Automatic update to major WP version should be disabled by default

[jqz]

For a live website, an automatic update to a new major WP version with potentially breaking changes is unwanted.

Updates should be first tested in a sandbox or staging environment, to confirm there are no conflicts or issues.

The default setting change in 6.5 (to enable major WP updates) should be reverted. I know it can be changed manually, but the default is entirely unsuitable for a live environment. It's just another unnecessary set-up step that can be easily overlooked.

(Motivation: 6.7 update breaks quite a few things.)

[jqz]

On the updates page, you even have the following message:

Important: before updating, please back up your database and files. For help with updates, visit the Updating WordPress documentation page.

It's not possible to do a back-up before updating if the update happens automatically, and you don't know when it will happen.

[knutsp]

Automatic updates for major releases are off by default.

[desrosj]

Replying to knutsp:

Automatic updates for major releases are off by default.

I think this was a typo, but just to make sure it's clear: automatic updates for major releases are on starting in WordPress 5.6 (see [49581]/#51743).

This was an intentional decision and there are no plans to reverse this at this time. If you wish to opt-out of automatic updates for major releases, you can set WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE to minor or false in your wp-config.php file (​documentation).

[knutsp]

Thank you for the correction, @desrosj. I missed that back then. I have always set WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE to true since introduced.

[jqz]

Most of the comments ​by your own team seem to have been opposed to the idea of major updates enabled by default. So I am baffled as to why this went ahead.