Variable Products turn into Simple Products randomly

I also want to add in one more note. I created a new staging site so I can also debug from my end.

When the site copied over, all of the products copied over as they should be. Where on my production site some of the variable products were turned simple, now all of the products that should be variable, are so on staging!

The other issue of some of the product brands and categories getting stripped from simple products have also corrected itself and appear 100% correct on staging!

Definitely something weird going on…

Hi there!

Thanks for sharing these details. This definitely sounds like an unusual issue, especially since the problem corrects itself on the staging site.

Since the issue isn’t occurring on the staging site, the problem on the live site could be caused by caching, a plugin conflict, or database inconsistencies.

1. Check for Caching Issues
   • Since you’re using FlyingPress and Redis Object Cache, clear all caches, including browser, site, and server caches.
   • Temporarily disable these caching plugins and check if the issue persists.
2. Disable Background Processes
   • Plugins like Perfmatters and Simprosys Product Feed might be modifying products dynamically. Try disabling them and monitoring the issue.
3. Check for Plugin Conflicts
   • Since WooCommerce.com Update Manager was recently added, check if the issue started after that update.
   • Temporarily disable non-essential WooCommerce-related plugins like Extra Product Sorting Options, Amazon Pay, WooPayments, and YITH plugins to see if any of them are causing this.
4. Compare Staging and Live Settings
   • If staging works fine, compare product settings, plugin versions, and database tables between the two sites.

let me know how that goes

It looks like turning off Redis Object Cache showed all the products in the dashboard the way they were supposed to be. I will keep an eye on this for the next day or two though, to confirm they don’t switch back.

Hi @dawhitestuff329,

I’m glad you identified a possible cause of the issue. If it persists or happens again, feel free to reach out.

Hi Moses,

So I get a whole new problem when I turn off Redis caching. Yes, the variable products all get converted back to normal, but some of my product attributes get stripped from away. What ends up appearing in my attribute choices after turning off Redis are attributes I had created a year ago, that I no longer use and have been deleted. This makes 0% sense to me on why they come back out of nowhere after having been deleted so long ago. Also, my shop and category archives get messed up as well, completely disappearing some filters.

I don’t know if running any Woocommerce tools like clearing transients, etc. would do anything, I just don’t want to lose all the work I did in building those attributes for hundreds of products. I already lost product tags with this mess, I can’t afford to lose more.

I don’t want to trade one issue from another. At least with the variable products issue, it’s a battle I’m familiar with that I can somewhat handle since it has been happening for months.

Regarding the earlier suggestions, I have had Simprosys Product Feed review again and again if it was their plugin causing this issue, but they have assured me it is not because of them.

Do you have a recommendation of what I can do to prevent old attributes from coming back when turning off Redis cache?

Hi there,

Thanks for the update! It sounds like Redis Object Cache is serving outdated product data, which is why deleted attributes are reappearing when you disable it. This could be due to stale cache entries or database inconsistencies.

Here are a few steps you can try to resolve this:

1. Manually Clear Redis Cache – If you haven’t already, try fully flushing Redis to ensure it’s not holding onto old data. This can usually be done via your hosting control panel or a Redis command like:

redis-cli FLUSHALL

2. Run WooCommerce Database Tools (Safely) – To refresh your product data without losing attributes, go to WooCommerce > Status > Tools and try running:

? Regenerate the product lookup table

? Recount terms (for categories and attributes)

? Clear expired transients (shouldn’t affect active product data)

3. Check Database for Old Entries – Since outdated attributes are reappearing, there might be orphaned or cached entries in your database. If comfortable, you can check your wp_terms, wp_termmeta, and wp_wc_product_attributes tables for old attribute data.

4. Test Alternative Object Caching – If Redis is causing data inconsistencies, you might try an alternative like Memcached or disable object caching for WooCommerce while keeping other performance optimizations active.

Let us know if any of these steps help, or if the issue persists!