Action Scheduler

Resolved

jlk

(@jlkogut)

At this time, the following warning message is display in WP (# of past due actions continues to increase):

“Action Scheduler: 12 past-due actions found; something may be wrong.”

System Status Report is listed below for reference. Please let me know if any additional information is need to determine steps to follow to rectify the issue.

System Status Report

### WordPress Environment ###

WordPress address (URL): [Redacted]
Site address (URL): [Redacted]
WC Version: 10.7.0
Legacy REST API Package Version: The Legacy REST API plugin is not installed on this site.
Action Scheduler Version: ✔ 3.9.3
Log Directory Writable: ✔
WP Version: 6.9.4
WP Multisite: –
WP Memory Limit: 1 GB
WP Debug Mode: –
WP Cron: ✔
WP Environment Type: production
Language: en_US
External object cache: –

### Server Environment ###

Server Info: LiteSpeed
Server Architecture: Linux 4.18.0-553.44.1.lve.el8.x86_64 x86_64
PHP Version: 8.3.30
PHP Post Max Size: 1 GB
PHP Time Limit: 1500
PHP Max Input Vars: 2000
cURL Version: 8.19.0
OpenSSL/OpenSSL 1.1.1w  11 Sep 2023

SUHOSIN Installed: –
MySQL Version: 11.4.10-MariaDB-cll-lve-log
Max Upload Size: 1 GB
Default Timezone is UTC: ✔
fsockopen/cURL: ✔
SoapClient: ✔
DOMDocument: ✔
GZip: ✔
Multibyte String: ✔
Remote Post: ✔
Remote Get: ✔

### Database ###

[REDACTED]

### Post Type Counts ###

attachment: 421
custom_css: 1
kadence_header: 1
nav_menu_item: 22
page: 16
post: 2
product: 68
product_variation: 31
revision: 717
shop_coupon: 39
shop_order: 942
shop_order_refund: 7
wp_global_styles: 1
wpcf7_contact_form: 5

### Security ###

Secure connection (HTTPS): ✔
Hide errors from visitors: ✔

### Active Plugins (16) ###

Code Snippets: by Code Snippets Pro – 3.9.5
Contact Form 7: by Rock Lobster Inc. – 6.1.5
Imagify: by Imagify Image Optimizer – Optimize Images & Convert WebP & Avif – 2.2.7
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor: by Kadence WP – 3.6.7
LiteSpeed Cache: by LiteSpeed Technologies – 7.8.1
PW WooCommerce Gift Cards: by Pimwick
LLC – 2.40

Really Simple Security: by Really Simple Security – 9.5.10
reCAPTCHA for WooCommerce: by Elliot Sowersby
RelyWP – 1.4.7

SSL Manager: by Namecheap
Inc. – 1.0.0

Virtue/Ascend/Pinnacle Toolkit: by Kadence WP – 4.9.12
Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce: by weightbasedshipping.com – 6.15.1
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce: by Brainstorm Force – 2.1.1
Braintree for WooCommerce Payment Gateway: by WooCommerce – 3.9.0
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce: by WP Overnight – 5.9.2
WooCommerce: by Automattic – 10.7.0
Wordfence Security: by Wordfence – 8.1.4

### Inactive Plugins (3) ###

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA: by WebFactory Ltd – 1.34
Simple CAPTCHA Alternative with Cloudflare Turnstile: by Elliot Sowersby
RelyWP – 1.39.0

Woo Store Vacation: by MyPreview – 1.9.6

### Settings ###

Legacy API Enabled: –
Force SSL: ✔
Currency: USD ($)
Currency Position: left
Thousand Separator: ,
Decimal Separator: .
Number of Decimals: 2
Taxonomies: Product Types: external (external)
grouped (grouped)
pw gift card (pw-gift-card)
simple (simple)
variable (variable)

Taxonomies: Product Visibility: exclude-from-catalog (exclude-from-catalog)
exclude-from-search (exclude-from-search)
featured (featured)
outofstock (outofstock)
rated-1 (rated-1)
rated-2 (rated-2)
rated-3 (rated-3)
rated-4 (rated-4)
rated-5 (rated-5)

