When Immersive Translate keeps old wording after a page update, first confirm the extension still produces text—it is lagging, not dead. Hard-refresh and check whether the source HTML changed; then use whatever re-translate or clear-result control your current popup/options UI shows (no invented fixed button names). If only one site stays stale while static pages keep up, focus on dynamic DOM and a second trigger. Total silence everywhere belongs on the not-working track—not a reinstall loop.
People hunting Immersive Translate cache fixes or force re-translate usually already saw bilingual output, then watched a redesign or article edit leave yesterday’s wording stuck on the page. That is a different layer from “icon present, every page silent,” which belongs in the not-working checklist. Phones that cannot host extensions → mobile browser options. Channels and versions return to the download page; everyday triggers live in the webpage translation guide. This post stays on stale-but-working judgment, steps, and when to stop.
Stale output vs totally silent
Scenario: you suspect a bad Immersive Translate cache and cannot tell whether to clear results or reinstall.
How to tell: open the problem page—if translation blocks or bilingual layers still appear but mismatch the latest source, stay on “stale.” If no site produces text, toggles do nothing, or the icon is dead, treat it as fully broken.
What to do: use a short page you know well and screenshot before/after; compare with a rarely visited static page. Static OK + problem page stale → this article. Silent everywhere → not-working checklist.
When to stop: once you confirm “no text” rather than “old text,” leave the cache track and switch fault lines.
Hard refresh: confirm the source changed
Scenario: a normal reload still shows the previous wording, so you blame the extension.
How to tell: the browser may still serve cached HTML; the extension translates the DOM it sees now. If the source never updated, “unchanged translation” is expected.
What to do:
- Hard-refresh the tab (Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+R; macOS: Cmd+Shift+R), or clear site data and reopen.
- Temporarily disable the extension, verify the source paragraphs are the new version, then re-enable and trigger once.
- If you compare in a private window, allow the extension there first—or you will misread “refresh did nothing.”
When to stop: the source itself never changed—stop blaming the extension. If hard refresh shows new source but old translation, move to force re-translate.
Force re-translate via current settings UI
Scenario: the source is confirmed new; the translation still sticks to old copy.
How to tell: the extension may reuse prior results for that URL or paragraph. Whether the UI says “re-translate,” “clear translation,” “refresh results,” or similar must follow the popup and options copy in your installed build—this article does not promise a fixed “Clear cache” label or that every version ships one.
What to do:
- Open the extension popup and options/settings; search or scan for cache, re-translate, or clear-result controls as actually labeled.
- Run one re-translate-style action on the current tab (name per UI); on large pages prefer the visible region first.
- Still stale: close the tab, open the same URL fresh, trigger again; confirm the extension is enabled with enough access for that host.
- If channel or version is unclear, verify on the download page—skip third-party “one-click cache cleaner” add-ons.
When to stop: no re-translate/clear entry exists in settings, and hard refresh + a new tab still fail after two full attempts—note the site and browser, then check dynamic pages or split tracks instead of reinstall loops.
After a site redesign, old blocks stick
Scenario: a theme swap or docs layout change reshapes the page, but translations still hang on old headings.
How to tell: redesigns reshuffle classes and nodes. Leftover translation nodes can overlay the new DOM and feel like “uncleared cache”; style conflicts can also look broken while the wording is already fresh.
What to do: after hard refresh, separate “old wording” from “messy layout.” Old wording → keep force re-translate. Fresh wording but overlap → adjust display/contrast options as labeled in settings. Input fields mistranslated are a different track—see form input skip checks.
When to stop: only decorative layers misalign and body meaning already matches the new source—stop clearing cache; fix display/contrast instead.
SPA residue on partial route changes
Scenario: in dashboards, docs apps, or social feeds, a detail view still shows the previous article’s translation.
How to tell: SPA route changes replace DOM in pieces. If the extension does not re-run on new nodes—or old translation nodes linger—you get “page changed, translation did not.” First paint works, after-route staleness is not a global install failure.
What to do: wait until the main content settles, then trigger manually; if needed, hard-refresh the tab. Deeper private-window and SPA timing checks live in incognito and SPA troubleshooting. For infinite scroll, wait until new cards enter the DOM before translating again.
When to stop: static pages always keep up, only one complex app is sticky, and hard refresh temporarily fixes it—accept “re-trigger on this site” rather than reinstalling for one host.
When to stop and which track to use
Scenario: you already hard-refreshed and searched the UI for re-translate, but the issue remains—or side effects grow.
How to tell: avoid reinstall loops and mystery packages. Switch tracks by symptom; do not call every glitch “cache.”
What to do (split):
- Text appears but wording is old / needs force re-translate → this article.
- No text, enablement failure → not-working checklist.
- Heat and dropped frames after heavy re-translates → high-CPU checks.
- Only inputs/forms misbehave → field checks.
- Icon works; only shortcuts fail → shortcut conflict checks.
- Phone cannot install extensions → mobile options.
- Everyday bilingual triggers → webpage translation guide; channels → download page.
When to stop: hard refresh plus in-UI re-translate/new-tab each verified twice, source is new, and only one site occasionally lags with acceptable readability—stop grinding. Safety and install channel beat another fake “cache wipe.”
FAQ
Old translation after refresh—broken?
If text still appears, try hard refresh then UI re-translate; total silence → not-working.
Fixed “Clear cache” button?
Not invented here. Follow your build’s settings; otherwise hard-refresh and trigger again.
Only one site stays stale?
Compare a static page. Prefer SPA/CDN and re-trigger—do not reinstall first.
Force re-translate causes lag?
Narrow scope; persistent heat → high-CPU checklist.
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Available for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, with workflows for web pages, PDFs, and video subtitles.