diff --git a/app/models/upload.rb b/app/models/upload.rb
index 22b47682a..6b4f0782b 100644
--- a/app/models/upload.rb
+++ b/app/models/upload.rb
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ class Upload < ActiveRecord::Base
     url = url.sub(/^#{Discourse.asset_host}/i, "") if Discourse.asset_host.present?
     # when using s3, we need to replace with the absolute base url
     url = url.sub(/^#{SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url}/i, Discourse.store.absolute_base_url) if SiteSetting.s3_cdn_url.present?
-    Upload.find_by(url: url) if Discourse.store.has_been_uploaded?(url)
+    Upload.find_by(url: url)
   end
 
   def self.fix_image_orientation(path)
diff --git a/spec/models/upload_spec.rb b/spec/models/upload_spec.rb
index 958447514..1e41637fe 100644
--- a/spec/models/upload_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/upload_spec.rb
@@ -141,11 +141,6 @@ describe Upload do
       Upload.get_from_url("http://my.cdn.com/uploads/default/1/02395732905.jpg")
     end
 
-    it "works only when the file has been uploaded" do
-      Upload.expects(:find_by).never
-      Upload.get_from_url("http://domain.com/my/file.txt")
-    end
-
   end
 
 end