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# Troubleshooting

  • First-look decision path
  • Migration Stuck on "Downloading Files"
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Cannot Connect to FTP Server
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Database Import Failed
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • WordPress Not Found
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Plugin Method Fails
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • File Extraction Failed
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Connection Timeout
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Maximum Execution Time Exceeded
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Insufficient Disk Space
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Search-Replace Failed
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • SSL Certificate Issues After Migration
    • Possible Causes
    • Solutions
  • Using Logs for Troubleshooting
    • Step-by-Step Process
    • What to Look For
  • Getting Support
  • Related Documentation

This guide covers common migration issues and their solutions. When troubleshooting, always start by checking the Migration Details modal, particularly the Logs tab.

# First-look decision path

  1. Which tab is red/alerting? Steps or Logs → note the failing step and code.
  2. Is this automatic or manual?
    • Automatic: consider retry/stop, or flip to manual if source blocks access.
    • Manual: ensure files are uploaded + verified.
  3. Symptom bucket: connection, download speed/size, extraction/import, search-replace, SSL.
  4. Action: use the symptom sections below; if unresolved, export logs and escalate.

# Migration Stuck on "Downloading Files"

# Possible Causes

  • Large file set (many files or large total size)
  • Slow network connection to source server
  • Source server throttling connections
  • FTP connection timeout settings

# Solutions

  1. Wait longer - large sites can take hours to download
  2. Check source server logs for connection issues
  3. Try manual migration with pre-prepared ZIP file
  4. Consider splitting large sites into smaller chunks

# Cannot Connect to FTP Server

# Possible Causes

  • Incorrect FTP credentials
  • FTP server firewall blocking PanelAlpha
  • Wrong FTP port specified
  • FTP server down or under maintenance

# Solutions

  1. Verify FTP credentials with separate FTP client (FileZilla, Cyberduck)
  2. Check source server firewall rules - ensure PanelAlpha IP is allowed
  3. Try different port:
    • Port 21 for FTP
    • Port 22 for SFTP
    • Port 990 for FTPS (implicit)
  4. Contact source hosting provider to verify FTP service status
  5. Check passive/active mode settings if using FTP

# Database Import Failed

# Possible Causes

  • Corrupted database dump
  • MySQL version incompatibility
  • Insufficient MySQL privileges
  • Database too large for destination server limits
  • Character encoding issues

# Solutions

  1. Re-export database with different tool:
    • Try phpMyAdmin instead of WP-CLI or vice versa
    • Use mysqldump with --single-transaction flag
    • Ensure UTF-8 encoding is used
  2. Check MySQL version compatibility:
    • Source MySQL 8.0 may have issues with destination MySQL 5.7
    • Consider upgrading destination MySQL version
  3. Verify database user privileges:
    GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON database_name.* TO 'user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
  4. Increase MySQL settings on destination server:
    • max_allowed_packet = 256M (or higher)
    • innodb_buffer_pool_size for large imports
  5. Split large database imports:
    • Export individual tables
    • Import in batches

# WordPress Not Found

# Possible Causes

  • Incorrect path specified
  • WordPress installed in subdirectory
  • Non-standard WordPress structure
  • Files not readable by FTP user

# Solutions

  1. Verify exact path to WordPress installation:
    • Common paths: /, /public_html, /public, /htdocs, /www
    • Check for subdirectories like /wordpress or /blog
  2. Look for wp-config.php:
    • Navigate FTP to find wp-config.php file
    • Use that directory as the WordPress path
  3. Check for wp-content directory:
    • Must be present alongside wp-config.php
  4. Verify FTP user permissions:
    • Ensure FTP user has read access to all WordPress files
    • Check file ownership and permissions

# Plugin Method Fails

# Possible Causes

  • WordPress admin credentials incorrect
  • Security plugins blocking login attempts
  • Two-factor authentication enabled
  • WordPress in maintenance mode
  • Admin area protected by .htaccess

# Solutions

  1. Verify admin credentials:
    • Test login manually in browser
    • Ensure username/password are correct
    • Check for special characters in password
  2. Temporarily disable security plugins:
    • Wordfence
    • iThemes Security
    • Sucuri Security
  3. Disable 2FA for migration duration:
    • Turn off Google Authenticator
    • Disable Duo Security
  4. Take WordPress out of maintenance mode:
    • Delete .maintenance file from WordPress root
  5. Remove .htaccess restrictions:
    • Check for IP restrictions
    • Temporarily rename .htaccess to .htaccess.bak
  6. Try manual plugin installation option instead

# File Extraction Failed

# Possible Causes

  • Corrupted ZIP file
  • Insufficient disk space on destination
  • File permissions issues
  • ZIP file too large
  • Unsupported compression format

