WordPress is the most used CMS that we know, so you have to learn more about its errors if you are looking to be a PRO. In this small tutorial, we help you to solve this “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.” Error. This one usually comes for a WordPress core update or some other plugins for which you enabled the auto-update mode. If you are in a hurry, just do what we say (we recommend you leave it for a while, like 30 – 60 minutes, and test again).

What is Briefly Unavailable For Scheduled Maintenance?

This usually comes up when you are updating one of the components in your plugin or theme. The website should be unavailable for minutes only, so if it took more than an hour, something is off with it. The problem is that the .maintenance file in your public_html isn’t being deleted, and your panel keeps showing the message.

How to solve the problem?

One of the easiest ways is to delete the “maintenance” file in the file manager. To do this, open the CPanel or DirectAdmin file manager and go to the public_html. After that, you see a “.maintenance” file in there, and it’s colored purple. Now you can delete that file and try again to log in! This way is easier, but we have some more if you have no access to the file manager.

To See Hidden Files in CPanel, there is a setting on the top right (Show hidden files).

Still Stuck on The Maintenance?

To solve this one, there is a file called wp-activate.php that is in the same folder. Maintenance file. There is a code “define (‘WP_INSTALLING’, true)” and you have to change that true to false and save. After this one, your panel should be active and working without any problems!

Has my site changed after doing all these?

If you are having a new destroyed site after doing this, the only thing that you can do is to test all the plugins first. Surely one of the plugins needs an update or is not working with the chosen theme. We recommend doing this first, deactivate all of them first, and active them one by one to see which one is the void there! You can find many freelancers on Fiverr or Freelancers with a dead cheap price like $10-$20 so you don’t do anything at all.

Ok All Good Now, How to Prevent this Shit?

One of best ways to prevent this error is following what we say 😀

• Try to get a better hosting if you are having a good traffic.
• Before installing any plugins, check them with your theme (If it works buggy, use an alternate).
• Don’t try to close the window on a WP update.
• Test all the plugins every 3-4 months. Nowadays they can easily crack your site with some AI BS.

Thanks!

We really appreciate your comment or even a read. This article can solve your problem in a minute without anything extra! If you still have the same issue after doing all these, Palasht can help with that :).