---
title: "How to Enable or Disable Automatic WordPress Updates"
description: "WordPress added automatic upgrades starting in version 3.7. Automatic upgrades are important because they keep your WordPress installation updated with the latest security patches and overall..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/enable-disable-wp-updates/
date: 2015-07-23
modified: 2025-06-10
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["WordPress Hosting", "WordPress Tutorials"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# How to Enable or Disable Automatic WordPress Updates

![Learn How to Enable or Disable WordPress Automatic Updates](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/How-to-Enable-or-Disable-WordPress-Automatic-Updates-1024x538.png)

WordPress added automatic upgrades starting in version 3.7. Automatic upgrades are important because they keep your WordPress installation updated with the latest security patches and overall WordPress fixes or additions. The following tutorial shows you **how to enable or disable automatic upgrades**, *though we strongly recommend that you not disable your automatic upgrades.*

- [How to Enable Automatic Updates](#enable)
- [How to Disable Automatic Upgrades](#disable)

## How to Enable Automatic Updates

In order to enable automatic updates in WordPress versions 3.7 or later, you will need to look for the code used to disable the option in the **wp-config.php**.

1. [Login to your cPanel](/support/edu/cpanel/how-to-log-into-cpanel/).
2. Open the [File Manager](/support/edu/cpanel/using-file-manager-in-cpanel/) and then go to the WordPress installation files. You will need to find your **wp-config.php** file.
3. Search for: **define( ‘AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED’, true );**
4. Once you find the line, delete it from the **WP-CONFIG.PHP** file.
5. Click on **SAVE** in order to save your changes.

## How to Disable Automatic Upgrades

*You should not disable your automatic updates unless it’s absolutely required!*

1. [Login to your cPanel](/support/edu/cpanel/how-to-log-into-cpanel/).
2. Open the [File Manager](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/cpanel/using-file-manager-in-cpanel/) and then go to the WordPress installation files. You will need to find your **wp-config.php** file.
3. Once you find the file, select it, and the use the [edit options](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/how-to-edit-a-file/) within File Manager in order to proceed.![Edit wp-config.php file](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/wp-automatic-updates_wp-configphp-file.jpg)  
4. Insert the following line after the initial “define” statements, right above the Authentication Unique Keys and Salts.define( 'AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED', true ); ![Edit wp-config.php file](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/wp-automatic-updates_add-code-to-wpconfig.jpg)
5. Click on **SAVE** in the top right hand corner of the editor to save your changes.

This completes the tutorial for enabling or disabling the **automatic** updates for your WordPress site. For more complete information and other options, please see [Configuring Automatic Background Updates.](https://wordpress.org/support/article/configuring-automatic-background-updates/)

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