Update Failed Errors

Problem

An automatic update failed with the following error message:

Update Failed

An error occurred that prevented the update from completing successfully.

Cause

You can find the cause of the issue by examining the full output below the error message. Often, this is immediately following the [RuntimeException] label. For example:

An Update Failed error.

In the example above, the error indicates that a directory didn’t exist and the system could not create it. This is a permissions-related error.

The following issues are the most common causes of automatic update failures:

Error Message	Description	Solution
`A fatal error occurred while fetching the update. Please check to make sure your memory limits and execution time are set to the recommended values.`	The update process timed out.	For steps to troubleshoot and resolve this issue, see Fatal Error Fetching Update.
`cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 300000 milliseconds with xxxxxx out of yyyyy bytes received`	Due to a network connectivity issue, the system could not download the required update files within the 300 second time limit.	For steps to troubleshoot and resolve this issue, see Update Timed Out Errors.
`Error: Apply update dry-run permission issues`	This is a permissions issue that is preventing the Automatic Update feature from writing to, executing, or deleting files in the WHMCS directory.	Make certain that the user under which WHMCS runs has full permissions to the WHMCS installation’s directory. For more information, see Update Dry Run Errors.
`Error: chmod() has been disabled for security reasons`	This indicates that the `chmod()` PHP function is disabled in your PHP configuration.	Enable the `chmod()` function in your PHP configuration. For help, contact your hosting provider or system administrator.
`Error: chmod(): Operation not permitted`	This is a permissions issue that is preventing the Automatic Update feature from writing to, executing, or deleting files in the WHMCS directory.	Make certain that the user under which WHMCS runs has full permissions to the WHMCS installation’s directory.
`[ErrorException] file_put_contents(/path/to/file): failed to open steam: Permission Denied`	This is a permissions issue that is preventing the Automatic Update feature from writing to, executing, or deleting files in the WHMCS directory.	Make certain that the user under which WHMCS runs has full permissions to the WHMCS installation’s directory.
`[ErrorException] mkdir(): Permission denied`	This is a permissions issue that is preventing the Automatic Update feature from writing to, executing, or deleting files in the WHMCS directory.	Make certain that the user under which WHMCS runs has full permissions to the WHMCS installation’s directory.
`[ErrorException] ZipArchive::extractTo(/path/to/file.php): failed to open stream: Disk quota exceeded update`	This error indicates that you exceeded the available disk space in your hosting account.	Increase your disk space allowance and try again. For help, contact your hosting provider or system administrator.
`[RuntimeException] /path/to/directory does not exist and could not be created`	This error may occur due to insufficient free disk space or a permissions issue.	Make certain that the user under which WHMCS runs has full permissions to the WHMCS installation’s directory. Additionally, make sure that you have at least 250 MB of available disk space before attempting an update.
`[RuntimeException] Could not delete /path/to/file.php`	This is a permissions issue that is preventing the Automatic Update feature from writing to, executing, or deleting files in the WHMCS directory.	Make certain that the user under which WHMCS runs has full permissions to the WHMCS installation’s directory.
`The temporary update path is not valid. Please specify a writable temporary update path to proceed with update.`	The system cannot write to the configured temporary update path.	Go to Utilities > Update WHMCS and specify a valid absolute path for Temporary Update Path. For more information, see Set the Temporary Update Path.
`[WHMCS\Exception] Unable to copy /path/to/file.php to /path/to/file.php.`	This is a permissions issue that is preventing the Automatic Update feature from writing to, executing, or deleting files in the WHMCS directory.	Make certain that the user under which WHMCS runs has full permissions to the WHMCS installation’s directory.

troubleshooting updates

Last modified: October 30, 2024