Having trouble making backups? Learn some basic troubleshooting steps you can take to fix backup issues.
Check the Site’s Jetpack Connection
A working Jetpack connection is required to get Jetpack VaultPress Backup working properly. Before attempting any other troubleshooting steps, make sure your site’s Jetpack connection is working.
The Jetpack connection is used to facilitate backups of your site. There are times when the connection can become unstable or broken. This may be due to a misconfiguration of your site or hosting.
The first thing to do is check the connection status using the Jetpack Debug page. If it reports any issues with the connection, please see the Fixing Jetpack Connection Issues guide.
- Check your site’s connection on the Jetpack Debug page.
- Troubleshoot the connection using the Fixing Jetpack Connection Issues guide.
Add Server Credentials
Once the Jetpack connection is working, that should be enough for backups to start working again. In some situations, your site may still run into errors. In that case, the next step is to add server credentials.
An added bonus to adding server credentials is that backups are more efficient, and you are set to perform site restores in the event that you ever need one. Adding the credentials is done differently depending on which Jetpack plugin you’re using. See these guides for more information:
Check File Permissions
Ensure your SFTP/SSH/FTP credentials have full read and write file permissions to the files listed on your Backup Warnings list.
After fixing the issue, you can wait for the new backup to run the next day, or trigger a new backup by clicking the ‘Retry’ button on your Backup page.
Transients errors
You can fix transient file errors by adding a donotbackup folder and moving the files listed on your Backup Warnings list to this folder.
After fixing the issue, you can wait for the new backup to run the next day, or trigger a new backup by clicking the ‘Retry’ button on your Backup page.
Database errors
Ensure your database credentials have proper access to your database and your tables are not corrupt.
After fixing the issue, you can wait for the new backup to run the next day, or trigger a new backup by clicking the ‘Retry’ button on your Backup page.
Review Security and Proxy Settings
Even with a working Jetpack connection and server credentials, we can still see failed backups.
An example would be a proxy service like Cloudflare blocking SSH/FTP connections or a security plugin like Wordfence blocking certain network requests.
If you are comfortable, feel free to review and customize these settings. If not, we recommend temporarily disabling these services/features while troubleshooting your backups.
Generally, this can be achieved by disabling the plugin but you might also have to disable a feature in the service providers dashboard (ie: pausing Cloudflare from their dashboard).
Speak to Your Host
Even when everything has been set up correctly it’s still possible to see errors. This is usually due to security settings outside your control.
Examples of this would be hosts who run ModSecurity at a level above what the hosting control panel exposes.
Often this type of security is automated and kicks in temporarily when the server sees repeated requests from a certain IP or too many requests in a given window of time.
The best way to get around this is to have your host allowlist Jetpack. You can direct them to our Hosting Reference Documentation page for the necessary details. See the section titled, “Allowlist IPs”.
If you are not sure about who your site is hosted with you can check using WhoIsHostingThis.com.
Some security and firewall plugins may also block requests from Jetpack; adding the same IP ranges to these plugins may be required. You could also try temporarily disabling other plugins to determine which may be blocking requests.
No Longer Need Backups?
If your plans for your site have changed and you no longer need backups, you can cancel your Jetpack plan so you won’t receive these emails anymore.
Still need help?
Please contact support directly. We’re happy to lend a hand and answer any other questions that you may have.
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