Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

Troubleshooting WordPress Plugin Update Failed Download Failed Unauthorized Issue

If you are a WordPress user, you may have encountered a situation where your plugin update fails and displays an error message that says "Download failed. Unauthorized." This can be a frustrating problem, but fortunately, there are several possible solutions that can help you resolve the issue.

Understanding the Problem

When you update a plugin on your WordPress site, the new version of the plugin is downloaded and installed automatically. However, if this process fails, you will see an error message that says "Download failed. Unauthorized." This means that the plugin files could not be downloaded from the server, and the update process could not be completed.

There could be several reasons why this error occurs, such as:

• Incorrect login credentials: If you are not logged in with the correct admin credentials, the update process may fail and show the "Unauthorized" error message.
• File permission issues: If the permissions on your WordPress files and directories are not set correctly, this can affect the update process and cause the "Download failed. Unauthorized" error.
• Server-related issues: Sometimes, server-related issues can also cause problems with plugin updates. This could be due to issues with the server configuration or network connectivity problems.

Troubleshooting the Issue

Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the "Download failed. Unauthorized" error:

1. Check Your Login Credentials

Make sure that you are logged in with the correct admin credentials for your WordPress site. If you are not logged in with the right credentials, the update process may fail, and you will see the "Unauthorized" error message.

2. Check Your File Permissions

Ensure that your WordPress files and directories have the correct permissions. To do this, you can use an FTP client and change the permissions of the files and directories to the correct values. By default, WordPress files should have a permission level of 644, and directories should have a permission level of 755.

3. Check Your Server Configuration

Sometimes, server-related issues can cause problems with plugin updates. In this case, you may need to speak to your hosting provider to help you resolve the issue. They may need to check the server configuration, network connectivity, or other settings that could be causing the problem.

4. Delete the Plugin and Reinstall

If none of the above solutions work, try deleting the plugin and reinstalling it. To do this, go to the "Plugins" section of your WordPress site and locate the plugin that is causing the problem. Deactivate and delete it, and then download and install the latest version of the plugin manually.

Conclusion

The "Download failed. Unauthorized" error that occurs when updating plugins on WordPress can be frustrating, but it can also be easily resolved with the steps outlined above. By ensuring you have the correct login credentials, setting the correct file permissions, checking the server configuration and reinstalling plugins, you can successfully troubleshoot and fix this issue.