DocumentationExperience Cloud KCS

AEM: Assets removed or not accessible error when editing asset metadata

Last update: October 6, 2026

In Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), an Error: Some assets are either removed or not accessible. Please refresh assets and try again. message appears when editing and saving asset metadata. The issue is intermittent, affects only certain users or assets, and occurs when asset or metadata requests are blocked in the browser. To resolve the issue, identify and remove client-side request blocking.

Description description

Environment

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), all supported versions

Issue/Symptoms

  • When attempting to edit and save metadata for assets in AEM, the error Error: Some assets are either removed or not accessible. Please refresh assets and try again. appears.
  • Asset thumbnails do not display for some assets.
  • The issue is intermittent and affects only certain users or assets.
  • Other users, including administrators, are not affected, and the issue cannot be reproduced through impersonation.
  • In browser developer tools, failed asset requests show errors such as net::ERR_BLOCKED_BY_CLIENT.
  • The browser console indicates that metadata could not be fetched and may show active browser extensions or custom scripts.
  • No corresponding error or access-denied event appears in server-side AEM logs for the affected assets.

Root cause

This issue occurs when browser extensions, such as ad blockers, privacy tools, or custom scripts, or client-side security policies block asset or metadata requests in the browser. As a result, AEM cannot access the resources required to complete the metadata save operation. This is not a server-side AEM failure.

Resolution resolution

Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

  1. Isolate the browser environment:

    • Ask the affected user to reproduce the issue using a clean browser session, such as a Chrome Guest profile or a browser session with all extensions disabled.
    • Alternatively, test using a different browser.

  2. Test asset metadata editing by attempting to edit and save metadata for both a previously affected asset and a known-working asset.

  3. Observe the outcome:

    • If the error does not occur in the clean browser session, confirm that a browser extension or client-side policy is blocking asset requests.
    • If the issue persists, collect new HAR and browser console logs from the clean session for further analysis.

  4. Identify and disable problematic extensions or policies:

    • Review the installed browser extensions and disable or remove any extensions that may block requests to AEM, such as ad blockers, privacy tools, or custom scripts.
    • If necessary, engage the browser security team to help identify and address the blocking extension or policy.

  5. Confirm that asset metadata can be edited and saved successfully after disabling the problematic extension or policy.

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