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Troubleshooting Common Easy Updates Manager Conflicts and Issues

47 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Easy updates manager

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Easy Updates Manager (EUM) is a powerful tool for automating WordPress maintenance, but like any complex plugin, it can sometimes run into conflicts or unexpected behavior. Based on community reports and troubleshooting threads, here are the most common issues users face and how to resolve them.

1. Conflicts with Hosting Provider Settings

The Problem: Users often wonder if disabling automatic updates at the hosting level (e.g., on SiteGround or DreamHost) will conflict with EUM's operation.

The Cause: These settings control different things. Hosting-level settings typically manage core WordPress updates. EUM operates at the application level and manages updates for plugins, themes, and translations. A conflict is unlikely, but if core updates are disabled by the host, EUM may not be able to override that.

The Solution: Configure EUM to handle plugin, theme, and translation updates. For core updates, check your hosting provider's documentation to understand their specific update controls.

2. JavaScript and Plugin Conflicts

The Problem: EUM's settings page may not load correctly, options can't be selected, or the "Managed by Easy Updates Manager" status doesn't appear next to plugins. This was notably reported with plugins like HubSpot's 'all in one marketing' and 'Duplicate Page'.

The Cause: Other plugins can sometimes inject scripts or CSS that interfere with EUM's admin interface, preventing its JavaScript from functioning properly.

The Solution:

  1. Open your browser's Developer Tools (F12) and check the Console tab for errors when loading the EUM settings page.
  2. Temporarily deactivate other plugins one by one, checking after each deactivation to see if EUM starts working. This helps identify the conflicting plugin.
  3. If a conflict is found, you can often keep both plugins active and contact the other plugin's support to make them aware of the JavaScript conflict.

3. Updates Not Running on Low-Traffic or Staging Sites

The Problem: Automatic updates work on a live site but fail on a staging site or a site with very low traffic.

The Cause: WordPress relies on WP-Cron to schedule tasks like checking for updates. On sites with low traffic, WP-Cron events only trigger when a page is visited. Some hosts deliberately disable WP-Cron on staging environments to conserve resources.

The Solution: Install a plugin like WP Crontrol to view scheduled events. If WP-Cron is disabled, you may need to set up a real server cron job to regularly access your site's wp-cron.php file. Contact your hosting provider for assistance with this.

4. Failed Updates and Empty Logs

The Problem: Updates fail with an error email, but the EUM update logs are empty. Manual updates work fine.

The Cause: This can be caused by a plugin conflict (see point #2) or a server configuration that prevents EUM's processes from completing, such as a script timeout or memory limit.

The Solution:

  1. Follow the conflict troubleshooting steps above.
  2. Check your site's PHP error logs for any relevant messages around the time an update was attempted. Your hosting provider can help you access these logs.
  3. Ensure constants like DISABLE_WP_CRON are not set to true in your wp-config.php file, as this will prevent scheduled tasks from running.

5. Understanding Update Behavior with UpdraftPlus

The Problem: Confusion about whether EUM will trigger UpdraftPlus backups before automatic updates.

The Cause: Integration between the two plugins has specific requirements.

The Solution: According to the Easy Updates Manager team, EUM will trigger an automatic UpdraftPlus backup before performing updates. However, this integration does not work if you are using the "Force Updates" feature from the Advanced tab in EUM. A fix for this was planned for a future UpdraftPlus release.

6. Settings Persisting After Uninstallation

The Problem: After uninstalling EUM, the native WordPress auto-update toggles for plugins do not reappear.

The Cause: This is almost certainly not caused by EUM. The plugin must be active to affect your site. Once deactivated and deleted, it cannot change WordPress's behavior.

The Solution: The native WordPress auto-update interface is part of core. If it's missing, the cause is likely another plugin, your theme, or a wp-config.php setting that controls updates. Review any other management or security plugins you have installed.

By methodically working through these common scenarios, you can usually identify and resolve the issue preventing Easy Updates Manager from working smoothly on your WordPress site.

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