When you update your website, you may see the error “No update required. Your WordPress database is already up-to-date!” and you may even get locked out of the admin dashboard.
Not to worry. This is caused by a caching plugin you’re using and can be fixed.
Here’s more detail on the “No update required. Your WordPress database is already up-to-date!” error message as well as several ways to resolve it and regain access to your site.
Why the “Database is Already Up-to-Date” Error Occurs
As mentioned earlier, a caching plugin you’re using caused the issue, but it’s a bit more complicated than that, especially since it won’t always happen. More specifically, it’s typically an object caching issue.
Object caching is a type of caching where the results of database queries of a web page get cached after the results are loaded. That way, on each subsequent page load, the queries are served quickly from the cache.
This prevents having to burden the database with the same queries every time the page loads saving on server resources and speeding up page load times.
For details, check out Object Caching for Highly Dynamic Sites.
Popular object caching programs include Memcached and Redis. There are also WordPress plugins such as W3 Total Cache that offer object caching. Any of these could be the underlying cause of the “database is already up-to-date” error.
It occurs when the file that indicates WordPress is up-to-date is cached. When there’s a new update available, the file is checked and since it still says WordPress is up-to-date, the error message occurs because it thinks everything’s updated already.
How to Fix the “Database is Already Up-to-Date” Error (6 Methods)
Now that you know why the “database is already up-to-date” error occurs, how do you fix it? There are several ways to fix this issue and you can try each one until you find a solution that works.
Clear Your WordPress Site and Server’s Cache
Clearing your site’s cache may fix the issue since it should purge the cached file that says your WordPress database is already up-to-date. If this doesn’t work, try clearing your server’s cache.
The steps are different depending on the plugin and hosting you’re using so consult their documentation for details on how to do it.
Bear in mind that clearing your site and server’s cache will cause temporary performance issues. Although, this issue will resolve itself when your site’s pages are cached again.
How to Clear Your WordPress Site’s Cache at Kinsta
If you host your site at Kinsta, there are two ways you can clear your site’s cache to help resolve the “database is already up-to-date” error: Through your site’s admin dashboard or in MyKinsta.
To clear your site’s cache through your WordPress admin dashboard, start by logging into your site. Then, click the Clear Cache button in your admin toolbar toward the top right-hand side of the page.
You can also optionally click Kinsta Cache in the menu to access custom settings. You can choose the specific custom URLs you want to purge.
How to Clear Your WordPress Site’s Cache in MyKinsta
Step 1
To clear your site’s cache through MyKinsta, log in and go to Sites and click on your site from the list that you want to manage.
Step 2
Next, click the Tools tab and then on the Clear cache button. By default, caching is enabled on live environments.
Clear the Cache Using WP-CLI
If your host supports it (most do), you can use WP-CLI to clear the cache.
Step 1
Connect to your site via SSH. Depending on your host, the steps for this can vary. You can check out How to Connect via SSH to Your Server and How to Connect to SSH at Kinsta for details on how to do it.
Step 2
Next, enter the command below, but be sure to update “path/to/your-site” with the actual path to your website:
cd ~/path/to/your-siteStep 3
Now, flush your site’s cache by entering the following:
wp cache flushMake sure to check our in-depth guide on the 26 most useful SSH commands for WordPress users.
Clear the Cache Using SSH
If you don’t want to use WP-CLI, you can flush your site’s cache using SSH. The command you should use will vary depending on the type of object caching system you’re using.
Step 1
After connecting to your server through SSH through a client or with your host’s dashboard, like MyKinsta, you can use the following command if you have Redis installed:
redis-cli flushall asyncIf you host your site at Kinsta, there’s a Redis addon you can use.
Or, if you have Memcached installed, use the command below instead to start the process:
telnet localhost 11211Keep in mind that you may need to update “localhost 11211” if you’re not using that port.
It’s also important to note that if you host your site at Kinsta, memcached is not supported. As we said, you can use the Redis addon instead.
Step 2
If you’re using Memcached, there are a couple more steps. You need to enter the command below next:
flush_allStep 3
The final step is to quit by simply entering the word in your SSH client such as in this example:
quitRename the object-cache.php File
If you tried clearing your site and server’s cache with no luck, you can try renaming the object-cache.php file.
This is also particularly useful if you’re unable to clear your site’s cache because you can’t access your WordPress admin dashboard due to the “database is already up-to-date” error.
