The WordPress another update in progress message stops updates dead and prevents any further update from starting until the lock is cleared. The full notice in the WordPress dashboard typically reads: “Another update is currently in progress” — sometimes appearing as a modal, sometimes as a notice in the Updates screen, sometimes preventing a plugin, theme, or core update from launching at all. What is actually happening when you see the WordPress another update in progress error is that WordPress has found a lock record in the database indicating that an update process started and never cleanly finished. WordPress uses this lock to prevent two updates from running simultaneously — which could corrupt files. The problem is that the lock is sometimes left behind after a failed or interrupted update, and it never gets cleared automatically. Until you clear it, the WordPress another update in progress error blocks every subsequent update attempt indefinitely. The good news is that clearing the lock is a simple, low-risk operation that takes under two minutes in most cases. For a broader walkthrough, our WordPress Errors Complete Guide is a good next read.
Why WordPress Shows the Another Update in Progress Error
WordPress uses a database option called core_updater.lock — or similar plugin-specific and theme-specific equivalents — to manage update concurrency. When an update starts, WordPress writes this option to the database with a timestamp. When the update finishes successfully, WordPress deletes the option. The WordPress another update in progress error appears when WordPress reads the database and finds this lock option still present — indicating, from WordPress’s perspective, that an update is still running.
The most common cause of the WordPress another update in progress error is an update that started but was interrupted before completion. A browser tab being closed mid-update, a PHP timeout on a slow server, a network interruption during the package download, or a fatal error in the update process itself can all leave the lock record in the database without completing the update. WordPress detects the abandoned lock on the next update attempt and shows the WordPress another update in progress error to prevent a new update from starting while it believes one is already running.
A less common but important cause of the WordPress another update in progress error is a genuinely concurrent update running on a different browser session, a server-triggered automatic update, or an update initiated through WP-CLI that has not yet completed. Before clearing the lock, spend thirty seconds confirming that no legitimate update is actually in progress — check whether the site’s files are being modified by looking at their timestamps via FTP, and check whether any other administrator might have started an update from a different session. The WordPress another update in progress error from a genuine concurrent process should be allowed to complete rather than cleared, because force-clearing a running update’s lock can corrupt the files being updated.
Delete the Update Lock to Fix WordPress Another Update in Progress
Clearing the abandoned lock is the fix for the WordPress another update in progress error in virtually every case. The lock is stored as a row in the wp_options database table, and deleting that row releases the lock and allows future updates to proceed normally.
- Log in to phpMyAdmin through cPanel or your hosting panel’s database management tool
- Select your WordPress database from the left sidebar — it is the database referenced in
wp-config.phpasDB_NAME - Click the
wp65_optionstable (using your actual prefix if different from wp65_) - Click the Search tab and search for
option_namecontainingupdateandlock— look for rows namedcore_updater.lock,auto_updater.lock, or similar lock entries with recent timestamps - Delete the lock row or rows found — click the red Delete icon next to each lock entry
- Return to the WordPress admin, reload the Updates page, and confirm the WordPress another update in progress error has cleared
- Proceed with the update that was previously blocked
If phpMyAdmin is not available or you prefer a WordPress-level fix, the WP-CLI command wp option delete core_updater.lock deletes the core update lock directly from the command line without needing to navigate the database GUI. For plugin update locks, which are stored as auto_updater.lock, the equivalent command is wp option delete auto_updater.lock. WP-CLI is available on most VPS environments and many managed WordPress hosting platforms, and it is the fastest path to clearing the WordPress another update in progress error when SSH access is available.
Understanding the WordPress Update Lock Mechanism
The database lock that causes the WordPress another update in progress error contains a Unix timestamp recording when the lock was created. WordPress also checks this timestamp — if the lock is older than a certain threshold (typically 15 to 30 minutes), WordPress considers it stale and may ignore it or show a different message. The WordPress another update in progress error that persists for hours or days after the failed update is one where the timestamp is being treated as still active despite the original process being long gone.