Connected to WooCommerce.com: –
Enforce Approved Product Download Directories: –
HPOS feature enabled: –
Order datastore: WC_Order_Data_Store_CPT
HPOS data sync enabled: –
Enabled Features: analytics
marketplace
order_attribution
site_visibility_badge
remote_logging
email_improvements
blueprint
point_of_sale


### Logging ###

Enabled: ✔
Handler: Automattic\WooCommerce\Internal\Admin\Logging\LogHandlerFileV2
Retention period: 30 days
Level threshold: –
Log directory size: 105 KB

### WC Pages ###

Shop base: #24 - /shop/
Cart: #25 - /cart/ -  Contains the [woocommerce_cart] shortcode
Checkout: #26 - /checkout/ -  Contains the [woocommerce_checkout] shortcode
My account: ❌ Page visibility should be public
Terms and conditions: #182 - /policies/

### Theme ###

Name: Kadence
Version: 1.4.5
Author URL: https://www.kadencewp.com/
Child Theme: ❌ – If you are modifying WooCommerce on a parent theme that you did not build personally we recommend using a child theme. See: How to create a child theme
Theme type: Classic theme
WooCommerce Support: ✔

### Templates ###

Overrides: –

### Admin ###

Enabled Features: activity-panels
analytics
analytics-scheduled-import
product-block-editor
experimental-iapi-mini-cart
coupons
core-profiler
customize-store
customer-effort-score-tracks
import-products-task
experimental-fashion-sample-products
shipping-smart-defaults
shipping-setting-tour
homescreen
marketing
mobile-app-banner
onboarding
onboarding-tasks
pattern-toolkit-full-composability
product-custom-fields
remote-inbox-notifications
remote-free-extensions
payment-gateway-suggestions
printful
shipping-label-banner
subscriptions
store-alerts
transient-notices
woo-mobile-welcome
wc-pay-promotion
wc-pay-welcome-page
launch-your-store

Disabled Features: product-data-views
experimental-blocks
experimental-iapi-runtime
coming-soon-newsletter-template
minified-js
product-pre-publish-modal
products-catalog-api
settings
async-product-editor-category-field
product-editor-template-system
use-wp-horizon
rest-api-v4

Daily Cron: ✔ Next scheduled: 2026-04-21 19:59:43 -05:00
Options: ✔
Notes: 239
Onboarding: completed

### Braintree (Credit Card) ###

Environment: Production
Tokenization Enabled: ✔
Debug Mode: Off

### Braintree (PayPal) ###

Environment: Production
Tokenization Enabled: ✔
Debug Mode: Off

### Action Scheduler ###

Complete: 1,196
Oldest: 2026-03-21 13:52:22 +0000
Newest: 2026-04-21 13:14:12 +0000

Failed: 20
Oldest: 2022-12-14 16:47:28 +0000
Newest: 2025-11-06 20:03:01 +0000

Pending: 19
Oldest: 2026-04-21 14:14:12 +0000
Newest: 2026-05-08 20:18:27 +0000


### Status report information ###

Generated at: 2026-04-22 21:16:23 -05:00

The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

Plugin Support LovingBro (woo-hc)
(@lovingbro)

5 days, 6 hours ago

Hi @jlkogut, thanks for reaching out, I can see how concerning it is to have past-due Action Scheduler tasks increasing over time, especially when everything else appears to be set up correctly, let’s work through this together.

From the report you shared, I can see that WP-Cron is enabled and running, and Action Scheduler itself is active and up to date, which is a good starting point. However, the presence of past-due and pending actions usually indicates that some scheduled tasks are either getting delayed, stuck, or blocked from completing.

Here are a few steps you can take to narrow this down and resolve it:

First, please check the scheduled actions directly by navigating to: Tools → Scheduled Actions or WooCommerce > Status > Scheduled Actions. Look at the “past-due” and “failed” actions, click into a few of them, and check the logs for any recurring errors. This can help identify if a specific plugin or task is causing the backlog.

Next, try running pending actions manually using the “Run” button at the top of the Scheduled Actions page. If they execute successfully, that suggests WP-Cron may not be triggering frequently enough.

