Fix WordPress 5.3 Update

Resolved mnorth
(@mnorth)

6 years, 7 months ago

Can ww.wp.xz.cn please fix the 5.3 update so that it works. It’s the only update since I started using WordPress in 2014 that will not update. All advice suggests that one take a gun to cPanel or FTP, manually update to 5.3 and hope for the best.

There is something seriously wrong when after doing everything possible, getting a clean bill of health with Health Check, yet the update will not update.

Apologies to others who have posted a similar issue, but it appears that there can be no ‘community’ discussion on the subject, just individual complaints.

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

George Appiah
(@gappiah)

6 years, 7 months ago

While I do empathise with the problem you’re having, I also want to point out that I have successfully updated 200+ websites I manage (all on servers I manage myself) using the auto-updater, and I haven’t had a single failed update!

So it’s not like 5.3 update is completely broken and doesn’t work for anyone.

There’s probably some particular hosting setups where these problems are occurring. And, yes, I do agree we need to discuss this to find the common string(s) between all these broken updates.

Also, have you looked at the 5.3 Master List yet? https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/topic/read-this-first-wordpress-5-3-master-list/

Thread Starter mnorth
(@mnorth)

6 years, 7 months ago

It’s not just me that’s having issues and there are sites about that are offering all manner of advice on how to install this update, which has never really been required in the past. Note also that there will be many sites whose owners don’t often even go into the admin panel to do updates and have yet to discover there’s a problem.

This update has rolled in too many things that perhaps should have been separated, security and the editor, and whatever else to avoid conflicts. Security is the most important aspect, the editor is incidental but could be having a major impact.

And yes, I have looked at the link and many others. That in itself indicates that ww.wp.xz.cn recognises that there are issues afoot. My issue, like that experienced by others, is that the update either freezes during unpacking or unpacks and then takes the site into maintenance mode where everything fails, the site disappears and login is completely lost, with 500 or 502 errors showing depending on what went wrong. The only remedy is to recover from an older version.

This has never happened before. Why?

Moderator James Huff
(@macmanx)

6 years, 7 months ago

That in itself indicates that ww.wp.xz.cn recognises that there are issues afoot.

It actually doesn’t, currently there are no known issues: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/topic/read-this-first-wordpress-5-3-master-list/#post-12124063

There are change which are not considered bugs though: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/topic/read-this-first-wordpress-5-3-master-list/#post-12124062

is that the update either freezes during unpacking or unpacks and then takes the site into maintenance mode where everything fails

That’s not really an issue with WordPress itself, it means you’ve hit a server limitation, generally PHP’s memory allocation.

Here are three ways to increase PHP’s memory allocation:

1. If you can edit or override the system php.ini file, increase the memory limit. For example, memory_limit = 128M

2. If you cannot edit or override the system php.ini file, add php_value memory_limit 128M to your .htaccess file.

3. If neither of these work, it’s time to ask your hosting provider to temporarily increase PHP’s memory allocation on your account. Keep in mind that most decent hosting providers allow users to temporarily increase the memory allocation. If your hosting provider won’t accommodate you, perhaps it’s time to find a new hosting provider. We have some recommendations at https://ww.wp.xz.cn/hosting/

(in the above examples, the limit is set to 128MB)

The only remedy is to recover from an older version.

That’s never a good remember. If your update fails, try downloading WordPress again, access your server via SFTP or FTP, or a file manager in your hosting account’s control panel (consult your hosting provider’s documentation for specifics on these), and delete then replace your copies of everything on the server except the wp-config.php file and the /wp-content/ directory with fresh copies from the download. This will effectively replace all of your core files without damaging your content and settings.

Some uploaders tend to be unreliable when overwriting files, so don’t forget to delete the original files before replacing them.

Thread Starter mnorth
(@mnorth)

6 years, 7 months ago

The issue is, why has it happened with just this update and never before with any other? As I pointed out, I’m not the only one experiencing these issues, the internet is full of examples.

Again, the suggestion to delete everything and do a manual update via cPanel or FTP is not addressing the root cause of the problem; this is just like the Windows 10 analogy I gave (Windows 10 1903 update was replete with issues that were initially denied by Microsoft). Doing a complete reinstall, emphasising that you have a backup because this process is not guaranteed and could cause all manner of problems, is a kludge.

All I’m getting here are the same responses I’ve seen everywhere else, so no one is able to add anything new. I’m signing off now and will let others start the same threads until the ground swell becomes too large to ignore.

Moderator James Huff
(@macmanx)

6 years, 7 months ago

The issue is, why has it happened with just this update and never before with any other?

Most likely because your server was overtaxed at the time. Remember, if you’re on shared hosting, you’re sharing resources with thousands of other sites.

There is absolutely nothing in this update that would have cause this itself.

As I pointed out, I’m not the only one experiencing these issues

Right, these are support forums, they’re filled with people running into problems because that’s what they’re for. People don’t come here to deliver praise.

