How to Fix Add Media Button Not Working in WordPress

So, your Add Media button in the WordPress Admin Section stopped working? It’s not the end of the world, there are alternatives. Well, unless you’re also getting an “Upload: Failed to write file to disk” error, but that’s beside the point. There’s no denying how convenient this way of adding and editing media files is, and it would be a shame to lose the option. Lucky for you, you might not need to. The problem is always a certain conflict, often with JavaScript. Unfortunately, it’s up to you to troubleshoot and find where and when it happened. With that said, this is how to fix the Add Media button not working in WordPress.

Method 1. Quick and temporary fix

The easiest and fastest way to solve the non-working Add Media button in WordPress is by editing a wp-config.php file. To do that, follow our in-depth guide on how to access your WordPress website via FTP. Now, do this.

1. Open the public_html folder in FTP.
   It might also be named www, root, or yourwebsitename.
2. Right-click on the wp-config.php file.
3. Select View/Edit or just Edit, depending on what’s available.
4. Find the line that says /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */.
5. Add the following anywhere above that line:
   define (‘CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS’, false);
6. Save the file.
7. Check whether the Add Media button is now working.

To clarify, this only makes WordPress load individual scripts. This prevents JavaScript from coming into conflict with them, or certain WordPress core features. But, unless you get rid of the problem itself, you’ve just patched up the issue for a little while. So, continue troubleshooting.

Method 2. Try the browser Inspect tool

This is not a guaranteed fix by any means, but if you are lucky, it might mention the name of a plugin, theme, or file that’s causing the problem. If the problem was solved temporarily by Method 1, you can try reverting the change for a little while. You don’t have to delete the line, simply add # in front of it, and remove the character later to re-enable the fix.

1. Create a new post in your WordPress Admin Section.
2. Right-click anywhere on the page.
3. Select Inspect.
4. Navigate to the Console tab.
5. Try clicking on Add Media to generate an error log.
6. Check if anything that looks familiar appears in it.

Method 3. Turn PHP Errors

PHP errors are annoying, which is why we taught you how to turn off PHP errors in WordPress. However, the opposite can be very useful in this case. Check the article above to see how a line should look when they’re turned on. This can help point you in the right direction on its own. However, we recommend you install a third-party WordPress add-on such as Query Monitor for better visualization.

Method 4. Updating WordPress and clearing cache

We’ve made step-by-step guides on how to update WordPress and how to manually clean cache on WordPress.

Method 5. Disable WordPress plugins or themes

Whether you got any clues from Method 2 or Method 3 or not, it’s time to try this fix. Start by disabling the last plugin you installed. The next step we would try is to disable ALL plugins, just so you know whether any of them is the culprit. If it is, you know it’s worth investing time and effort searching which one is problematic. Move on to themes afterward, following these two easy ways:

1. Recommended. Install a third-party plugin such as Health Check & Troubleshooting. Unlike the steps below, it allows you to disable your active theme and all plugins for you only, not for your website visitors. It’s truly the best and safest option.
2. Radical. Since two common WordPress errors, white screen of death and “this site is experiencing technical difficulties” are also fixed by disabling one or all addons, and your active theme, follow the same steps.

What are my options?

If you find the root of the problem, you can do one of the following:

1. Keep a theme or plugin enabled while using Method 1 to temporarily keep things under control. During that time, contact the plugin/theme developer(s), explain the issue, and ask for assistance or for a new update.
2. Delete a WordPress theme or plugin permanently. Then, find an alternative in the massive WordPress database.
3. Do research on the Internet. For example, First, Visit WordPress Support pages. If that doesn’t help, read the Support Handbook, then ask for help on Support forums.
4. If the conflicting feature or function is very important, consider hiring a web developer. That person will have the knowledge and incentive to fix the problem, whether by editing current files or creating a custom function or plugin for you.