Changing the default language causes broken translation

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This topic contains 10 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Kor 6 months ago.

Assisted by: Kor.

Author	Posts
October 2, 2025 at 8:34 am #17450931
thomasR-47	Background of the issue: I am trying to change the default language on our website, hidden link, from German to English. The site is password-protected with User: EIZO and PW: Relaunch2025! We have built the website in German and also use English, French, and Chinese as languages. Approximately 50% of the pages were translated before changing the default language. Symptoms: After changing the default language to English, the fallback to the default language is not working properly. Additionally, when translating a page or custom post type using the Advanced Translation Editor, the translation status incorrectly changes to 'not completed,' even though the translation is 100% complete. This issue affects all non-source languages (English, French, and Chinese) and seems to have started after changing the default language. Questions: Why is the fallback to the default language not working properly after changing it to English? Why does the translation status change to 'not completed' after saving in the Advanced Translation Editor?
October 2, 2025 at 9:18 am #17451328
Kor	Thanks for contacting us. Please note that changing the default language will not automatically update the default language across all your pages. To achieve this, you’ll need to manually disconnect the translated page you want to use as the new primary language from the current primary page. After that, reconnect it and configure it as the new primary language page. Let me know if you understand what I'm trying to explain here.
October 2, 2025 at 9:24 am #17451348
thomasR-47	Hi Kor, can you please be more specific in your description? In your description of this topic, you state that you offer support. How can you assist us in this regard? https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/displaying-untranslated-content-on-pages-in-secondary-languages/manage-archive-listings-default-language-change/#what-happens-when-you-change-your-sites-default-language
October 2, 2025 at 9:27 am #17451369
Kor	Thanks for your reply. I will require temporary access (WP-Admin and FTP) to your Website to understand what's going on there. Please note that it is important to have a backup for security purposes and to prevent any potential data loss. You can use the UpdraftPlus plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/) to fulfill your backup requirements. Your upcoming reply will be treated with confidentiality and will only be visible to you and me. ✙ To resolve the issue, I may need your consent to deactivate and reactivate plugins and the theme, as well as make configuration changes on the site if necessary. This emphasizes the significance of having a backup.
October 2, 2025 at 9:30 am #17451374
thomasR-47	I'm not sure what you mean by "disconnect"...how to disconnect the pages. You can select which language they belong to, but we shouldn't change that, otherwise the English page would have German text. And you didn't address the problem that after saving, the status always changes to the cogwheel.
October 2, 2025 at 9:36 am #17451398
Kor	Thanks for your reply. You can refer to this article https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-disconnect-translations-from-the-default-language-page-or-post/ . Could you give this a try? As for "the status always changes to the cogwheel.", this usually means that there are some invalid contents that are preventing the translation from being saved correctly. I would need access to check on that.
October 2, 2025 at 9:49 am #17451453
thomasR-47	Hi, how should I send you the access details?
October 2, 2025 at 9:55 am #17451512
Kor	Thanks for your reply. I've enabled the private reply option for you.
October 2, 2025 at 4:30 pm #17452724
Kor	Thanks for your reply. I've checked your homepage here hidden link and everything seems to look fine when I changed languages. May I know which page you are working on or referring to? hidden link
October 6, 2025 at 10:11 am #17459517
thomasR-47	Could you please confirm whether any fixes or changes have already been made on your side — and if so, what exactly was done? 1. Main Issue: Language Switcher Not Working (EX2620-3D) After adjusting the Permalinks for the German product versions, the language switcher stopped working for the German products. Steps I took: Updated the German product permalinks. Saved the permalinks. Clicked WPML → Support → Update internal links. Since then, the product translations (German) no longer switch properly. Question: What needs to be considered when using WPML together with the Permalink Manager plugin? The WPML update link is currently still running. But I wanted to write anyway. 2. Description from My Colleague We originally built the website in German, and later added English, French, and Chinese. While about 50% of the content was translated, we changed the default language from German to English in WPML. Since then, the fallback to the default language (English) no longer works properly. We also experience another issue: When translating any page or custom post type (via the Advanced Translation Editor), the translation status unexpectedly changes to “Incomplete” — even though the translation is 100% done. Already completed translations are suddenly marked as “Incomplete” or “Assigned to a translator” after saving, and the gear icon reappears. This happens for all non-default languages: English, French, and Chinese. We believe this issue started after switching the default language. Example: hidden link 3. Additional Issues Downloads and products were also affected. Some examples where the translation or fallback does not display correctly: LL 550 W EX 5542 EX 3220 After editing these products, switching between languages often stopped working. We use the Download Monitor plugin to display PDFs via shortcode. Expected behavior: If no document exists in Chinese or French, the English version should always be used as a fallback. 4. Image Translations and Fallbacks Some images contain text within graphics (e.g. technical diagrams). If there is no translated version of such an image, the English image should automatically be displayed instead. Example: hidden link 5. Downloads This issue affects all downloads. They should be available in all languages, and if no localized version exists, the English file should automatically be shown as fallback. You can see this clearly in the Download Center. It also seems that some downloads are incorrectly linked to other products, for example: hidden link Summary of Issues Language switcher not working after permalink update. Translation status incorrectly shown as “Incomplete”. Fallback to English not functioning for products, downloads, and images. Possible conflict between WPML and Permalink Manager. Incorrect product-download associations.
October 7, 2025 at 5:21 pm #17465020
Kor	Thanks for your reply. I'd like you to know that our support policy allows us to take care of only one issue per ticket. Continuing with one issue per ticket helps not only supporters to focus on one issue at once, but also enables other users to find solutions to their questions faster. I'll try to answer your questions accordingly for now. 1. Main Issue: Language Switcher Not Working (EX2620-3D) Question: What needs to be considered when using WPML together with the Permalink Manager plugin? The WPML update link is currently still running. But I wanted to write anyway. *TEST SEB CuratOR EX2620-3D product is still in drafts when I checked here hidden link* , You need to publish it before the language switcher will work.** 2. Description from My Colleague We originally built the website in German, and later added English, French, and Chinese. While about 50% of the content was translated, we changed the default language from German to English in WPML. Since then, the fallback to the default language (English) no longer works properly. We also experience another issue: When translating any page or custom post type (via the Advanced Translation Editor), the translation status unexpectedly changes to “Incomplete” — even though the translation is 100% done. Already completed translations are suddenly marked as “Incomplete” or “Assigned to a translator” after saving, and the gear icon reappears. This happens for all non-default languages: English, French, and Chinese. We believe this issue started after switching the default language. Example: hidden link *I've edited the German language page here hidden link* and initiated the translation on the English page and it worked fine as shown in attached screenshot. 3. Additional Issues Downloads and products were also affected. Some examples where the translation or fallback does not display correctly: LL 550 W EX 5542 EX 3220 After editing these products, switching between languages often stopped working. We use the Download Monitor plugin to display PDFs via shortcode. Expected behavior: If no document exists in Chinese or French, the English version should always be used as a fallback. These products are pending/drafts, if you're not logged in as administrator, you won't be able to preview these drafts in translated languages. (check screenshots)** 4. Image Translations and Fallbacks Some images contain text within graphics (e.g. technical diagrams). If there is no translated version of such an image, the English image should automatically be displayed instead. Example: hidden link Which language are you viewing this? The link above shows the product images. 5. Downloads This issue affects all downloads. They should be available in all languages, and if no localized version exists, the English file should automatically be shown as fallback. You can see this clearly in the Download Center. It also seems that some downloads are incorrectly linked to other products, for example: hidden link Are you viewing these products that are still in preview/drafts? for En and De, the download files work fine.

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