"The importer reported a generic error"

I purchased the Iphone 11, and premiere elements 14 is giving me the "importer generic error" code and not accepting the video clips......can anyone help

Hi there everybody,

SOLVED VERY SIMPLY.

I also encountered this same problem... many times and with lots of files. Basically, all you need to do is let Premiere search for the files again. if what works for you is to rename the file extension then go for it, if you want to move the files to a new folder that's fine, I just changed the Drive letter (Disk management in windows) and let Premiere locate all the footage once more. Everything relinked just fine, NO "importer reported generic error" thing and nothing to do with QuickTime and codecs. DON'T convert your files or uninstall and reinstall anything, I did that and wasted my time.

Cheers.

This might not work for everyone but it worked for me.

I'd been trying everything, including having my usually very helpful IT department guys, rebooting, looking at task finder, linking via another drive, cleared the media cache, etc etc. for a couple of hours.

In the end it was as simple as changing the file extension (in my case .MP4) from upper case to lower case (.mp4)

I blew my own mind and the IT guys' as well!

Such a painful error with no explanation.

I hope this works for other people!

If you have numerous files that have the issue use the 'Batch rename' option from the Tools menu in Adobe Bridge to change the extension to lowercase.

Under 'New Filenames'

Current Filename - Name - Original Case +

Current Filename - Extension - lowercase

If you haven't used 'Batch Rename' before and concerned you'll F up all your file names, go to preview and 'Export to CSV' before you click 'Rename' button.

At least then if you somehow rename files wrong, you can trace back to the filenames they were beforehand.

BACKSTORY:

My situation: Working on Adobe Premiere Projects between my personal Macbook and new PC at work.

I had all the original media and project on an external drive (Note: the project still worked when plugged into the PC)

I copied all the media to the PC internal drive for faster workflow and a backup of the original files.

When opening the project directly form the PC  internal drive and attempting to relink the offline media - the dreaded message "The importer reported a generic error' appeared.

So we plugged the external drive back in to the PC - the files linked up without an issue - weird!

They were an exact copy including file structure.

We closed project, rebooted, ejected external drive. Tried again via PC internal drive - same message - "The importer reported...'

Note: We also cleared the media cache - another suggestion we'd found.

After hours of dicking around and looking through forums I tried the above and was amazed it worked.

This might just be a Mac>PC thing but hopefully it works for others.

After going through the different replies I feel like you just have to rename the file in some way.
At least when it's just the extension change the file can still be found under the 'show exact name only'  tickbox.

(Maybe if the extension is already lowercase change it to UPPERCASE)

Good luck!

Adobe fix your stupid apps! Going back to 2017

I had this problem and solved it.

After a lot of testing, I discovered that the error went away if I reduced the filesize of the image.

The image I was trying to import was an 18 meg Photoshop file (2500 x 2500 pixels). I tried saving it as a 3 meg PNG file, which worked. I also tried halving the resolution, which worked.

So filesize seems to be key. I guess we need to work around this problem by compressing high res files, or reducing resolution if possible.

GOT A FIX.

First I MUST rant.

First off, I want to say that its super Sh*tty to see that consumers are finding resolutions rather than staff.

DIRECTORS and HUGE movie producers use this program, i can't seem to wrap my head around why this program has SO many issues and errors. My computer is more than enough to handle this program. It's far from a hardware issue. It's just...faulty, which is disappointing. (just want staff to read this lol).

ONTO THE FIX:

Straight up, super easy.

step 1: Right click on clip in timeline.

step 2: Select "Render and Replace..."

step 3: Select the format you want to use.

step 4: Use dynamic link.

DONE.

Fixed my issue. 

Had this issue when relinking offline media (r3d file).

Solved by uninstalling Premiere (and selecting option to remove preferences) and reinstalling. I deleted all cache and previews beforehand although that alone did not solve the issue for me. It was the reinstall that worked.

Same problem with a SRT (subtitle file). Many weeks working correctly on my project, and suddenly, the error message appears.

SOLUTION: Delete the XML file that Premiere generates automatically beside my SRT file (in the same folder, with the same name).

After that, all runs ok, the SRT file is fine imported.

Having the same problem: Had a .psd, client wanted me to change the text color and delete a part of a graphic on one layer,  The names of the layers did not change, though I had to merge two layers together, I made sure the NAME of that layer is the same.

I went into the psd to change the text color, and now Premiere is giving me this error.  I haven't changed anything in the original Photoshop file except the artwork in the layers.  Naturally, this is a core element of my 15 minute presentation video and it has animated layers... so reassigning everything will add a day, if not two to the job.  Client is very unimpressed.

Is there a fast way to fix this problem without having to relink everything (At best) or make a NEW psd (Identical to the old psd) and rebuild all elements from scratch (At worst)?

Premiere has updated twice since I started this project... Photoshop three times (Once made it unusable to my large computer for a while I presume it was a video card conflict, because it went away with the next update) is there any reason this isn't fixable?  I am on Creative Cloud for the updates, but honestly this feels remarkably unstable... and it's rather embarrassing to be sitting with a client and have to explain that I'm going to need to stop working with them and add a day because Premiere has decided it doesn't like my psd for some unclear reason.

1) Deactive and Reactive as suggested

2) Using the Alt + Shift option when I launch premiere worked for me.  I'm no able to work with the files again and didn't have to uninstall and reinstall