How to Fix the “Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance” Error in WordPress

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world thanks to the constant improvement of its functionalities, as well as the frequent updates of plugins, themes and the WordPress core itself. During these updates, WordPress puts your site in maintenance mode, showing the following message: “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.”.

This maintenance page isn’t an error – it is actually a notification of an ongoing update process. During the update process, any access to the site, backend or frontend, is denied. After a couple of minutes, the maintenance page should disappear as the update finishes. If this is not the case, it means there is an issue.

In this article, we will identify and analyze possible reasons for this error, which include memory issues, script interruption/timeouts or slow response from the server. We will also show you fitting solutions for each of these problems. Here’s what we’ll cover:

How to Fix the Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance Error in WordPress

During the update process, WordPress creates a temporary maintenance file. Upon completing the update, WordPress will delete the file, ending the maintenance mode. However, sometimes the update process gets interrupted, leaving the site stuck. Assuming the update was successful, you only need to delete the .maintenance file that remained on your server.

There are two ways to do this.

Solving the Error by Deleting the .maintenance File

If you want to delete the maintenance file this way, you need an FTP client, such as FileZilla. Connect to your server using your FTP credentials and navigate to the root WordPress directory.

The .maintenance file is usually hidden from FTP clients. To see it, enable the appropriate option(s) for showing hidden files within the chosen FTP client.

Then, find the file, right-click on it and press “Delete”.

Log in to cPanel, find the “Files” section near the top and press on “File Manager”.

Find your default WordPress directory on the left and navigate to it. Show hidden files by clicking on Settings in the top right corner, check the “Show Hidden Files(dotfiles)” option and click on the “Save” button.

Afterward, find the .maintenance file, right-click on it and click on “Delete”.

Solving the Error by Editing the wp-activate.php File

After deleting the .maintenance file, make sure to clear the cache and reload a page on your site. If the page is present, without any additional issues, it means that the error was solved. If the error is still here, it could mean that installation mode is somehow still active in WordPress. To fix it, you need to change the wp-activate.php file found in the root WordPress directory. You can do this using an FTP client or via cPanel, as previously shown.

For this option, you need to use an FTP client, such as FileZilla.

Start by connecting to the server using your FTP credentials. Navigate to the root WordPress directory and find the wp-activate.php file. Right-click on it and select “View/Edit”.

Open the file using any text editor and find this code near the beginning of the file.

define( 'WP_INSTALLING', true );

Using the same editor change the true to false. The code should look like this afterward.

define( 'WP_INSTALLING', false );

Save the edited file and upload it to the same directory on the server, overriding the existing file.

To implement this solution, log in to cPanel and press on “File Manager” that is located near the top, in the Files section.

Navigate to the root WordPress directory on the left and find the wp-activate.php file in the central part of your screen. Download it and open it using some text editor.

Find the define( ‘WP_INSTALLING’, true ); near the beginning of the file and change the true to false within that line of code.

Save the change and use the edited file to override the one currently on your server. Clear the browser cache afterward and try to access your page again.

How to Fix the Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance Error by Performing Manual Updates

If the previous two attempts have been unsuccessful, the issue you have may be caused by an incomplete/improper update. To solve the error, you need to manually update the theme, WordPress core or plugin via FTP. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it, consider finding a developer for this task.

For the newest version of your theme, contact your theme authors. The newest WordPress can be found on their Download page. As for plugins, you first need to determine which one is the culprit and then manually update it via FTP.

To determine the culprit, connect to the server using your FTP credentials and navigate to the wp-content folder. Right-click on the plugins folder and select “Rename”. Rename it according to your wishes (e.g. plugins.old).

This will disable all plugins, allowing you to log in to your dashboard.

Then, rename the folder plugins.old back to plugins via FTP. This re-enables your plugins and shows the error once more.

Open the plugins folder and rename a plugin in a similar fashion (e.g. plugin-name.old), clear browser cache and review the page. As long as the “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance” error page is shown, the plugin isn’t to blame. Repeat the process for every single plugin, one by one. The first instance of the error page disappearing determines the culprit. Then, refer to the plugin authors for the plugin’s latest version.

Other Helpful Advice

Even though the error has already been solved, here are a few pieces of advice on how to prevent it or improve the user experience if it happens again.

Updating Your Plugins One by One

Avoid unnecessarily draining server memory by bulk plugin updates. On top of that, updating plugins one by one makes it easier to find the culprit of the issue, thus avoiding the renaming hassle we described in the previous section.

Not Closing Your Browser Tab Mid-Update

It might seem obvious, but closing the tab during the update can happen accidentally, so it is important to be mindful of your steps. Remember what was updating at the moment (WordPress core, theme or a specific plugin) and try to update it manually, via FTP.

Using a Staging Site for Updates

One of the important features a hosting provider can offer is staging sites. Make sure to consult with them on setting up a staging site. They can prove very helpful, allowing you to test potentially incompatible updates or common troubleshooting errors. In combination with regular backups, it can be a great asset for managing a live WordPress site.

Customizing Your Maintenance Page

As updates or any other kind of maintenance are necessary, engaging with your site visitors during this process is equally important. A well thought out maintenance page can work wonders for user experience. An interesting image and/or a humorous remark, coupled with a downtime estimate and an alternative means of communication is the go-to formula. There are plenty of WordPress plugins available for this purpose – we suggest using Coming Soon Page, Under Construction & Maintenance Mode by SeedProd.

By editing the Content and Design tabs in only a couple of minutes, you can create and enable your personalized maintenance page.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, now you understand why most of the time, this error is just a notice and not an actual problem. However, if you are dealing with an error, it is relatively easy to find its cause and deal with it accordingly – so keep this guide in your bookmarks!