Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

WordPress Plugins Update Failed: Download Failed, Unauthorized

WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that powers numerous websites on the internet. It allows users to create and manage their websites with ease through the use of themes and plugins. However, sometimes users may encounter issues with updating their WordPress plugins. In this article, we will discuss one of the common errors encountered by WordPress users when updating their plugins.

The Error

When trying to update a WordPress plugin, the update may fail with an error message stating that the download failed and that the user is unauthorized to update the plugin. This error message can appear due to various reasons, but the most common ones are:

• The website's file permissions are incorrect
• The user does not have sufficient permissions
• The plugin update package is corrupted or incomplete

Fixing the Error

To fix the WordPress plugins update failed download failed unauthorized error, follow these steps:

1. Check File Permissions: The first thing to check is whether the file permissions for your WordPress installation are correctly set. Ensure that the folders and files are all set to 755 or 644, depending on whether it is a directory or a file. You can check file permissions using an FTP client or by accessing the file manager on your web hosting control panel.

2. Check User Permissions: Ensure that the user trying to update the plugin has sufficient permissions to do so. Typically, only the website administrator or a user with administrator privileges can update plugins. Ensure that the user is logged in with appropriate permissions before attempting to update the plugin.

3. Clear Cache: If your website uses a caching plugin, clearing the cache can often fix this issue. The caching plugin may be storing an outdated version of the plugin, which is preventing the update from completing. Clearing the cache will force the site to retrieve the latest version of the plugin.

4. Try Updating Manually: If none of the above steps work, you can try updating the plugin manually. Download the latest version of the plugin from the WordPress repository and unzip it. Delete the existing plugin folder from your site's wp-content/plugins directory and upload the newly unzipped plugin folder to the same location. Once done, the updated plugin should be available on your site.

Conclusion

Updating WordPress plugins is crucial to maintaining the security and functionality of your website. However, issues like the WordPress plugins update failed download failed unauthorized error can hinder the update process. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can resolve the issue and update your plugins without any hassles.