Again, the suggestion to delete everything and do a manual update via cPanel or FTP is not addressing the root cause of the problem

If you want to address the root of the problem, then you need to speak to your hosting provider about your server resources, or just increase PHP’s memory allocation as mentioned already.

All I’m getting here are the same responses I’ve seen everywhere else

Because they’re the correct responses. I’m sorry they aren’t the magical fix you want, but as you can see at https://ww.wp.xz.cn/download/counter/ millions more have successfully upgraded to WordPress 5.3 than the handful who are reporting problems here.

There was an issue with your available server resources at the time of upgrade, which is why it failed.

You can either increase your server resources or upgrade manually.

I’m signing off now and will let others start the same threads until the ground swell becomes too large to ignore.

You can certainly do that, but it won’t solve your problem either.

George Appiah
(@gappiah)

6 years, 7 months ago

This update has rolled in too many things that perhaps should have been separated, security and the editor, and whatever else to avoid conflicts. Security is the most important aspect, the editor is incidental but could be having a major impact.

This is a major release, not a minor or point release: https://make.ww.wp.xz.cn/core/handbook/about/release-cycle/

This has never happened before. Why?

It may never have happened to YOU before, but if you hang around in here, updates breaking a site, even for minor updates, do occur. And this is a MAJOR release for what its worth.

I see survival and reverse survival biases here:

Your update always succeed previously, so everyone’s update must have succeeded previously as well.

And now your update has failed for the first time, so everyone’s update must be failing for the first time now.

None of those two assertions could be further from reality!

Thread Starter mnorth
(@mnorth)

6 years, 7 months ago

I wasn’t going to respond any further; however, after doing more investigation, it seems that this update is nothing more than changes to the block editor, or Gutenberg if you prefer, which is forcing something onto people that a very large number don’t want.

So this update serves no purpose as I utterly detest the block editor. I’ve been writing for over 40 years and can find no redeeming features in the block editor. It seems that I’m far from alone in this regard. A quick Google search validates that fully.

So accuse me of what you want, but this update is a farce. I will not go into the site structure and start deleting files and folders and risk major damage as has already happened once.

So it’s goodnight from me and goodnight from him.

Moderator James Huff
(@macmanx)

6 years, 7 months ago

after doing more investigation, it seems that this update is nothing more than changes to the block editor

Incorrect, and there’s not much research required for that really:

WordPress 5.3 “Kirk”

Version 5.3

https://core.trac.ww.wp.xz.cn/milestone/5.3

George Appiah
(@gappiah)

6 years, 7 months ago

A quick Google search validates that fully.

Sure, a Google search also fully validates the earth is flat.

Go figure!

zombi99
(@zombi99)

6 years, 6 months ago

Yes I do agree with James Huff about the serious issue about upgrading to 5.3. I installed a brand new version of 5.3 and it did work. But for all my others sites, the upgrade simply blocks at some stage, whatever the settings of time limit, cache etc… To this day, after unzipping the upgrade files, the upgrade simply doesnt start. Apparently we’re quite a number stuck in this situation. Aren’t we ?

Moderator James Huff
(@macmanx)

6 years, 6 months ago

Apparently we’re quite a number stuck in this situation. Aren’t we ?

Not by my count, but I’m sorry you’re running into trouble.

Hitting server resource limits happens from time to on any updates, even plugin and theme updates, even Drupal, Joomla, and other CMS updates.

As mentioned, nothing in this update will cause this, it’s just something that happened to you this time around, and it’s one of the drawbacks to being on shared hosting (you’re sharing server resources with thousands of other sites).

As mentioned, a manual update will recover your site.

Moderator Jan Dembowski
(@jdembowski)

Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

6 years, 6 months ago

@zombi99 I’ve removed your reply. If you need support then per the forum guidelines please start your own topic.

https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/forum-user-guide/faq/#i-have-the-same-problem-can-i-just-reply-to-someone-elses-post-with-me-too

You can do so here.

https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/#new-post
edwardm1
(@edwardm1)

6 years, 6 months ago
Two blogs on one server updated automatically.

Five blogs on another server failed to update automatically. Selecting the Update Now option results in this error message

Downloading update from https://downloads.wp.xz.cn/release/wordpress-5.3-new-bundled.zip…

Download failed.: cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 10000 milliseconds with 4652651 out of 13259832 bytes received

Installation Failed

Have tried doing this several times since 5.3 came out with this error or the update just hung and the .maintenance file was left in place.

There do appear to be odd update failure problems with WP 5.3 – or that error messages are not helpful to resolving the problem.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by edwardm1.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by edwardm1.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by edwardm1.
Moderator James Huff
(@macmanx)

6 years, 6 months ago

As mentioned, nothing in this update will cause this, it’s just something that happened to you this time around, and it’s one of the drawbacks to being on shared hosting (you’re sharing server resources with thousands of other sites).

As mentioned, a manual update will recover your site.