How to Fix WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode

Problem Description

When accessing your WordPress site, you may encounter the following message:

正在执行例行维护，请一分钟后回来
Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute

This indicates your site is stuck in maintenance mode.

Root Cause

This typically occurs when a WordPress automatic update (core, plugin, or theme) fails due to a network interruption, server timeout, or file permission issue. The system fails to automatically remove the maintenance flag, leaving the site in a persistent "maintenance mode."

Solution

The core solution is to delete the .maintenance file from your website's root directory. Follow these steps:

1. Connect to your web server using an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla) or SSH.
2. Navigate to your WordPress installation root directory (this contains files like wp-config.php and folders like wp-content).
3. Look for a file named .maintenance (note the leading dot; you may need to enable "Show hidden files" in your FTP client).
4. If found, delete this file.

After deleting the file, refresh your site's front-end and admin dashboard. The maintenance message should disappear, and normal access will be restored.

Additional Notes & Advanced Tips

• Prevention: Always back up your site files and database before performing major updates.
• Manual Maintenance Mode: You can manually trigger maintenance mode by creating a .maintenance file in the root directory. Its content can be a simple JSON object like: {"maintenance": true, "message": "Your custom message here"}.
• If the Problem Persists: If the issue remains after deleting the file, check for incomplete updates. Try re-running the update from the WordPress admin "Updates" page. Also, inspect the wp-content/upgrade/ directory for leftover temporary update files and remove them if present.