Since WP-Cron is dependent on site traffic, you may want to set up a real server cron job to trigger it more reliably. This guide walks through how to do that: https://developer.ww.wp.xz.cn/plugins/cron/hooking-wp-cron-into-the-system-task-scheduler/

Additionally, I can see a few plugins that rely heavily on scheduled actions, such as Cart Abandonment Recovery and PDF Invoices. It would be helpful to perform a plugin conflict test to rule out any interference:

• Temporarily deactivate all plugins except WooCommerce
• Switch to a default theme like Storefront
• Check if new actions are still becoming past-due

You can follow this guide for steps: https://woocommerce.com/document/how-to-test-for-conflicts/. If the issue stops, reactivate plugins one by one to identify the culprit.

Also, clearing out old failed actions can sometimes help improve performance. There is a guide here:
https://actionscheduler.org/admin/

If after these steps the issue persists, please share a few example logs from the failed or past-due actions. You can use https://pastebin.com or https://gist.github.com to share them.

Once we identify what’s holding those tasks up, we’ll be in a much better position to resolve it fully.

Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

4 days, 20 hours ago

@lovingbro – Thank you for the recommendations.

Failed Scheduler Actions: Most are associated with WOOCOMMERCE plugin, but none are current failures. Most recent one was dated 06 Nov 2025. (Assuming these failures are not the culprit for existing issue. Would this be correct?)

Past Due Scheduler Actions: Manually executed the list (15 at this time) and all appeared to be executed.

Pending Scheduler Actions: Tried manually executing the pending actions. WP indicates the actions was executed successfully, but the pending actions remain displayed in the pending status. (Past Due Scheduler Actions disappeared from the queue when manually run.)

I will continue to work through other recommendations and provide updates as they become available. Thank you again for your assistance.

Plugin Support LovingBro (woo-hc)
(@lovingbro)

4 days, 20 hours ago

Hi @jlkogut, thanks for the update and for taking the time to work through those checks.

That all sounds like a good direction, please feel free to continue going through the recommendations shared earlier and see what you uncover. Once you have more findings, or if anything comes up along the way, you can get back to us here and we’ll be happy to take a closer look with you.
Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

4 days, 20 hours ago
@lovingbro – This may not be connected with the Scheduler Actions issue, but there are 2 Critical Issues listed in the Site Health of our website:
1. The REST API encountered an error
2. Your site could not complete a loopback request
Under the Recommended Improvement of Site Health: The scheduled event, rsssl_every_five_minutes_hook, failed to run.

Obviously, we’ll need to address these as well, but if they are not associated with the current Scheduler Actions issue, resolution can wait another day.
Plugin Support Frank Remmy (woo-hc)
(@frankremmy)

4 days, 20 hours ago
Hi @jlkogut,

We’ll be happy to take a look.

Could you please share screenshots instead? Feel free to use snipboard.io and share the link here.

Looking forward to your response.
- This reply was modified 4 days, 20 hours ago by Frank Remmy (woo-hc).
Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

4 days, 19 hours ago

@frankremmy – Thank you for your assistance. Below is a screenshot of the SITE HEALTH page listing the 2 Critical Issues. Is this the screenshot you are interested in viewing? Could this be the culprit impacting the Scheduler Actions?

https://snipboard.io/VdM2wo.jpg
Plugin Support Frank Remmy (woo-hc)
(@frankremmy)

4 days, 16 hours ago
Hi @jlkogut,

Thanks for sharing the screenshot, that’s really helpful.

Yes, those two critical issues you’re seeing (REST API error and loopback request failure) can very likely impact how scheduled actions run on your site.

WooCommerce uses Action Scheduler to process background tasks, and that relies on WordPress being able to make internal requests to itself (loopback requests). When those fail, it can lead to actions getting stuck in “pending”, running late, or not running at all.

From your screenshot, the key error is cURL error 28: Connection timed out. This usually means your server is unable to reach itself, which is often the root cause of both the REST API and loopback failures.

Here are a few steps to help narrow it down:
1. Check with your hosting provider and ask them if loopback requests or internal HTTP requests are being blocked on your server. This is one of the most common causes of this type of timeout.
2. If you’re using any security plugins or services like a firewall/CDN, try disabling them briefly and then re-check Tools → Site Health to see if the errors persist.
3. Temporarily deactivate all plugins except WooCommerce, then check if the REST API and loopback errors are resolved. If they are, reactivate plugins one by one to find the culprit.
4. Verify WP-Cron is working as Action Scheduler depends on WP-Cron. If WP-Cron isn’t firing correctly, scheduled actions won’t process as expected.
Once those Site Health issues are resolved, you should see improvement in how scheduled actions are processed.

