After updating the WordPress core software or plugins, you can usually continue using your website without any issues. However, in rare cases, you may encounter the following error:

Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.

Cause

This error message occurs when WordPress enters maintenance mode temporarily during the update of the core software or plugins.

Usually, WordPress automatically exits maintenance mode after the update is completed, allowing users to access the website normally. However, in rare cases, WordPress may fail to exit this mode automatically.

WordPress provides a warning to users during updates, advising them to stay on the current page and not navigate away. However, users may accidentally navigate away from the page. In such cases, WordPress may remain in maintenance mode and fail to recover automatically.

In such situations, we can resolve the issue manually.

Resolution Steps

1. Access your WordPress site’s root directory using FTP or similar methods (the directory containing subdirectories like wp-admin and wp-content).
2. Delete the .maintenance file (this file displays the forced maintenance mode page).

(If you are using a hosting control panel, you can access the panel’s file manager to perform the above steps.)

Congratulations! Your website should now be functioning normally.

Ending

Through the above explanation, you should now understand the solution to the WordPress error “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance.” If you still have questions or need further guidance, please feel free to leave a reply in the comment section. You can also explore more WordPress tips and tricks or subscribe to the RSS feed of WordPress-related articles I’ve compiled.