WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode: 'Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance'

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Delete the .maintenance file

   Copy steps
   1. Connect with FTP or your host's file manager.
   2. In the WordPress root (next to wp-config.php) enable hidden files and delete .maintenance.
   3. Reload the site.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Re-run the update

   1. In wp-admin go to Dashboard > Updates and update one item at a time instead of in bulk.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Check for a half-finished update

   1. If wp-admin errors afterwards, re-upload fresh wp-admin and wp-includes from a WordPress download, or restore the last backup.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

The site shows 'Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.' for much longer than a minute, usually after an update was interrupted.

Why it happens

• An update timed out or the browser tab was closed mid-update
• Several plugins updated in bulk and one failed
• Low memory or execution time limits on the host

This guide also covers

• briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance
• wordpress stuck in maintenance mode
• wordpress maintenance mode won't go away

Other WordPress errors

• WordPress White Screen of Death
• WordPress Error Establishing a Database Connection
• WordPress Critical Error: 'There Has Been a Critical Error on This Website'
• WordPress 500 Internal Server Error
• WordPress Too Many Redirects (ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS)
• WordPress 'Allowed Memory Size Exhausted' Fatal Error
• WordPress 'Updating Failed. The Response Is Not a Valid JSON Response'
• WordPress Posts Return 404 Not Found