Failed Downloads? Try a different browser!

This is not a support request, but it IS a heads-up to the developers of BackWPup and anyone having trouble downloading manual backups (especially if you’re using the Opera browser).

I have been unable to use versions of BackWPup newer than 3.6.3 because downloads of files larger than approx 100MB ALWAYS fail. No errors, the download simply fails to download the entire file. Version 3.6.3 works for downloads of any size. I tried setting ‘ALTERNATE_WP_CRON’ in wp-config.php, increasing the PHP memory limit, the max script execution time, upgrading and downgrading PHP, changing ALL of the plugin configuration settings and nothing made any difference.

The browser I have used for many years is Opera. On a whim, today I tried downloading a 200+ MB backup file using Firefox – and it worked! I can use Opera to download other files regardless of their size without problems (e.g., using the cPanel file manager); only BackWPup downloads fail when using the Opera browser.

Also of note, using Opera, large downloads CONSISTENTLY fail when they reach 69,632 KB, regardless of how big the file is.

So if your manual downloads are failing to complete, try using a different browser!