How to fix an automatic theme update failure in WordPress ?

When there is a new version update available, you will be prompt in your  WordPress dashboard to carry out the update. You may encounter error or failure to update. This documentation discuss the scenario and the steps for rectifying the problem.

Activation Key

Auto-update needs valid Activation Key. Please login to your account to check your activation key. You can refer to the documentation on Activation key renewal, if your key has expired.

Auto-update stopped without completion

During the automatic update, you may have encountered a message similar to the following.

Downloading update from http://presscustomizr.com/?edd_action=package_download&license=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&id=xxxxxxxxxxx&key=xxxxxxxxxxxxxx&expires=xxxxxxxxxxxxx…
Unpacking the update…
Could not copy file. customizr-pro/addons/activation-key/activation/class_activation_key.php

There will be files left over because the unpacking and copying of files into theme folder is incomplete. You will have to delete them and do a manual theme update by using FTP.

Manually Updating a pro theme

Let's take an example with the Customizr Pro theme.

1. Login to your account, click on the View Details and Downloads link.
   

   

2. You will be taken to a page that shows your purchase details, scroll to the end of the page and you will see customizr-pro download link. Click on it to download. Save a copy of customizr-pro.zip on your computer.
   

   

3. Use your FTP program to log into your web hosting server.

4. Navigate to wp-content/themes/customizr-pro

5. If you are able to see customizr-pro folder, you will need to delete the whole customizr-pro folder together with it's content

6. Unzip the copy of customizr-pro.zip that you have downloaded from your account. You should see a folder named customizr-pro with content in it. Do not rename the folder.

7. Upload the customizr-pro folder to wp-content/themes/ on your web hosting server.

8. Login to your WordPress admin -> Appearance -> Themes to activate your Customizr Pro Theme.

9. Clear all browser history (cache), plugin cache content (Example: W3 Total Cache) and server cache.

10. Visit your front end. If you are stuck in Maintenance Mode which shows the following message.

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

11. Use your FTP program to log into your web hosting server. 
12. Go to your WordPress installation root, the same level as your wp-config.php.
13. Look for a file named .maintenance, delete this file and you will have disabled maintenance mode.

NOTE: Steps from 3 to 8 can be done following this alternative procedure. 

Fatal error after updating theme

If you have encounter PHP fatal error after automatically updating a theme. Please refer to the following solutions.

Child Theme activated

This could be caused by an activated Child Theme, that has codes or files that are outdated.

1. Use your FTP program and log into your server.
2. Go to wp-content/themes to find your child theme.
3. Download a copy of your child theme onto your computer as a backup.
4. After completing your backup, proceed to delete your child theme.
5. Visit your website, if you are still experiencing fatal error, you can proceed to carry out the steps as mentioned in the above section on Manually Updating Customizr Pro Theme.

No Child Theme, using the pro theme only

This could be caused by an error in updating package send from remote server, or unfinished unzipping of theme files on your web server. Please carry out the steps as mentioned in the above section on Manually Updating Customizr Pro Theme.

Note: If you are still experiencing fatal error after carrying out the above recommendations. Please contact us via our support system. Please include the PHP fatal error message as well as your System Information, which could be found in WordPress admin -> Appearance -> Themes -> About Customizr Pro, at the end of the page.