WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode Fix

Delete the .maintenance file

This is the first and most common fix. Connect to your site via FTP/SFTP or use your hosting provider's file manager. Navigate to your WordPress root directory (where wp-config.php is located) and look for a file named .maintenance. Delete it.

/public_html/.maintenance
/var/www/html/.maintenance

✓ Time: 1-2 minutes. This is usually safe and resolves the issue immediately.

Clear Browser and Server Caches

Even after deleting the .maintenance file, your browser or server-side caching (e.g., LiteSpeed Cache, WP Rocket, Cloudflare) might still be serving the cached maintenance page. Clear your browser cache and any server-side caching plugins or CDN caches you use. If you can't access your WordPress admin, you might need to clear server cache via your hosting panel.

✓ Time: 2-5 minutes. Essential after removing the .maintenance file.

Increase PHP Memory Limit and Execution Time

If the site is still stuck, or if you suspect a timeout caused the original issue (e.g., wordpress update failed now stuck in maintenance), increase your PHP limits. Access your wp-config.php file via FTP/SFTP and add or modify these lines just before the /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */ comment. If you have access to php.ini, you can also modify it there.

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );
set_time_limit(300); // 300 seconds = 5 minutes

✓ Time: 3-5 minutes. This can prevent future maintenance mode issues during updates.

Check for WP_DISABLE_MAINTENANCE_MODE in wp-config.php

While rare for a site stuck after an update, ensure there isn't a conflicting definition in your wp-config.php file. Sometimes, developers might temporarily add define( 'WP_DISABLE_MAINTENANCE_MODE', true );. If this is present and the site is still in maintenance mode, it indicates a deeper problem, but it's worth checking for any unusual maintenance-related constants.

// Look for this line and remove it if found, or ensure it's not set to 'true' if you want maintenance mode to function normally.
define( 'WP_DISABLE_MAINTENANCE_MODE', true );

✓ Time: 1-2 minutes. A quick check for misconfigurations.

Manually Deactivate Plugins/Themes via FTP

If the above steps don't work, a plugin or theme conflict is highly likely, especially if your wordpress maintenance mode stuck for hours. Rename your wp-content/plugins folder to wp-content/plugins_old via FTP/SFTP. This will deactivate all plugins. If your site comes back online, rename it back to plugins and then reactivate plugins one by one through the WordPress admin to find the culprit. Do the same for wp-content/themes if plugins don't resolve it (except for your active theme, which should be a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four).

/wp-content/plugins  -->  /wp-content/plugins_old
/wp-content/themes   -->  /wp-content/themes_old (only if plugins don't fix it)

✓ Time: 5-15 minutes. This is a crucial diagnostic step for conflicts.

Check Database for _transient_update_core or _site_transient_update_core

In rare cases, a persistent database transient can keep WordPress thinking an update is in progress. Access your database via phpMyAdmin (or similar tool). Navigate to the wp_options table (or wp_sitemeta for multisite) and search for entries like _transient_update_core or _site_transient_update_core. Delete these rows. Also, look for _transient_doing_cron and delete that if it exists.

DELETE FROM `wp_options` WHERE `option_name` = '_transient_update_core';
DELETE FROM `wp_options` WHERE `option_name` = '_site_transient_update_core';
DELETE FROM `wp_options` WHERE `option_name` = '_transient_doing_cron';

✓ Time: 5-10 minutes. Use caution when modifying the database; always back up first.