Exactly The Same. Why developers don’t want to acknowledge the problem and offer complex update mechanisms that don’t work. I was also waiting for a solution to this problem in the update, but I did not wait. Meanwhile, there are dozens of posts on the forum with the same type of answers, which are written using AI.
This has become a very difficult situation for many WooCommerce sites. I could not get the 10.4.3 to 10.5.0 to succeed and hoped that 10.4.3 to 10.5.1 would resolve the problem. Not really. I did finally get an update to succeed on our staging site but it was torture. Took about 30 minutes. Had to ensure the staging site was in maintenance mode (through a plug-in), did a complete back-up, disabled all plug-ins except for WooCommerce. Then took a deep breath and disabled WooCommerce. It finally disabled properly (before I had the white screen of death for some reason). I then deleted the WooCommerce folder, and manually ftp’d the new version into place. I could then re-enable WooCommerce and then the rest of the plug-ins and finally go back live (as a test) without encountering the error message. I am pretty nervous about doing this on the 2 live sites but will do so early morning. Going to take back-ups for sure as it can go terribly wrong! A real shame as WooCommerce is amazing but these upgrade problems are debilitating.
Hi @markussss,
Thanks for the clarification.
Since you’re not seeing the error on the site itself and only received it via email during the update, this typically indicates the fatal occurred while files were being replaced during the upgrade process. If the store is currently functioning normally, this can generally be considered a temporary upgrade-time issue rather than an ongoing problem.
Regarding the file name difference: in recent versions, parts of the abilities API were refactored, and some classes were renamed (including versioned files like v1). The presence of class-wp-rest-abilities-v1-run-controller.php in a fresh 10.5.1 download is expected.
If everything is working now, no further action is required.
For anyone still experiencing persistent fatal errors after the update completes, the most reliable method is:
- Take a full backup
- Deactivate WooCommerce
- Delete the entire
/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/ folder
- Upload a fresh copy of the latest version via FTP
- Reactivate WooCommerce
This ensures no legacy files remain from previous versions.
Please let us know if the error continues beyond the upgrade email or if you’re seeing any functional issues on the site.
If the issue persists, please open a new thread. This will allow us to properly isolate the problem, understand your specific environment, and troubleshoot accordingly. Jumping into another user’s thread makes it difficult to investigate your case accurately.
Hi @saivutukuru
Thanks for explaining – however, I find the “check” as you mentioned here “If everything is working now, no further action is required” a bit unreliable.
How should I know if everything is working. There was a clear error and I cannot test every single feature. Also starting to debug and troubleshoot is all additional effort. So I am not sure if I can just leave it there, knowing there was some serious issue reported by so many people.
best regards
Markus
I also find this complex update method somewhat strange. But If there are a lot of sites, or do they belong to customers and there is no certainty about the result? Why is the standard update suddenly not working properly? What difference does it make if the update file is downloaded in the standard (automatic) way or if you have to download it yourself?
Hi @ronbi13
That’s a fair question, and you’re right to wonder why this feels more complex than a typical update.
We raised this with our development team, and their conclusion is that this isn’t a WooCommerce bug. The missing file you’re seeing is part of a vendor package that is only loaded under specific conditions. The error usually appears when the upgrade process hasn’t fully replaced all files yet, which can sometimes happen during an automatic update.
Because of how WordPress handles updates (removing and replacing files in batches), there can be a brief moment where some code from the previous version is still being referenced, or where autoloading is temporarily out of sync. This is why downloading and re-uploading the plugin manually often resolves the issue it ensures all files are fully and cleanly replaced in one go.
This behavior is outside our direct control, but the team has discussed possibly adding a way to track how many users encounter this scenario, even though it’s not a current priority.
For more technical context and the recommended resolution, you can also review this comment from the team here:
https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/issues/63167#issuecomment-3878179235
It’s also worth noting that if this error only appears during the upgrade process and your site works normally afterward (no fatal errors and the store functions as expected), it can safely be ignored. In most cases, it’s just a transient state during the update.
I hope this helps clarify things. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Good afternoon. I have ignored the error that occurs during the update. It seems to be related to accessing a file that no longer exists during the update. I have compared the plugin files using the meld utility, and they are identical to the zip file that I downloaded from this website. Thank you.
@shahzeenfarooq Thank you, everything works correctly. I just ignored this error that occurs during plugin updates. I tested the site, and I don’t see any issues. However, it’s strange that I haven’t received any automatic database updates. Is this normal? Additionally, I’ve noticed that I haven’t received any WOO database updates on all my sites for several months, even though I used to receive them frequently. Should I be concerned about this? Or is it not a problem if everything is functioning properly?
Hi @ronbi13
Thanks for the update I’m glad to hear everything is working correctly after testing 👍
When you update WooCommerce, any required database updates are handled automatically in the background. If a manual database update is needed, WooCommerce will clearly prompt you in the admin area.
To double-check everything, please go to WooCommerce → Status and review the Database section. There, confirm that the WooCommerce database version matches the installed WooCommerce version and that there are no pending database updates listed.
If the versions match and there are no notices or warnings, then everything is up to date and working as expected, and there’s nothing to worry about.
Let us know if you notice anything unusual in the status report or if you have any other questions — we’re happy to help.
@shahzeenfarooq Thanks, I didn’t know that was possible. The database matches. Thanks again for the great plugin)
Hi @ronbi13,
You’re very welcome. I’m really glad to hear everything is working properly again. Since the issue is resolved, I’ll go ahead and close this thread now.
If anything else comes up down the road, don’t hesitate to open a new topic. We’re always happy to help.
And if you’ve had a good experience with WooCommerce, a quick review would mean a lot to us:
https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/plugin/woocommerce/reviews/
Thanks again for taking the time to follow up, and wishing you smooth sailing with your store moving forward.
