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Resolving WordPress Update and Language Pack Issues After Core Updates

25 threads Sep 7, 2025 Core → Installing wordpress

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Updating WordPress is crucial for security and performance, but it can sometimes introduce unexpected issues, particularly with language packs and the update process itself. This guide covers common post-update problems and their solutions, compiled from community reports.

Common Post-Update Language and Translation Issues

Many users report that after a major update (like to 6.6 or 6.7), their site's language reverts to English, or they cannot find their local language version for download.

Why This Happens: The core WordPress release (e.g., 6.6-en_US) is built first. Language packs for other locales (like es_ES or de_DE) are built and released shortly afterward by translation teams. There is often a delay of a few hours to a few days before all language packs are available.

Solutions:

  • Wait and Update Later: The simplest solution is to wait a short time. The 'Installing WordPress' team and translation volunteers work quickly to make all language packs available.
  • Update to en_US: You can safely update to the en_US version. Once the language pack for your locale is ready, it will be installed automatically as a translation update. Your site's content and menus will remain in your chosen language.
  • Check Language Settings: After the update, verify your language is still set in Settings > General and in your user profile (for the admin language).

Update Process Failures and Errors

Some updates, notably version 6.4, introduced bugs that broke the update functionality and admin area, often resulting in 504 Gateway Timeout errors or failed file copies.

Why This Happens: Specific bugs in the WordPress core code can conflict with certain server configurations. For example, a known issue in the Requests library used in WordPress 6.4 caused timeouts during updates.

Solutions:

  • Apply a Core Patch: For the specific WordPress 6.4 update bug, a community-provided patch involved modifying the /wp-includes/Requests/src/Transport/Curl.php file. Warning: Editing core files is an advanced troubleshooting step. Always back up the file first and consider seeking assistance if you are unsure. 
    /* const CURL_7_22_0 = 0x071600; */
...
if (!isset($headers['Connection'])) {
    A safer alternative is to wait for the official maintenance release (e.g., 6.4.1) which includes the fix.
  • Manual Update: If the automatic updater fails, you can perform a manual update by replacing your core files.
  • Hosting Provider: If you encounter a file copy error related to PHP execution (e.g., "Cannot validate since no PHP executable is set"), this is typically a server configuration issue. You will need to contact your hosting provider's support for resolution.

Plugin and Theme Translation Warnings

After updating to WordPress 6.7, you may see notices about translations being loaded too early for some plugins.

Why This Happens: WordPress 6.7 introduced a new check to ensure translation files are loaded at the correct time for optimization. Some older or poorly coded plugins or themes may load their translations too early, triggering this notice.

Solutions:

  • Update the Plugin/Theme: Contact the plugin or theme developer and report the issue. They need to update their code to load translations at the proper time (the 'init' action or later).
  • Ignore the Notice: If the notice is the only problem and the site functions normally, it is often safe to ignore it until the developer provides an update. You can also disable WordPress debug mode if the notices are visible on the front end.

General Troubleshooting Steps

For any update-related problem, always follow these steps first:

  1. Clear All Caches: Flush any caching plugins, server-side caches (e.g., Varnish, OPcache), and your browser cache.
  2. Conflict Test: Temporarily disable all plugins and switch to a default theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four). If the problem resolves, reactivate them one-by-one to find the culprit.
  3. Check Debug Log: Enable WP_DEBUG to log errors to a file (wp-content/debug.log). This can provide crucial clues.

Most update and language issues are temporary and are resolved quickly by the 'Installing WordPress' team and the wider community. When in doubt, the official WordPress.org support forums are an excellent resource for getting help from other users.

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