If you find yourself in this situation, then you should be able to regain access to your site after renaming the file.
Step 1
You need to access the object-cache.php file to start resolving the “database is already up-to-date” error. You can choose to do this through SSH, SFTP, or through your host’s dashboard.
If you host your site with Kinsta, you can find your SSH and SFTP credentials by logging into MyKinsta. Then, click on Sites in the menu, select your site from the list and then on the Info tab.
Here are the details you need to record on this tab or if you host your WordPress site elsewhere:
- IP Address
- Username
- Password
- Port
Step 2
Use the SFTP credentials you made note of to log into your server with an FTP client such as FileZilla in the example below. Add your details toward the top of the window and click Quick Connect.
Step 3
Underneath the login fields, there’s an area directly below where you’ll see messages appear.
Once you see the “Connected to” message followed by your server’s IP address, followed later by “Directory listing of ‘/’ successful,” it means you’re connected and ready to go.
Navigate to the /wp-content/ folder of your site and find the object-cache.php file there.
Step 4
Rename the file anything you want, though, it’s helpful to append something like “-old” at the end of the existing name. That way, it’s easier to find and remember what that file is later on.
In FileZilla, click on the file. Then, right-click on it and select Rename in the menu that appears. If hidden files are not shown follow this tutorial to fix it.
Type the name you want, then press the return or enter key on your keyboard.
Step 5
Go to your site and log in. Then, clear your site’s cache using whatever caching plugin you’re using. Or, if you’re hosting at Kinsta, take advantage of the clear cache tool in MyKinsta.
Step 6
Return to your FTP client and check that the file has been re-created on your server.
Disable All Your Plugins
If nothing has worked so far, try disabling all your plugins. This could resolve the “database is already up-to-date” error in a situation such as if you’re using two caching plugins that handle different types of caching, for example. Perhaps you accidentally overlapped features which caused the error to occur.
Or, maybe you forgot a plugin you’re using has an added feature for caching or something similar and you forgot about it.
In either case, you can use SFTP to disable all your plugins if you don’t have access to the admin dashboard. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1
Similar to the previous suggestion of renaming the object-cache.php file, open your preferred FTP client and connect to your server.
Locate the /wp-content/plugins/ folder and rename it. Similar to renaming the object-cache.php file, you can name the plugins folder anything you want, but attaching something at the end can help you avoid confusion later.
Step 2
Log back into the admin dashboard to make sure you’re able to and are no longer experiencing the “database is already up-to-date” error. If you’re in, then rename the plugins folder back to its original name and refresh the admin dashboard.
Step 3
Clear your site and server’s cache as mentioned earlier. Then in your site’s admin dashboard, go to Plugins > All Plugins.
Re-activate each plugin one-by-one until the issue comes back. When it does, you found the plugin causing the issue.
Step 4
Delete the problematic plugin in the admin dashboard if you still have access by clicking on the Delete link underneath the plugin’s name on the list.
Otherwise, use SFTP again and rename the plugins folder one more time.
Step 5
Once that’s done, rename the plugins folder one more time to its original name. Then, refresh your browser and delete the problem plugin as described above in step four.
Step 6
Clear your site and server’s cache one more time. At this point, the “database is already up-to-date” error should be resolved.
Last Resort: Contact Your Host or Restart Your Server
If you reach this point and absolutely nothing else works, try restarting your server. But before you do, remember that this is an absolute last-resort option since it will mean your site is temporarily unavailable.
No one will be able to visit your site so if you need to restart your server, try to do it at a time of the day or night when you have the lowest amount of traffic.
Each hosting provider has different steps for restarting a server so be sure to consult their documentation for details on how to do it.
Before you restart your server, you should try contacting your host first to see if they can resolve the issue. Be sure to let them know all the steps you have taken so far to try and fix the “database is already up-to-date” error.
How to Contact Kinsta Support
Log in to MyKinsta and click on the chat icon at the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
A new chat will pop up instantly:
Let us know about the “database is already up-to-date” error you’re experiencing and someone from our expert team will help you out.
Summary
The “No update required. Your WordPress database is already up-to-date!” error is so frustrating to see, but fortunately, the problem isn’t serious.
If you clear your site and server’s cache, it will likely resolve the “database is already up-to-date” issue. If not, you can rename the object-cache.php file, disable your plugins, or contact your host for help.
If your WordPress site is hosted with Kinsta, feel free to reach out to us and our WordPress experts will give you a hand.
