Site Stuck in Maintenance Mode

Problem

Every once in a while a site gets stuck in “maintenance mode” and reverting the site to a previous backup might now resolve it. 

Possible Causes

There are 3 main ways that a site goes into maintenance mode:

1. WordPress Core auto-update process
2. WP Engine Smart Plugin Manager (SPM) process
   [need screenshot]
3. Maintenance Mode plugin, like WP Maintenance Mode, is turned on
   

Possible Solution(s)

To resolve based on cause:

1. WordPress Core auto-update process
   SFTP into the website and delete the hidden file “.maintenance”
2. WP Engine Smart Plugin Manager (SPM) process
   SFTP into the website and delete the file “autoupdater_maintenance_mode_enabled.tmp”
3. Maintenance Mode plugin is turned on
   Log into WP-Admin and find the Maintenance Mode plugin setting that is activated and disable it. You can also deactivate the Maintenance Mode plugin itself, many times.