Before troubleshooting the issues below, confirm your server meets our system requirements, many install/update failures trace back to an outdated PHP version or missing extension rather than the plugin itself.

Issue A: On install/update of plugin this message shows:
“Uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive in php.ini”

Solution 1:

Install the Upload Larger Plugins plugin and activate that first. Afterward, upload the Duplicator Pro plugin. In some cases this plugin may not work and return an error such as Error: the server sent us a response (JSON) which we did not understand. In these cases, please see the other solutions.

Solution 2

1. Change the file upload limit to 8MB or greater, by following these instructions.
2. Restart your web server for the changes to take place
3. To make sure the value has been updated and taken effect, follow these steps:
   1. Install the PHP Info plugin and activate.
   2. Go to Settings » PHP Info and then search for “upload_max_filesize”
   3. Check to make sure the value is set to 8M
   4. Alternatively: Contact your host and ask them to: “Change the php.ini setting for upload_max_filesize to 8MB”

Solution 3

If #1 doesn’t work, and your host won’t do #2 (which is very uncommon) perform the following:

a) Extract the plugin .zip into a temporary directory on your local machine
b) FTP the duplicator-pro directory on your local machine to /wp-content/plugins/duplicator-pro
c) At that point the plugin will show up in your plugins list, and you can activate from there.

Issue B: On install/update of plugin this message shows:
PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10) : Unable to find End of Central Dir Record signature

Solution 1:

This error can pop up when PHP does not have the cURL module installed. Enabling the module could be as simple as editing your php.ini file, or it may be more involved. Talk to your host if you are unsure.

Solution 2:

If Solution 1 didn’t help, then manually install the new version of the plugin by doing the following:

1. Download the latest version of the plugin from duplicator.com/my-account
2. On Plugins screen » disable and delete the old version of Duplicator Pro
3. On Plugins screen » click ‘Add New’ and upload the new version of Duplicator Pro & activate

Issue C: On install/update of plugin this message shows:
“Unauthorized Access” -OR- the “Add New” button is not showing in the plugins screen.

Solution 1:

An unauthorized error normally means that your license has not been activated or has expired. Do the following:

1. Go to Duplicator Pro » Settings » General » License
2. Add your license key in the box
3. Click the Activate button
4. Go to the Plugins screen and update the plugin

Solution 2:

If you are unable to add/edit a plugin, check your wp-config.php file and comment out or remove these lines:

define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);
define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true);

Issue D: On install/update of plugin this message shows:
The uploaded file could not be moved to wp-content/uploads.

Solution 1:

Disable FTP Components in wp-config. For a full rundown of this process, see this link.

Solution 2:

Change your systems permissions to fix the issue.
Note: This option is a bit technical, so contact your host if you don’t want to mess with it.

Issue E:  How to manually update the plugin?
The change-log shows a new version, but the WordPress Admin shows no update notice.

Solution 1:

 Normally the notification should show on your plugins page like other plugins. If you aren’t seeing that, you can upgrade manually by doing the following:

1. Download the latest version of the plugin from https://duplicator.com/my-account/
2. On your WordPress admin, go to Duplicator Pro » Settings and make sure the uninstall options “Delete plugin settings” and “Delete entire storage directory” are UNCHECKED
3. Go to your website’s plugin list & Disable and then delete the old version of Duplicator Pro
4. On the plugins screen, click Add New and upload the new version of Duplicator Pro and Activate

Note: Automatic update notices require an active Duplicator Pro license. If your license has expired or isn’t activated, the plugin won’t show update notifications, even when a new version exists. Check Duplicator Pro » Settings » General » License first before assuming this is a bug.

Issue F: For issues involving path length restrictions on Windows, consider the following options.

Option 1

1. Download the latest version of Duplicator Pro from the Duplicator Account
2. On your WordPress Admin, go to Duplicator Pro » Settings
3. Ensure “Delete Plugin Settings” and “Delete Entire Storage Directory” are both unchecked
4. Uninstall the old version of Duplicator Pro
5. On the plugins screen, click Add New and upload the new version of Duplicator Pro
6. Activate the new version