How to Fix WordPress Another Update Is Currently in Progress

This message usually means WordPress left a core update lock in the database after an interrupted core update. Wait a few minutes first, then clear only the core_updater.lock option if you are sure no update is still running.

Use the safest path in this order: check wp-admin first, then use your host’s database tool if the lock is stuck, and use WP-CLI only when SSH is available.

Quick checks before changing anything

Open Dashboard > Updates in wp-admin and refresh once. If the page still shows an update running, do not delete anything yet.

Check whether the site is also showing WordPress maintenance mode. WordPress documents failed auto-upgrades and maintenance mode as common update problems in its common WordPress errors guide. If visitors see “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance,” that points to a leftover .maintenance file.

That file is related to failed updates, but it is not the same as core_updater.lock. The lock is a database option that blocks another core update. The .maintenance file is a temporary file in the WordPress root folder that can leave the public site showing a maintenance message.

Use this order:

1. Wait 15 minutes.
2. Refresh Dashboard > Updates.
3. Check your host’s update or backup activity if it manages WordPress core updates.
4. Clear core_updater.lock from the database only if the message remains.
5. Remove .maintenance only if the site is also stuck in maintenance mode.

Safest fix order

1. Wait, then retry from wp-admin

WordPress sets an update lock so two core updates do not run at the same time. If the update is still active, removing the lock can leave files halfway through replacement.

Wait about 15 minutes, then go to:

Dashboard > Updates

If the error is gone, run the core update normally. Do not make a database change.

2. Check for host-managed updates

Some hosts run WordPress updates from their own control panel. If your host has automatic core updates, staging pushes, restore jobs, or malware cleanup tools, check that panel before touching the database.

Contact hosting support instead of deleting the lock when:

• The host panel shows a WordPress update or restore in progress.
• File timestamps in wp-admin or wp-includes are changing.
• The site is currently being restored from backup.
• You are on managed WordPress hosting and cannot access the database safely.

3. Back up the database

Clearing this error usually needs one database row removed. Before editing the database, create a fresh database backup from your hosting panel.

If your host offers a one-click backup, use that. If you use phpMyAdmin, export the database before making the change.

Clear the stuck lock in phpMyAdmin

Use phpMyAdmin or your host’s database tool when you do not have SSH access.

1. Open phpMyAdmin from your hosting panel.
2. Select the WordPress database for the affected site.
3. Open the options table. It is often named wp_options, but the prefix may be different.
4. Search the option_name column for:

core_updater.lock

1. Delete only that row.
2. Return to Dashboard > Updates and refresh.

If you prefer SQL, adjust the table name if your prefix is not wp_:

DELETE FROM wp_options
WHERE option_name = 'core_updater.lock';

Do not empty the whole options table. Do not delete unrelated transients or update rows to “clean up” the database. This fix is narrow on purpose.

Optional SSH method with WP-CLI

If you have SSH and WP-CLI access, this is quicker than phpMyAdmin. WP-CLI’s official command reference is available at developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands.

First check whether the lock exists:

wp option get core_updater.lock --skip-plugins --skip-themes

If it returns a value and you have already confirmed no update is running, delete it:

wp option delete core_updater.lock --skip-plugins --skip-themes

The --skip-plugins --skip-themes flags help avoid unrelated plugin or theme errors while reading the option.

If maintenance mode is also stuck

If visitors see the maintenance message after the update failed, use SFTP or your host’s file manager and look in the WordPress root folder, the same folder that contains wp-config.php.

Delete the .maintenance file only if no update is running. Then reload the site and wp-admin.

A site can have core_updater.lock, .maintenance, or both after an interrupted update. Clear the database lock to fix the “Another update is currently in progress” message. Remove .maintenance only when the site itself is still showing the maintenance notice.

Confirm it worked

After clearing the lock, go back to Dashboard > Updates.

A working recovery looks like this:

• The “Another update is currently in progress” message is gone.
• WordPress shows the normal update screen.
• You can run the core update once.
• The site front end still loads after the update.

If the update fails again, stop repeating the lock deletion. Check the PHP error log in your hosting panel, then review available disk space, file permissions, and security tools that may block WordPress from replacing core files.

Rollback and escalation

If you deleted the wrong database row, restore the database backup you created before editing.

Ask your host or developer to handle the update when the error returns immediately after deletion, wp-admin shows a critical error, the database table prefix is unclear, or file ownership prevents WordPress from writing to core folders. In those cases the lock is usually a symptom, not the root cause.