I hope that helps. Let us know if you need anything else.
Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

4 days, 15 hours ago
@frankremmy thank you for the recommendations. We executed all of your recommendations. Unfortunately none provided a solution. Hosting provider is now investigating, but if you have any more recommendations, please share.
1. Check with your hosting provider and ask them if loopback requests or internal HTTP requests are being blocked on your server. This is one of the most common causes of this type of timeout. (indicated there is no blockage.)
2. If you’re using any security plugins or services like a firewall/CDN, try disabling them briefly and then re-check Tools → Site Health to see if the errors persist. (no change)
3. Temporarily deactivate all plugins except WooCommerce, then check if the REST API and loopback errors are resolved. If they are, reactivate plugins one by one to find the culprit. (no change when plugins were disabled)
4. Verify WP-Cron is working as Action Scheduler depends on WP-Cron. If WP-Cron isn’t firing correctly, scheduled actions won’t process as expected. (verified WP-CON is enabled)
Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

4 days, 10 hours ago
@frankremmy and/or @lovingbro – do you see any need to retain the CANCELED Scheduler Actions? There are four of them at this time:
1. woocommerce_cleanup_sessions
2. woocommerce_refresh_order_count_cache
3. fetch_patterns
4. woocommerce_cleanup_draft_orders
Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

3 days, 21 hours ago

@frankremmy and @lovingbro

Update: the following Hosting provider recommendations have been implemented, but did NOT rectify the 2 Critical Site Health Issues (1. The REST API encountered an error, 2. Your site could not complete a loopback request):

-enable debug mode in wp-config.php by adding this code
– replace the default WordPress files
– disable plugins via database that show up in the debug.log or in error_log (no debug.log has been generated at this time.)
– disable the current .htaccess file and create a new default one
– switch PHP versions
-edit wp-config.php file and try increasing memory limit to 512M

Only other recommendation provided by the hosting provider is to: set the default theme. I haven’t executed this option. Wanted to follow up with this team in hopes of soliciting other options to try. Any ideas?

Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

3 days, 18 hours ago

@frankremmy and @lovingbro – 2 Critical Site Health Issues appear to have been resolved. Site Health is now GOOD. Phew…

Schedule Actions queue: has items in PENDING status. I assume that is because they are re-occurring and scheduled to run at a future date/time. Is this correct?
Plugin Support LovingBro (woo-hc)
(@lovingbro)

3 days, 10 hours ago
Hi @jlkogut, thanks for the detailed update and for sticking through all the troubleshooting so far, it’s great to hear that the Site Health issues are now resolved, that’s a big step forward and very likely the root cause behind the earlier Action Scheduler behavior.

You’re absolutely on the right track with your assumption here. Pending actions are typically scheduled to run at a future date or are part of recurring tasks, so it’s normal for them to remain in the “pending” status until their scheduled time arrives. As long as they are not becoming “past-due” again and are executing when expected, this indicates things are now functioning properly.

A quick way to confirm everything is healthy:
- Monitor the Scheduled Actions queue for a bit and ensure pending actions transition to “complete” at their scheduled times
- Check that no new actions are getting stuck as “past-due”
- Optionally run a few pending actions manually to confirm they process and clear as expected
Regarding the canceled actions you mentioned earlier, there’s no need to retain them, they are safe to delete as they won’t be executed again and clearing them can help keep things tidy.

At this point, things look to be back on track, but feel free to keep an eye on it and let us know if anything unexpected comes up.

If this resolves your concern, kindly consider leaving a review for WooCommerce, it really helps other merchants who may run into similar situations: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/plugin/woocommerce/reviews/#new-post
Thread Starter jlk
(@jlkogut)

3 days, 9 hours ago

@lovingbro – Thank you for the reply. Not sure which implemented recommendations rectified the issue. None seem to take effect immediately after implementing, but eventually updates took effect. Thank you for your assistance.

Plugin Support LovingBro (woo-hc)
(@lovingbro)

3 days, 5 hours ago

Hi @jlkogut, it’s great to hear that everything is now working as expected, and I appreciate you sticking through the troubleshooting process to get this resolved.

Please feel free to reach out anytime if anything comes up again, or open a new topic if you run into a different issue, we’ll be happy to help.

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

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