The most common reason behind the “MySQL server has gone away” error is your MySQL queries timing out. That can happen if you use heavy or very long MySQL queries.
Why this error happens
Besides query timeouts, this error commonly occurs when:
- You’re importing a large SQL file via phpMyAdmin, and the import exceeds the execution time or upload size limit.
- A single query or a large piece of data (such as a BLOB or long TEXT value) exceeds the server’s maximum allowed packet size.
- A database connection sits idle for too long before being used again, and the connection is closed in the meantime.
- The MySQL service restarts unexpectedly while a query is running.
Fix the “MySQL server has gone away” error
- For query timeouts, try adding the mysql_reconnect command before each query.
- For large SQL imports, split the file into smaller chunks and import them one at a time, or use SSH with the MySQL command line instead of phpMyAdmin, which isn’t subject to the same execution time limits.
- For large individual queries or data values, try breaking the query into smaller batches instead of one large operation.
If the above solution doesn’t help, we recommend you refer for help to websites and developer community forums like GitHub, Stack Overflow, or Fiverr, where thousands of web development professionals share their knowledge 📚
Other common database issues
If you’re running into a different database-related problem, see: