diff --git a/rslib/src/backend.rs b/rslib/src/backend.rs
index 8a84ce183..cc2b4bcea 100644
--- a/rslib/src/backend.rs
+++ b/rslib/src/backend.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ use crate::backend_proto::{Empty, RenderedTemplateReplacement, SyncMediaIn};
 use crate::err::{AnkiError, NetworkErrorKind, Result, SyncErrorKind};
 use crate::latex::{extract_latex, ExtractedLatex};
 use crate::media::check::MediaChecker;
-use crate::media::files::remove_files;
 use crate::media::sync::MediaSyncProgress;
 use crate::media::MediaManager;
 use crate::sched::{local_minutes_west_for_stamp, sched_timing_today};
@@ -368,7 +367,9 @@ impl Backend {
     }
 
     fn remove_media_files(&self, fnames: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
-        remove_files(&self.media_folder, fnames)
+        let mgr = MediaManager::new(&self.media_folder, &self.media_db)?;
+        let mut ctx = mgr.dbctx();
+        mgr.remove_files(&mut ctx, fnames)
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/rslib/src/media/mod.rs b/rslib/src/media/mod.rs
index 51eaab001..bffa82f15 100644
--- a/rslib/src/media/mod.rs
+++ b/rslib/src/media/mod.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 use crate::err::Result;
 use crate::media::database::{open_or_create, MediaDatabaseContext, MediaEntry};
-use crate::media::files::{add_data_to_folder_uniquely, mtime_as_i64, sha1_of_data};
+use crate::media::files::{add_data_to_folder_uniquely, mtime_as_i64, remove_files, sha1_of_data};
 use crate::media::sync::{MediaSyncProgress, MediaSyncer};
 use rusqlite::Connection;
 use std::borrow::Cow;
@@ -91,6 +91,25 @@ impl MediaManager {
         Ok(chosen_fname)
     }
 
+    pub fn remove_files<S>(&self, ctx: &mut MediaDatabaseContext, filenames: &[S]) -> Result<()>
+    where
+        S: AsRef<str> + std::fmt::Debug,
+    {
+        remove_files(&self.media_folder, &filenames)?;
+        ctx.transact(|ctx| {
+            for fname in filenames {
+                if let Some(mut entry) = ctx.get_entry(fname.as_ref())? {
+                    entry.sha1 = None;
+                    entry.mtime = 0;
+                    entry.sync_required = true;
+                    ctx.set_entry(&entry)?;
+                }
+            }
+
+            Ok(())
+        })
+    }
+
     /// Sync media.
     pub async fn sync_media<F>(&self, progress: F, endpoint: &str, hkey: &str) -> Result<()>
     where
diff --git a/rslib/src/media/sync.rs b/rslib/src/media/sync.rs
index 19ec0f144..f12a9bbee 100644
--- a/rslib/src/media/sync.rs
+++ b/rslib/src/media/sync.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ use crate::err::{AnkiError, Result, SyncErrorKind};
 use crate::media::changetracker::ChangeTracker;
 use crate::media::database::{MediaDatabaseContext, MediaDatabaseMetadata, MediaEntry};
 use crate::media::files::{
-    add_file_from_ankiweb, data_for_file, mtime_as_i64, normalize_filename, remove_files, AddedFile,
+    add_file_from_ankiweb, data_for_file, mtime_as_i64, normalize_filename, AddedFile,
 };
 use crate::media::MediaManager;
 use crate::version;
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ where
                 determine_required_changes(&mut self.ctx, &batch)?;
 
             // file removal
-            remove_files(self.mgr.media_folder.as_path(), to_delete.as_slice())?;
+            self.mgr.remove_files(&mut self.ctx, to_delete.as_slice())?;
             self.progress.downloaded_deletions += to_delete.len();
             self.maybe_fire_progress_cb()?;