Trusted WordPress tutorials, when you need them most.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress
WPB Cup
25 Million+
Websites using our plugins
16+
Years of WordPress experience
3000+
WordPress tutorials
by experts

How to Fix Upside Down or Flipped Images in WordPress

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

Do you want to fix upside down or flipped images in WordPress?

When you upload images from mobile devices, these images may occasionally appear flipped or upside down in the WordPress media library. This seems to happen most often when you upload images from iPhone or other iOS devices.

In this article, we will show you how to fix upside down or flipped images in WordPress.

How to fix upside down or flipped images in WordPress

Why WordPress Shows Upside Down or Flipped Images?

Since version 5.3, WordPress has looked at the metadata embedded inside each image and then rotated the image based on that data. If you’ve installed WordPress 5.3 or higher, then most of the time WordPress should rotate upside down or flipped images automatically.

For more details about how WordPress uses metadata, please see our guide on how to add EXIF photo tags in WordPress.

However, some WordPress users still see flipped or upside down images in the WordPress media library.

A flipped image in the WordPress media library

If this is happening on your WordPress blog, then there are a few fixes you can try. If you prefer to jump straight to a particular method, then you can use the links below.

Method 1. How to Fix Upside Down or Flipped Images in the WordPress Media Library

You can do basic image editing in the admin area of your WordPress website, including rotating images or flipping them vertically. This lets you fix upside down or flipped images in WordPress without having to install any extra plugins.

To rotate or flip an image, simply open the WordPress media library by clicking on Media » Library in the left-hand menu.

The WordPress media library

You can then click on the upside down or flipped image that you want to rotate.

WordPress will now show some basic settings that you can use to edit the image, such as adding title attributes to images in WordPress or adding image alt text.

To rotate or flip the image, just click on the Edit Image button.

Editing an image in the WordPress media library

To rotate the image clockwise, simply click on the ‘Rotate right’ button.

To rotate the image counter-clockwise, go ahead and click on the ‘Rotate left’ button instead.

Rotating a flipped image in WordPress

Another option is to flip the image vertically.

To do this, simply click on the ‘Flip vertical’ button.

Flipping a WordPress image vertically

The live preview will update automatically, so you can play around with the settings until you’re happy with how the image looks.

Once you’ve finished, click on the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the image to save your changes.

If you make a mistake while editing the image, then you can simply keep clicking on the Undo button to undo each change until you’re happy with how the image looks.

The 'Undo' button in the WordPress media library

Already saved the image? You can restore the original image by selecting that image and then clicking on the ‘Edit’ button, exactly as we described above.

However, this time click on ‘Restore Original Image’ to expand this section. Finally, it’s time to click on the ‘Restore image’ button.

Restoring an image in the WordPress media library

After a few moments, you’ll see a message that the image was restored successfully.

You can also scale and crop images using the WordPress media library’s built-in tools. To learn more, see our step by step guide on how to do basic image editing in WordPress.

Method 2. How to Fix Upside Down or Flipped Images in WordPress Automatically

Fixing each image inside the WordPress media library can become time-consuming if you’re getting lots of flipped or upside images. With that in mind, you may want to rotate your images automatically using the Fixed Image Rotation plugin.

When you take a photo, smartphones typically create an Orientation value for that image. This plugin looks at the Orientation value and then rotates the image if needed. This all happens automatically, saving you time and effort.

Want to see the metadata that Fixed Image Rotation uses?

Many software editing programs let you check an image’s metadata. For example, you can check an image’s Orientation information using the Mac Preview app.

Simply open the image in Preview and then select Tools » Show Inspector.

The Preview app on macOS

In the popup that appears, click on the ‘General’ tab.

You can now see the Orientation value for this image. This is the information that Fixed Image Rotation uses to fix any upside down or flipped images.

Orientation data, embedded in an image

To fix these images in WordPress, the first thing you need to do is install and activate the Fixed Image Rotation plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, the Fixed Image Rotation plugin starts working automatically and there are no settings for you to configure.

You can now upload any image from your phone, and WordPress will flip that image automatically when needed.

We hope this article helped you learn how to fix upside down or flipped images in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to create a custom Instagram photo feed in WordPress, or check out our list of the most common WordPress errors and how to fix them.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

Get FREE access to our toolkit - a collection of WordPress related products and resources that every professional should have!

Reader Interactions

12 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

  2. Amy says

    When I clicked the link for iOS image fixer; it hasn’t been updated in two years and also says it hasn’t been tested with the most updated versions of WP.

    Is there another plug-in that you’d recommend instead?

  3. Tony Darbyshire says

    Though I edit my images prior to uploading them into the media library so that the orientation is correct, I’m suddenly finding that some images are coming in with the wrong rotation. When I try to use the edit image function in WordPress it then comes up with the following comment:

    Could not load the preview image. Please reload the page and try again.

    No matter how many times I refresh the media library it’s still coming up with this message.

    I’ve never had this problem before and I’m wondering if the latest version of WordPress has a bug that’s causing this? I have the latest WordPress update.

    Any advice on what’s causing this error, and how to fix it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

  4. jeff says

    I was having Flipped images issue on Iphone only, but images were fine on desktop and android.I used ios image fixer plugin. Weird things happened.Now some of the images on the desktop also got flipped and I continue to have flipped images on the iPhone. So the problem is worse now. What should I do now

  5. Kellie Ellermann says

    Hi,
    I’m having a real annoying thing happen, the images look normal in my wordpress.org media library (not flipped) but the ones (only that I took with my iphone) will then appear flipped ONLY when you view my site on mobile phone. It’s ALL normal and correct when it’s on desktop. HELP please it’s making me nutty and I fear detracting companies working with me :(

  6. Erin says

    Thanks so much for this. I’ve had images that wouldn’t rotate for months now. Has been frustrating the hell out of me.

Leave A Reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.