Resolving a Down for Maintenance Error

After performing an update, a Down for Maintenance (Err 2) or (Err3) error may occur when visiting WHMCS pages:

Down for Maintenance (Err2) An upgrade is currently in progress... Please come back soon...
Down for Maintenance (Err3) An upgrade is currently in progress... Please come back soon...

Causes

This message is displayed whilst the update process is in progress. If an update is not currently being applied, it indicates a version mismatch between the PHP files and the MySQL database.

Some possible causes for this error include:

  • The auto-updater was terminated before it could complete.
  • A new version of PHP files have been uploaded but the update process has not yet been performed.
  • A patch set was manually applied to an incompatible version of the software.

Resolution

Follow these steps to complete the update process:

1. Go to the install subdirectory within your WHMCS directory. For example: www.yoursite.com/whmcs/install

A screen like this will display:

If a 404 Page Not Found error appears instead, refer to the Performing a Manual Update documentation and follow all steps for a full release version.

2. Agree to the End User License Agreement.

3. Click Continue at the bottom of the next screen:

4. Make a backup of the WHMCS MySQL database.

5. Click Start the Upgrade:

6. The database update process will now commence:

7. Within a few minutes, a success message will display:

If an Upgrade Failed message is displayed instead, refer to the Updating WHMCS Troubleshooting section for assistance

8. Delete the install sub-directory from your server.

9. Click the link to return to the admin area.

10. Ensure that the version number on the Admin Dashboard sidebar or in Configuration > System Health is the version you were updating to:

The update process is now complete and you can continue using WHMCS, enjoying the new features and stability improvements of the latest update!

We recommend reviewing the Release Notes.