You are correct, WordPress checks for updates to core and plugins every 12 hours, but a better way to word it would be: it checks updates if last update was more than 12 hours ago. The 12 hour setting is hard codded in wp-includes/update.php The last updated dates are stored in wp_options table and the … Read more
PHP isn’t a permanently-running process: it only runs when requested. So as far as I can tell, WordPress can only update itself when someone loads a web page. But the update process is not instantaneous, so surely a user visiting the site would have a really slow page load. Is there a different trick they … Read more
Automatic updates are automatic. The basic, default behavior in WordPress 3.7 is automatic update of core for minor versions (i.e. X.Y.Z to X.Y.Z+1.) No configuration options are exposed in the UI. To change the behavior, you’ll need to modify your wp-config.php file, or add some filters: Easy Disabling Add the following to wp_config.php: define( ‘AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED’, … Read more