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[Resolved] I need help with assigning myself as a translator in WPML Translation Management.

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

Problem:
The client was unable to assign themselves as a translator in WPML Translation Management, receiving a warning that they need to add themselves as an English translator first.
Solution:
We recommended the following steps to resolve the issue:
1. Add the following code to the 

functions.php

file:

function wpmlsupp_1706_reset_wpml_capabilities() {<br />    if ( function_exists( 'icl_enable_capabilities' ) ) {<br />        icl_enable_capabilities();<br />    }<br />}<br />add_action( 'shutdown', 'wpmlsupp_1706_reset_wpml_capabilities' );

2. Visit the frontend to execute the code.
3. Remove the code after the issue is resolved.

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.

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This topic contains 6 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by chun-haoH 2 weeks, 6 days ago.

Assisted by: Noman.

Author Posts
September 14, 2025 at 4:58 pm #17400143

chun-haoH

Background of the issue:
I am trying to assign myself as a translator in WPML Translation Management. I attempted to select a page to translate and assign the task to myself using the 'Translate myself' option. The issue can be seen at this link: hidden link.

Symptoms:
I received a warning message stating: 'In order to assign yourself as translator, you first need to add yourself as English translator to the site. Add yourself as 英語 translator and click check again or choose a different translation option.'

Questions:
How can I add myself as an English translator to the site?
What steps should I take to resolve the warning message and assign myself as a translator?
September 14, 2025 at 5:43 pm #17400254

Noman
WPML Supporter since 06/2016

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Asia/Karachi (GMT+05:00)

Hi,

Thank you for contacting WPML Support. Could you please try to add yourself as translator with correct language pairs by following the below steps:

1. Go to the WPML >> Translation Management.
2. Click on the “Translators” tab.
3. Press the “Add a translator” button.
4. Choose the “Select an existing user and set as Translator” option(screenshot attached).
5. Type the username and choose the user.
6. Add the correct language pairs.
7. Now, try to add a translation yourself and see if this resolves the issue.

Kindly let me know the results,
Thank you

Add a translator.jpg
September 15, 2025 at 1:34 pm #17402517

chun-haoH

Hi,

Thank you for your reply and instructions.

I followed the exact steps you provided:
1. Went to WPML → Translation Management → Translators
2. Clicked on Add a translator
3. Selected Select an existing user and set as Translator
4. Tried searching for my own account (email: fetishshop.25@gmail.com)

However, my account does not appear in the search results, so I cannot add myself as a translator.

Please see the attached screenshot for reference.

Could you kindly advise on what else I can try, or if this can be checked from the backend?

Thank you very much for your continued support.

截圖 2025-09-15 晚上9.33.38.png
September 15, 2025 at 3:43 pm #17403325

Noman
WPML Supporter since 06/2016

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Asia/Karachi (GMT+05:00)

Thanks for trying the above steps. Could you please try to follow the below steps and see if this resolves the issue:

1. Take a backup of your site first for safety reasons.

2. We have recently released WPML 4.8.1, please update it to the latest version and see if this resolves the issue. You can update it from Plugins >> Add New Plugin page, click the Commercial tab, and then click the “Check for updates” button.

Here is the screenshot for more details: https://wpml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/wpml-force-plugin-update-1.png

3. If the issue persists, please provide temporary access (WP-Admin and FTP Login info) to your site (preferably staging site), so that I can look into your setup and debug the issue.

Your next answer will be private, meaning only you and I can access it.

=== Please backup your database and website ===

✙ I would need your permission to deactivate and reactivate Plugins and the Theme and to change configurations on the site. This is also a reason the backup is essential.

Thank you
September 16, 2025 at 3:28 pm #17406834

Noman
WPML Supporter since 06/2016

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Asia/Karachi (GMT+05:00)

Thanks for providing the login details. I followed the below steps:

1. Added the below code in functions.php file:

function wpmlsupp_1706_reset_wpml_capabilities() {
    if ( function_exists( 'icl_enable_capabilities' ) ) {
        icl_enable_capabilities();
    }
}
add_action( 'shutdown', 'wpmlsupp_1706_reset_wpml_capabilities' );

2. Visited the frontend once to execute the code.
3. Removed that code and the issue is gone as you can see in the attached screenshot.

Could you please check and confirm?

Thank you for your cooperation and patience

translator 1.jpg
September 16, 2025 at 3:52 pm #17406994

chun-haoH

Yes, the issue has been resolved, but could you please explain what caused it? How can I avoid this in the future and troubleshoot it on my own?

Thank you for your help.

截圖 2025-09-16 晚上11.49.51.png
September 16, 2025 at 4:15 pm #17407089

Noman
WPML Supporter since 06/2016

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Asia/Karachi (GMT+05:00)

Glad to hear the issue is resolved. The problem was caused because your user account was missing some WPML translation capabilities. By running the reset code, we forced WPML to re-apply its default capabilities to all users, which made your account appear as a translator again.

In most cases, this can happen if capabilities are corrupted after updates, role changes, or when a plugin/theme interferes with user roles.

To avoid this in the future:

- Always keep WPML and related add-ons updated.
- If the issue happens again, you can try re-saving your user role or temporarily re-assigning it.
- As a last resort, you can add the same reset code I used to functions.php, visit the site once, then remove it.

Thank you

September 16, 2025 at 4:40 pm #17407178

chun-haoH

I completely understand. Thank you very much for your help.