Error: The uploaded file could not be moved

Hi barisko,

Thank you for your message!

In order to better assist you, we would appreciate it if you could provide us with the following information:

• An explanation of when exactly this issue happens: doing what action, clicking on what button, on what screen, with what settings, etc.
• Your site information. For this, please go to Tools > Site Health > Info, click on the “Copy site info to clipboard” button and paste the information here.
• Is the issue occurring in more than one web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, etc.)?
• Does the issue happen with newly uploaded images, or only with existing images?

Thank you,

Hi, I just encountered the same issue.
WP 6.1.1
Enable Media Replace 4.0.1

Steps:
1. From Media Library, I click Replace media for a specific image
2. Then I get Replace Media Upload screen. Usually, I will see the old image. But now, I can only see a grey cross. Screenshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xA7iZAYxgQN9YuGsaW5Knxdm2G2Jvmhw/view?usp=sharing
3. If I continue and click Choose File and choose a new image, I will see the new image on the right side but somehow the image box doesn’t follow the image dimensions. And I got warning about different file type. Screenshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XLIJVmkTWFk0r5FtMkL3a5cUg3vLLQcv/view?usp=sharing
4. When I still continue and click Upload, I will get the same error message as what barisko provided in the beginning of this thread.

Site info: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13SQ5xTAHYwrmIHazEnpWDsH_sQt95l1D/view?usp=sharing

Uploading new media works. I only have issue when trying to replace an image using your plug-in. I tried using different browsers (Edge and Firefox) with the same result.

Hi ihutagalung,

Sorry, I think I didn’t explain myself properly. Does the issue happen when you try to replace an image that has been uploaded today, or does it only happen with existing images from time ago?

Thanks!

hi sixaxis,

The files are old image files. There are 3 image files that I replace every month with a new/updated one. The last time I did that was on 12 November (last month), which worked fine.

An explanation of when exactly this issue happens: doing what action, clicking on what button, on what screen, with what settings, etc.
1. Go to Media Library
2. Open image
3. Click ‘Upload a new file’
4. Browse and select new file
– Replace options: Just replace the file
– Date Options: Replace the date with the current date
5. Click upload

Is the issue occurring in more than one web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, etc.)?
– Firefox & Chrome

Does the issue happen with newly uploaded images, or only with existing images?
– Newly uploaded images

Site information:

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version: 5.6
site_language: nl_NL_formal
user_language: nl_NL_formal
timezone: Europe/Amsterdam
permalink: /%postname%/
https_status: true
multisite: true
user_registration: false
blog_public: 1
default_comment_status: closed
environment_type: production
user_count: 10
site_count: 1
network_count: 1
dotorg_communication: true

### wp-active-theme ###

name: ****** (******)
version: 1.0.0.3
author: ******
author_website: https://******.com/
parent_theme: none
theme_features: core-block-patterns, post-thumbnails, automatic-feed-links, title-tag, menus, html5, custom-background, customize-selective-refresh-widgets, custom-logo, custom-header, widgets
theme_path: /home/******/public_html/******/wp-content/themes/******

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Center: version: 1.0.0.3, author: ******
Retraites: version: 1.0.0.4, author: ******
Sangha: version: 1.0.0.3, author: ******

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WP Migrate DB Compatibility: version: 1.2, author: Delicious Brains

### wp-plugins-active (25) ###

Activity Log: version: 2.8.5, author: Activity Log Team
Admin CSS MU: version: 2.5, author: Arun Basil Lal (latest version: 2.7)
Advanced Custom Fields: version: 5.9.3, author: Elliot Condon (latest version: 6.0.6)
Bootstrap for Contact Form 7: version: 1.4.8, author: Felix Arntz
Classic Editor: version: 1.6.2, author: WordPress Contributors
Contact Form 7: version: 5.3.1, author: Takayuki Miyoshi
Custom User Profile Photo: version: 0.5.3, author: VincentListrani
Divi Builder: version: 4.19.2, author: Elegant Themes (latest version: 4.19.3)
Enable Media Replace: version: 4.0.1, author: ShortPixel
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Grow Social by Mediavine: version: 1.18.1, author: Mediavine (latest version: 1.20.2)
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Polylang: version: 2.9, author: WP SYNTEX
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Regenerate Thumbnails: version: 3.1.4, author: Alex Mills (Viper007Bond) (latest version: 3.1.5)
Widget for Google Reviews: version: 1.9, author: RichPlugins <[email protected]> (latest version: 2.2.4)
Wordfence Security: version: 7.8.2, author: Wordfence
WP Mail SMTP: version: 2.5.1, author: WPForms (latest version: 3.6.1)
WP Migrate Lite: version: 2.5.0, author: Delicious Brains
WP Table Builder: version: 1.4.5, author: WP Table Builder
Yoast Duplicate Post: version: 3.2.6, author: Enrico Battocchi & Team Yoast
Yoast SEO: version: 15.4, author: Team Yoast

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Crop Thumbnails: version: 1.2.6, author: Volkmar Kantor (latest version: 1.4.0)
HubSpot All-In-One Marketing - Forms, Popups, Live Chat: version: 7.48.24, author: HubSpot (latest version: 9.2.12)
iThemes Security: version: 7.9.0, author: iThemes

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image_editor: WP_Image_Editor_Imagick
imagick_module_version: 1690
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gd_version: bundled (2.1.0 compatible)
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WP_SITEURL: undefined
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COMPRESS_SCRIPTS: undefined
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WP_LOCAL_DEV: undefined
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DB_COLLATE: undefined

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wordpress: writable
wp-content: writable
uploads: writable
plugins: writable
themes: writable
mu-plugins: writable

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version: 2.5.1
license_key_type: lite
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db_tables: wp_wpmailsmtp_tasks_meta

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@barisko Could you please update your WordPress installation as well as all your plugins and theme? I see that many components are outdated, so perhaps there’s a bug that has been fixed long ago?

Thank you,

hi @sixaxis, how about my case? Do we have a clear root cause on the issue? I can see that the error only happens when it’s old image, e.g. images I last replaced using your plugin on 12 November 2022. For a new image that I uploaded on 14 December 2022, it doesn’t happen.

ihutagalung, could you please open a new thread for your particular case? The troubleshooting steps may be different, so we’d like to keep things organized.

Thank you!

@sixaxis thanks for your reply. The theme is a custom theme build by a third party. I’m not comfortable upgrading to the latest version of WP because I’m not sure if the theme will break.

I understand, barisko. However, WordPress 5.6 was released more than 2 years ago, and many things have changed since then.

Updating WordPress is an essential step of the troubleshooting process, so when you get a chance to do it, let us know how it worked!

Hello @barisko,

I noticed that among other plugins, you’re also using Polylang.

Can you please try to temporarily deactivate this plugin, then try to replace a file and let us know if it works? We recently got another report regarding Polylang preventing our plugin from doing the replace properly and I’d like to double check if this is the issue here as well.

Thanks!

string(210) "The uploaded file could not be moved to /home/[sitename]/public_html/[sitename]//wp-content/uploads/2023/01/file.pdf. This is most likely an issue with permissions, or upload failed."

Unfortunately, the same error with Polylang disabled.

Unfortunately, the same error with Polylang disabled.

I understand, then it must be something else.
Just to clarify: are you getting this error message with a newly uploaded file that you are trying to replace, or it happens just on older files? I’m asking this because older files might have their paths and/or metadata corrupted. If that’s the case, then it’s best to simply delete that old file and upload it again.

With new files.

Hello @barisko, can you please try again with version 4.0.2 that was just released and let us know if you still face the same issue, with newly uploaded files? Thanks!