The lock entries most likely to produce the WordPress another update in progress error and where to find them in the database:
-- Core update lock: SELECT * FROM wp65_options WHERE option_name = 'core_updater.lock'; -- Auto-update (background) lock: SELECT * FROM wp65_options WHERE option_name = 'auto_updater.lock'; -- Any update-related lock (broader search): SELECT * FROM wp65_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%updater%lock%';
Running these queries in phpMyAdmin’s SQL panel identifies exactly which lock entries exist and their timestamps. A timestamp from the past — any time before the current moment — belongs to an abandoned update rather than an active one, and deleting it safely clears the WordPress another update in progress error. If the timestamp is from the past few minutes, wait five to ten minutes before deleting to confirm the update is not actually still running on the server.
When a Real Concurrent Update Is Causing the WordPress Another Update in Progress Error
The WordPress another update in progress error from WordPress’s automatic background updater is worth distinguishing from the abandoned-lock scenario. WordPress runs automatic minor and security updates in the background without requiring admin interaction. If a background automatic update is running at the exact moment you attempt a manual update, the WordPress another update in progress error correctly prevents the two processes from colliding. This is the system working as designed.
The way to check whether a real automatic update is running: connect via FTP and look at the modification timestamps of files in wp-admin/ and wp-includes/. If these files are being modified in real time — their timestamps changing to the current minute as you watch — an update is genuinely in progress. Wait for the modification activity to stop, which typically takes two to five minutes for a security update, before attempting another update. The WordPress another update in progress error clears automatically once the background update completes and removes its own lock.
On hosting environments where automatic background updates are frequent — particularly managed WordPress hosts that apply security patches automatically — the WordPress another update in progress error from a genuine background update is more common than on self-hosted environments where auto-updates are disabled. Adding define( 'AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED', true ); to wp-config.php stops all background automatic updates, which prevents this specific form of the WordPress another update in progress error entirely — at the cost of needing to apply security updates manually. Most site owners should leave automatic minor updates enabled and instead develop the habit of checking for a running update before starting a manual one.
What Causes Updates to Fail and Leave the WordPress Another Update in Progress Lock
Preventing the WordPress another update in progress error from recurring means addressing the underlying reason updates are failing to complete cleanly. A PHP timeout is the most common cause — the update process exceeds the server’s max_execution_time limit before the lock can be released. A network interruption that drops the connection to WordPress.org download servers mid-download leaves the update incomplete and the lock in place. A file permission problem that prevents WordPress from writing updated files causes the process to terminate with an error, again without cleaning up the lock.
| Root Cause | How It Leaves the Lock Behind | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| PHP timeout | Process killed before lock deletion code runs | Increase max_execution_time to 300 seconds in php.ini |
| Network interruption | Download fails; update aborts without completing | Run updates on stable connections; use managed host with robust network |
| File permission issue | Write operation fails; process exits with error before lock cleanup | Verify correct permissions on WordPress core directories |
| Browser tab closed | Server-side process may continue but lock cleanup depends on process completion | Never close the browser during an update; use WP-CLI for uninterruptible updates |
| PHP fatal error during update | Error terminates process before lock removal | Keep plugins updated; test updates on staging before production |
Completing the Interrupted Update After Clearing the WordPress Another Update in Progress Lock
Clearing the WordPress another update in progress lock removes the barrier to new updates but does not retroactively complete the interrupted update that created the lock. After clearing the lock, the WordPress installation may be in a partially updated state — some files from the new version, some from the old. Running the interrupted update again through the WordPress admin or via WP-CLI after the lock is cleared resolves this by downloading and applying the complete package fresh.
For core updates that left the site in a mixed state, a manual update is the most reliable completion path. Download the current WordPress version from wordpress.org, extract it, and upload the wp-admin and wp-includes directories over the existing ones via FTP. This replaces every core file with the correct version regardless of what state the partial update left them in. For plugin or theme updates that triggered the WordPress another update in progress error, deactivating and deleting the partially updated plugin, then reinstalling it fresh from its source, is cleaner than attempting to re-run an update on a potentially corrupted installation.
Our guide on fixing the WordPress automatic update failed error covers the update process failures that most frequently create the abandoned lock behind the WordPress another update in progress error — addressing both the symptom (the lock) and the root cause (the update failing) together resolves the situation more completely than clearing the lock alone. Our guide on fixing WordPress stuck in maintenance mode covers the related maintenance mode file that is often left behind alongside the update lock when an update fails mid-process. The WordPress wp-config.php documentation covers the update-related constants including those that control automatic update behaviour and the conditions under which the WordPress another update in progress lock is created and expected to be cleared. See also WordPress Theme Broken After Update for a related case.
