DaVinci Resolve Media Offline Error

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Relink the clips

   Copy steps
   1. Open the Media Pool, select the offline clips
   2. Right-click > Relink Selected Clips and point to the folder holding the footage
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Reconnect the drive

   Copy steps
   1. Confirm the drive is mounted at the same path/letter as before
   2. Restart Resolve after reconnecting
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Delete the render cache

   1. Playback > Delete Render Cache > All
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Check the codec

   Copy steps
   1. Windows: install the HEVC codec extension if the clip is HEVC
   2. Otherwise transcode to ProRes or DNxHR with HandBrake/ffmpeg and import the new file
   Did this fix it? Yes No

5. 5. Reset GPU mode

   1. Preferences > System > Memory and GPU, set GPU Processing Mode to Auto, save and restart
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Clips in the timeline show a red "Media Offline" screen, even though files exist on disk.

Why it happens

• Files moved, renamed, or on a drive that mounts with a different path
• Drive disconnected or letter changed
• Codec not supported by the edition or OS (e.g. HEVC, or H.264 on the free Linux build)
• Corrupt render cache
• GPU acceleration compatibility problem

This guide also covers

• davinci resolve media offline
• davinci resolve media offline fix
• davinci resolve relink media

The same problem in other apps

All not loading, error messages & connection guides →

• Premiere Pro Error Compiling Movie (Adobe Premiere Pro)
• CapCut Not Working: No Internet Connection Error (CapCut)
• LumaFusion 'There Was an Error Reading Media in Your Project' (LumaFusion)

Other DaVinci Resolve errors

• DaVinci Resolve "GPU Memory Is Full" Error
• DaVinci Resolve Crashing on Startup
• DaVinci Resolve Playback Choppy or Laggy
• DaVinci Resolve Render Job Failed Error
• DaVinci Resolve No Audio on Linux (AAC Codec)
• DaVinci Resolve "Unsupported GPU Processing Mode" Error
• DaVinci Resolve Keeps Crashing or Freezing
• DaVinci Resolve Studio License Activation and Transfer