diff --git a/changelog.d/17424.misc b/changelog.d/17424.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d4a81c137f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/17424.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Make sure we always use the right logic for enabling the media repo.
diff --git a/synapse/app/homeserver.py b/synapse/app/homeserver.py
index 2b111847b7..e114ab7ec4 100644
--- a/synapse/app/homeserver.py
+++ b/synapse/app/homeserver.py
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ class SynapseHomeServer(HomeServer):
             )
 
         if name in ["media", "federation", "client"]:
-            if self.config.server.enable_media_repo:
+            if self.config.media.can_load_media_repo:
                 media_repo = self.get_media_repository_resource()
                 resources.update(
                     {
diff --git a/synapse/config/repository.py b/synapse/config/repository.py
index 1645470499..dc0e93ffa1 100644
--- a/synapse/config/repository.py
+++ b/synapse/config/repository.py
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ class ContentRepositoryConfig(Config):
         # Only enable the media repo if either the media repo is enabled or the
         # current worker app is the media repo.
         if (
-            self.root.server.enable_media_repo is False
+            config.get("enable_media_repo", True) is False
             and config.get("worker_app") != "synapse.app.media_repository"
         ):
             self.can_load_media_repo = False
diff --git a/synapse/config/server.py b/synapse/config/server.py
index a2b2305776..8bb97df175 100644
--- a/synapse/config/server.py
+++ b/synapse/config/server.py
@@ -395,12 +395,6 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
                 self.presence_router_config,
             ) = load_module(presence_router_config, ("presence", "presence_router"))
 
-        # whether to enable the media repository endpoints. This should be set
-        # to false if the media repository is running as a separate endpoint;
-        # doing so ensures that we will not run cache cleanup jobs on the
-        # master, potentially causing inconsistency.
-        self.enable_media_repo = config.get("enable_media_repo", True)
-
         # Whether to require authentication to retrieve profile data (avatars,
         # display names) of other users through the client API.
         self.require_auth_for_profile_requests = config.get(