If you’re seeing “Upgrade to Premium” or the error “You are trying to load a table of an unknown type,” it likely means your site is now running the Lite/free version of wpDataTables—even if you previously had the Premium plugin installed and active.
These issues typically occur after a plugin update, if you're using an auto-update manager. Since both the Lite (free) and Premium versions of wpDataTables use the same plugin slug (wpdatatables), update tools often can’t tell the difference and may overwrite your Premium plugin with the Lite one.
As a result:
Your premium features will disappear
Add-ons like Powerful Filters, Master-Detail, etc. may stop working
You might see the error:
“You are trying to load a table of an unknown type”
This specific error means the plugin can't load a table that was created with a Premium feature or add-on that is no longer available—because the Lite version is active.
Go to the wpDataTables settings → Activation tab
If the TMS Store Purchase Code field is greyed out and cannot be edited, the Lite version is currently active
You’ll need to remove/uninstall the Lite version and reinstall the Premium one. Don’t worry—your tables and data will stay safe.
Follow this full step-by-step guide:
Upgrading from wpDataTables Lite (Free) to the Premium Version
Re-activate your license via the Activation screen
Ensure that any required add-ons (Powerful Filters, Master-Detail, etc.) are also installed and activated
We recommend excluding wpDataTables from any auto-update manager to prevent this from happening again
You can always check the latest versions and compatibility on our: ChangeLog
And subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about future updates and new features.