# Solutions

  1. Test ZIP file integrity:
    • Extract locally to verify it's not corrupted
    • Re-create ZIP if necessary
  2. Check disk space on destination server:
    • Need at least 2x the ZIP size free
    • Clean up unnecessary files
    • Upgrade hosting plan if needed
  3. Fix file permissions:
    • Ensure destination directory is writable
    • Check hosting account ownership
  4. Split large sites:
    • Create smaller ZIP files
    • Import in stages
  5. Use standard ZIP compression:
    • Avoid 7z, RAR, or other formats
    • Use standard ZIP or gzip

# Connection Timeout

# Possible Causes

  • Network connectivity issues
  • Source server slow to respond
  • Large file transfer interrupted
  • Firewall blocking prolonged connections

# Solutions

  1. Retry the migration - may be temporary network issue
  2. Check network connectivity:
    • Test with ping or traceroute
    • Verify no packet loss
  3. Try during off-peak hours:
    • Less server load
    • Better network performance
  4. Use manual migration for large sites:
    • More control over transfer
    • Can resume if interrupted
  5. Contact hosting provider:
    • May need to whitelist IPs
    • Adjust timeout settings

# Maximum Execution Time Exceeded

# Possible Causes

  • PHP timeout during large data processing
  • Database import takes too long
  • File extraction timeout
  • Search-replace operation on large database

# Solutions

  1. Increase PHP timeout on destination server:
    • max_execution_time = 600 (or higher)
    • max_input_time = 600
  2. Use manual migration for large sites:
    • More stable for large datasets
  3. Optimize database before export:
    • Clean up spam comments
    • Delete post revisions
    • Remove transients
  4. Split migration into smaller parts:
    • Migrate files first
    • Then database separately

# Insufficient Disk Space

# Possible Causes

  • Destination server quota exceeded
  • Hosting account disk limit reached
  • Temporary files filling up disk
  • Large WordPress installation

# Solutions

  1. Check disk space on destination:
    • Use cPanel Disk Usage tool
    • Run df -h command
  2. Clean up destination server:
    • Delete old backups
    • Remove temporary files
    • Clear caches
  3. Upgrade hosting plan:
    • Increase disk quota
    • Choose plan with more space
  4. Optimize source before migration:
    • Remove unused plugins/themes
    • Clean up media library
    • Compress images

# Search-Replace Failed

# Possible Causes

  • Serialized data corruption
  • Special characters in URLs
  • Database encoding issues
  • Tables with different charset

# Solutions

  1. Check database encoding:
    • Ensure UTF-8 charset
    • Convert if necessary
  2. Verify URLs don't contain special characters:
    • Avoid spaces, accents in domain
  3. Manual search-replace using WP-CLI:
    wp search-replace 'old-url.com' 'new-url.com' --skip-columns=guid
  4. Use specialized tools:
    • Better Search Replace plugin
    • WP Migrate DB Pro

# SSL Certificate Issues After Migration

# Possible Causes

  • AutoSSL not enabled
  • Domain DNS not pointed yet
  • SSL validation timeout
  • Firewall blocking Let's Encrypt

# Solutions

  1. Wait for DNS propagation (up to 48 hours)
  2. Manually order SSL certificate:
    • Use PanelAlpha SSL management
    • Or control panel's AutoSSL
  3. Check domain points to correct server:
    • Verify A record
    • Check nameservers
  4. Temporarily use HTTP:
    • Update WordPress URLs to use http://
    • Switch to HTTPS after SSL issued

# Using Logs for Troubleshooting

# Step-by-Step Process

  1. Open Migration Details modal
  2. Navigate to Logs tab
  3. Filter by ERROR level
  4. Identify the failed step
  5. Read error message carefully
  6. Check timestamps - when did it fail?
  7. Review WARNING messages before the error
  8. Look for patterns in repeated errors
  9. Copy relevant logs for support tickets

# What to Look For

  • Connection errors: Network/firewall issues
  • Permission denied: File/folder permissions
  • Timeout messages: Need to increase limits
  • MySQL errors: Database-specific problems
  • Path not found: Incorrect directory paths

# Getting Support

If you've tried the solutions above and still need help:

  1. Gather information:
    • Migration ID
    • Error message from Logs tab
    • Source hosting provider details
    • Destination server details
  2. Export logs from Migration Details
  3. Take screenshots of error messages
  4. Note what you've already tried
  5. Contact PanelAlpha support with all details

# Related Documentation

  • Migration Details - Understanding migration logs
  • Managing Migrations - Retry and manage failed migrations
  • Best Practices - Prevent common issues