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Why Your UpdraftPlus Scheduled Backups Aren't Running (And How to Fix It)

28 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Updraftplus: wp backup & migration plugin

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The Mystery of the Missing Scheduled Backups

You've configured UpdraftPlus perfectly: the schedule is set, remote storage is connected, and manual backups work flawlessly. Yet, days or weeks go by with no sign of an automatic backup. This is one of the most common frustrations users report with the 'UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin'. The good news is that the cause is rarely the plugin itself, but rather how it interacts with your WordPress site's scheduling system.

Why Does This Happen? The Root Cause

WordPress relies on a system called WP-Cron to run scheduled tasks. Unlike a server-level cron job, WP-Cron only triggers when someone visits your website. If your site has low traffic, especially during the scheduled backup time, the event may never fire. Other common causes include a configuration that disables WP-Cron, conflicts with other plugins, or a need to resynchronize the plugin's settings.

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide

Step 1: Investigate WP-Cron with WP Crontrol

The first step is always to check if WordPress itself is aware of the backup schedule. The free WP Crontrol plugin is an essential diagnostic tool for this.

  1. Install and activate the WP Crontrol plugin.
  2. Navigate to Tools -> Cron Events in your WordPress admin dashboard.
  3. Search for hooks containing the term 'updraft'.
  4. You should see events named updraft_backup and updraft_backup_database with next run times that match your schedule. If they are missing or show a past date, your WP-Cron isn't scheduling them correctly.

Step 2: Check Your WP-Config.php File

Some hosting environments or developers disable the default WP-Cron to improve performance, which will stop all scheduled tasks.

  1. Access your site's files via FTP or your host's file manager.
  2. Open the wp-config.php file in a text editor.
  3. Look for this line: define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );
  4. If this line is present and set to true, it is disabling your scheduled tasks. You can either remove the line entirely or change true to false.

Step 3: Resave Your Settings or Perform a Reset

Sometimes, the plugin's internal schedule can become de-synchronized from WordPress. A simple reset can often fix this.

  1. Go to UpdraftPlus -> Settings.
  2. Change your backup schedule to Manual and click Save Changes.
  3. Then, set your desired schedule again (e.g., Daily, Weekly) and click Save Changes once more.
  4. Recheck the cron events in WP Crontrol to see if the tasks have been properly rescheduled.

For more persistent issues, you can wipe the settings entirely from UpdraftPlus -> Advanced Tools -> Wipe Settings. Warning: This will erase all your current UpdraftPlus settings, and you will need to reconfigure them from scratch.

Step 4: Set Up a Server Cron Job (For Low-Traffic Sites)

If your site doesn't get regular visitors, the most reliable solution is to trigger WP-Cron from the server level.

  1. In your wp-config.php file, ensure DISABLE_WP_CRON is set to true.
  2. Access your server's control panel (e.g., cPanel) or use SSH.
  3. Set up a new cron job to run every 15-30 minutes. The command should be a wget or curl call to your site's WP-Cron URL:
wget -q -O - https://yourwebsite.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1

This command will 'visit' your site's cron file at regular intervals, ensuring scheduled tasks like backups run even with zero visitors.

Step 5: Verify Remote Storage Synchronization

In some cases, backups may be running but not displaying correctly in the dashboard due to a sync issue with your remote storage (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive).

  1. In the Existing Backups tab, click the Rescan remote storage link.
  2. This will force the plugin to check your remote storage and update the list of available backups.

When All Else Fails: Provide a Log

If the problem persists after trying these steps, the next step is to examine the backup log. This file contains a detailed record of every action UpdraftPlus attempts.

  1. Go to UpdraftPlus -> Existing Backups.
  2. Click the View Log button next to a recent backup attempt (manual or scheduled).
  3. The log contents will be very long. Copy the text and paste it into a text-sharing service like Pastebin.com or GitHub Gist.
  4. You can then share the link to the log when seeking help from the community, as it allows others to see exactly where the process may be failing.

By methodically working through these steps, you can almost always identify and resolve the issue preventing your UpdraftPlus scheduled backups from running, ensuring your valuable site data is protected automatically.

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