A backup can finish with a warning or fail outright. Here is what each result means and how to get your site back to green.
Failed vs warning
Each snapshot in History shows one of three results:
- Complete – everything was captured.
- Warning – the backup finished and is restorable, but a few files or database tables could not be captured (often unreadable or permission-locked files). The snapshot is still safe to restore.
- Failed – the backup could not complete.
Backvera retries automatically
Most hiccups fix themselves. Backvera retries individual files and tables several times, and large sites are backed up over several passes – so a long backup that spans multiple runs is normal, not a problem. The dashboard shows how many backups were auto-retried.
Common causes and fixes
If a backup keeps failing, check these in order:
- The site is disconnected. If the plugin cannot reach Backvera, backups pause and the site shows Disconnected. Reconnect it – see how to reconnect.
- A firewall or security plugin is blocking us. Allowlist Backvera so its requests get through – see how Backvera appears in your logs.
- The site is unreachable or in maintenance mode. Make sure the site is online and reachable from the public internet.
- Storage is at its limit. New backups pause when a site reaches its storage allowance. Free space (reduce retention, exclude large rebuildable folders) or upgrade – see storage usage.
- Very tight PHP limits. Low PHP time or memory limits make backups take more passes; raising them with your host helps large sites finish faster – see site health and requirements.
- The site is paused. Resume it from Settings.
A failed snapshot is not the same as the site status
A single Failed snapshot is different from the site’s overall status. A site can be Healthy with one failed snapshot in its history, or appear under Needs attention as Overdue when it has not had a successful backup in more than twice its schedule interval. See understanding site statuses. If failures continue after the steps above, email support with the site and the time of the failed backup.
Still need help? Email our team at [email protected].