A Quick Recap of the Situation

The situation began when Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic and WordPress co-founder, expressed strong criticism of WP Engine’s business practices in a public blog post. This escalated into a trademark dispute, with legal exchanges and a temporary restriction of WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org resources. This restriction affected WP Engine’s plugins, including ACF, and prevented them from pushing automatic updates to users of the free version.

WP Engine responded to these criticisms, which led to a chain of events impacting many WordPress users. Updates for the free version of ACF were affected, creating confusion about how to keep the plugin current. As a result, some Divi Machine users who rely on the free version of ACF were also affected, which is why we are writing this guide on updating ACF while this situation is being resolved.

How to Update ACF Manually

WP Engine has implemented an alternative update mechanism for ACF, allowing users to continue keeping the plugin updated without needing access to WordPress.org. Here’s a quick guide to updating ACF manually:

1. Download the Latest Zip File: Visit the official Advanced Custom Fields site to get the latest version of the plugin.
2. Log in to Your WordPress Dashboard: Navigate to your WordPress admin panel.
3. Navigate to Plugins > Add New: Click “Upload Plugin,” select the downloaded zip file, and hit “Install Now.”
4. Overwrite Existing Plugin: Confirm you want to overwrite the existing version of ACF.

After doing this, future updates will appear in the WordPress admin as usual, thanks to WP Engine’s workaround.

For WP Engine customers or those using Flywheel, automatic updates are available, and the process is simplified via the new ‘WP Engine Secure Updater’ plugin, which can handle updates across multiple WP Engine plugins with ease.

Moving Forward

While these recent events have created some challenges for WP Engine and the broader WordPress community, users of ACF can continue to keep their sites updated using the manual methods provided. ACF PRO version users remain unaffected—all updates continue as normal through their original channels.

By following these steps, you can ensure your site runs smoothly and that your plugins are always up to date.

A Note About Divi Engine

We want to clarify that Divi Engine is not involved in the ongoing situation between WP Engine, ACF, and WordPress. Divi Machine, one of our products, utilizes ACF to enhance its functionality, but we are not affiliated with WP Engine or Advanced Custom Fields beyond using their publicly available tools. However, due to this recent situation, some Divi Machine users who rely on ACF may have been affected when trying to update the free version of ACF. Our goal is to help our users create the best possible websites, and we remain focused on providing top-notch support and development for our plugins.

If you’re looking for a powerful way to enhance your Divi websites, Divi Machine is a fantastic solution that leverages the power of ACF to create dynamic, complex content with ease. With Divi Machine, you can build custom post types, advanced filters, and unique layouts—all without touching a single line of code. It’s the perfect way to unlock the full potential of ACF within the Divi ecosystem, allowing you to create visually stunning and highly functional websites.

Learn more about Divi Machine