diff --git a/main/file.c b/main/file.c
index 9896c7e..cf33125 100644
--- a/main/file.c
+++ b/main/file.c
@@ -653,8 +653,10 @@ static int fileexists_test(const char *filename, const char *fmt, const char *la
 		return 0;
 	}
 
-	if (!ast_media_cache_retrieve(filename, NULL, buf, buflen)) {
-		return filehelper(buf, result_cap, NULL, ACTION_EXISTS);
+	if (!is_absolute_path(filename)) {
+		if (!ast_media_cache_retrieve(filename, NULL, buf, buflen)) {
+			return filehelper(buf, result_cap, NULL, ACTION_EXISTS);
+		}
 	}
 
 	if (ast_language_is_prefix && !is_absolute_path(filename)) { /* new layout */