bcrodua

Hi,

This feature is actually already available in the Premium version of UpdraftPlus.

You can add labels to manually created backups, which then appear alongside the backup entry in the existing backups list. Currently, labeling applies only to manual backups rather than scheduled backups.

Best Wishes,
Bryle

Hi,

Scheduled backups work with the free version as well. Premium is not required.

Since the “Next scheduled backup” time is showing in the past, this usually indicates that WP-Cron is not running correctly on the site.

Please try temporarily changing the backup schedule to “Manual”, save changes, then set it back to your preferred schedule and save again.

If the scheduled time still remains stuck in the past afterward, then the issue is likely related to WP-Cron/server configuration rather than UpdraftPlus itself.

Kind Regards,
Bryle

Hi Ray,

Thanks for the update. I’m glad you were able to work things out with your hosting provider.

To help avoid triggering their automated storage checks in the future, you could try reducing the split archive size in UpdraftPlus to something smaller, such as 25 MB. This reduces the size of each temporary backup archive created during the backup process.

Also, to minimize backups being stored locally for long periods, it’s best to connect a remote storage destination (such as Google Drive, Dropbox, S3, etc.) and enable the option to delete local backups after successful remote upload.

If you don’t mind sharing, which hosting provider is this with? We’ve seen similar automated storage restrictions from some hosts recently.

Best Wishes,
Bryle

Hi Ray,

Thank you for your message.

You are correct that UpdraftPlus first creates the backup locally in the wp-content/updraft folder before uploading it to remote storage and then deleting it (if local deletion is enabled). Because of that, the plugin still requires write access to the UpdraftPlus folder.

If your host has completely blocked write access to that directory, then unfortunately UpdraftPlus will not be able to function correctly, even with remote storage enabled.

I’ll report this feedback to our team as well, as more hosts seem to be applying these kinds of restrictions.

Kind regards,
Bryle

Hi,

Yes, you can exclude those files.

MacOS ._ files are metadata files created by Finder and are not needed for WordPress backups or restores. You can exclude them using the UpdraftPlus exclude rules under: Settings → Exclude files from backup

You can add patterns such as: ._* and optionally: .DS_Store

These files should not normally be required and excluding them can help avoid issues during restore/import.

Kind regards,
Bryle

Hi,

This can happen if a backup process did not complete successfully or if scheduled backups are overlapping. In such cases, old backup sets may not be cleaned up immediately according to the retention settings.

Please share your backup log so we can check whether there are any failed or incomplete backups preventing cleanup.

Thanks,
Bryle

Hi,

If you’re moving the site to a different URL/domain, this requires the Premium version with the Migrator add-on, which handles the URL changes automatically during the restore process.

Best Wishes,
Bryle

Hi,

UpdraftPlus should not uninstall itself, so something external is likely removing or deleting the plugin files.

A few common causes are security plugins, hosting security scanners, malware cleanup tools, automatic management tools, or server processes removing files.

Could you check whether the plugin is actually being deactivated or if the UpdraftPlus plugin folder disappears completely from wp-content/plugins/? Also, if possible, check whether there are any hosting/security logs around the time this happens.

That may help narrow down what is removing it.

Best Wishes,
Bryle