Having trouble making backups with Jetpack VaultPress? Learn some basic troubleshooting steps you can take to fix backup issues.
After fixing the issue, you can wait for the new backup to run the next day, or trigger a new backup by clicking the ‘Backup now’ button on your Backup page.
First: check the website’s Jetpack Connection
A working Jetpack connection is required to get Jetpack VaultPress Backup working properly. There are times when the connection can become unstable or broken. This may be due to a misconfiguration of your site or a problem on your host server.
Before attempting any other troubleshooting steps, make sure your site’s Jetpack connection is working:
- Check your site’s connection on the Jetpack Debug page.
- Troubleshoot the connection using the Fix Jetpack Connection Issues guide.
If the Debug page says “Everything looks great!” proceed on with the other Backup troubleshooting steps:
Next: Backup troubleshooting steps
Temporary backup issues
Sometimes, you may see a message like:
We encountered some issues with the latest backup, but don��t worry! We’re using the most recent backup available.
Or:
We ran into an issue backing up your site, but we’re aware of the issue and working on fixing it.
These messages usually indicate a temporary issue with the backup system. In most cases, you don’t need to take any immediate action — backups often resume on their own.
If the message continues to appear after a couple of days, or if no new backups are showing in your site’s Activity Log, please contact Jetpack Support so we can take a closer look.
Lost Backup history or duplicate sites
If you recently changed your domain or hosting and are now seeing duplicate sites in the Jetpack dashboard or have lost backup history, this could be due to an Identity Crisis.
An Identity Crisis happens when Jetpack mistakenly assigns a new site ID instead of updating the existing one, causing historical data, like backups, to appear missing.
Because resolving an Identity Crisis requires support intervention, please contact Jetpack Support for assistance.
Speak to your host
Even when everything has been set up correctly, it’s still possible to see errors. This is often due to security settings at the host level, outside your control.
If you are not sure about who your web host is, you can check using WhoIsHostingThis.com.
Reach out to your host and ask them to do the following:
- Allowlist Jetpack IPs.
- Check for any other security blocks that might be preventing Jetpack from communicating with your website.
Check for security plugins
Some security and firewall plugins may also block requests from Jetpack; adding Jetpack’s IP ranges to these plugins may be required. You could also try temporarily disabling other plugins to determine which may be blocking requests.
Add server credentials
If backups are not working via HTTP (the default), you can add server credentials to Jetpack VaultPress Backup, and we’ll use those instead. For step-by-step instructions about adding server credentials to Jetpack VaultPress Backup, please read our Add Credentials in the Jetpack Plugin article.
Fix file errors
You can fix transient file errors by doing the following:
- Log into your site’s File Manager or log into your site via FTP, SFTP, or SSH.
- Create a new directory (folder) named
donotbackup. - Move the files listed on your Backup Warnings list to this folder. From now on, Jetpack VaultPress Backup will know to skip this directory automatically.
Check database errors
Ensure your database credentials have proper access to your database and your tables are not corrupt.
Still need help?
Please contact support. We’re happy to advise.
Jetpack