dutch domain (dogmills.nl) from either the English (dogmills.eu) or German (dogmills.de) domains, the link does not revert to .nl as expected. Additionally, accessing the backend of dogmills.nl sometimes redirects to dogmills.eu, causing incorrect WPML language settings.
Solution:
We found that the problem is linked to one of the must-use plugins on your site, which seems to be configured for handling temporary domains. To resolve this issue, we recommend disabling these must-use plugins. You can do this by renaming the must-use plugin folder. After renaming, check if the language switching and domain redirection issues are resolved. If necessary, consult with the plugin author to understand the purpose of these plugins on your site and whether they are still needed.

If this solution does not apply to your situation, or if it seems outdated, please check the related known issues and confirm that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If problems persist, we highly recommend opening a new support ticket with us for further assistance.

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Tagged: Exception

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Last updated by Dražen 2 weeks, 5 days ago.

Assisted by: Dražen.

Author	Posts
April 9, 2025 at 7:54 am
jorgJ-3	Background of the issue: I am trying to manage language switching on my website with three domains using WPML. The default domain is dogmills.nl for Dutch (NL), dogmills.eu for English (EN), and dogmills.de for German (DE). I have set up the menu selector and shortcode in the header using Elementor Pro. I followed several manuals from WPML and Elementor and checked the domain aliases at my hosting provider. Symptoms: When I switch back to the default language (NL) from another language, the link remains on the same domain extension (.de or .eu) instead of switching back to .nl. This issue only occurs on the .nl domain. Additionally, when accessing the backend of dogmills.nl, it sometimes redirects to dogmills.eu, causing the WPML language settings to shift incorrectly. Like (NL) -> for dogmills.eu, (EN) for dogmills.nl Questions: What am I doing wrong with the language switching setup? Why does the backend of dogmills.nl redirect to dogmills.eu and cause WPML language settings to shift?
April 9, 2025 at 8:31 am
April 9, 2025 at 10:17 am #16912527
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, I have escalated it now to our 2nd tier to further check and advise. I will update when I have some news. Regards, Drazen
April 9, 2025 at 1:29 pm #16914071
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, can you check if you have any server side cache, and disable it? Let me know. Thanks, Drazen
April 9, 2025 at 2:36 pm #16914464
jorgJ-3	Hi Drazen, No there is no server side cache active.
April 9, 2025 at 2:39 pm #16914486
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, Thanks, I will forward it to our 2nd tier, so they can check further. Regards, Drazen
April 10, 2025 at 6:16 am #16916587
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, you said you do not have cache, but actually you do: - hidden link Please contact you hosting and make sure to disable all cache for your current website, and lets check if issue still happens. Regards, Drazen
April 10, 2025 at 7:48 am #16916962
jorgJ-3	I'm sorry, Yesterday evening I tried to switch from hostingprovider, in the hope that this was the solution. Unfortunatly that wasn't the case, but the new hostingprovider added the lightspeed-cache (I was not aware of that) I just deactivated it. The problem still remains.
April 10, 2025 at 8:59 am #16917324
jorgJ-3	Hi there, What I also noticed is that when I login via dogmills.eu and then go to WPML -> Language I see this : NL hidden link EN hidden link DE hidden link So for NL it just switched to .eu ???? Perhaps this is helpful for you.
April 10, 2025 at 9:03 am #16917334
jorgJ-3	And the same problem hapens when I login to dogmills.de: NL hidden link EN hidden link DE hidden link Now NL links to .de
April 10, 2025 at 10:50 am #16917919
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, I see it also, that might be a good clue, thanks for sharing. Is it okay if we take a copy of your website to try and reproduce same issue so we can debug it further? Thanks, Drazen
April 10, 2025 at 10:54 am #16917947
jorgJ-3	No problem at all. I just checked the website again. And now the .nl & .eu are all in english.
April 10, 2025 at 11:34 am #16918229
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, thanks. I checked further, and I can see the issue is caused by one of the must-use plugins you have, something that is used for temporary domains. Please disable them, you can rename the must-use plugin folder and then it should work fine. Probably they do something to domains, you can check further with the author of this plugins, why and if needed for your website. Regards, Drazen
April 10, 2025 at 11:44 am #16918285
jorgJ-3	Ooh, WOW 🙂 I renamed the MU-plugin and it is working. Never thought off that. Thank you very much for this great work. Best regards.
April 10, 2025 at 11:52 am #16918299
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, thanks, have a nice day! I will be closing the ticket now. Regards, Drazen