#1493 Posted in ‘Route 66’

Route66 v1 to v2 upgrade causes missing plugin file error and data loss on reinstall

Latest post by Lefteris Kavadas on Monday, 16 February 2026 14:23 EET

Friday, 13 February 2026 17:18 EET

Wilhelm Giesbrecht

Hello Route66 Support Team,

 

After upgrading Route66 for Joomla from version 1 to version 2, I am consistently getting the following error:

0 Failed opening required ‘/html/live/webroot/plugins/system/route66/lib/plugin.php’ (include_path=’.:/usr/local/php/usr/local/include/php’)

This has now happened on two separate installations after the upgrade.

During the update process I also receive a message stating that parts of the package could not be removed because they are part of a larger package. After that, I keep getting repeated error messages on the site.

As a workaround I can disable the plugin and reinstall it, but then all of my existing Route66 data is gone.

Is there any way to upgrade to v2 while keeping the existing data, or to import/migrate the old v1 data into version 2 without losing it? If there is a specific upgrade or migration procedure I should follow, please let me know.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards

Friday, 13 February 2026 18:19 EET

Lefteris Kavadas

Hello Wilhelm,

This error occurs when the installer is unable to remove some deprecated Route 66 v1.x extensions that are no longer used in version 2. As a result, Joomla may still try to load old files such as /plugins/system/route66/lib/plugin.php, which no longer exist.

We have already implemented a fix so that future updates will automatically disable these legacy extensions before attempting removal. This fix will be included in the next Route 66 update, which will be released in the next few days.

In the meantime, after installing version 2.x, please manually disable any Route 66 extensions that still show version 1.x. You can do this from System → Manage → Extensions by filtering for “route66”. If you cannot access the administrator area, this can also be done directly via the database (for example using phpMyAdmin). If you prefer, you may create a private ticket and provide database access, and I will take care of it for you.

Regarding your existing data: it can be preserved during the upgrade. The correct procedure is to install version 2.x directly over version 1.x without uninstalling the previous version. Then you just have to use the migration tool under /administrator/index.php?option=com_route66&view=upgrade . The migration process is described in detail here:

https://www.firecoders.com/documentation/route-66#upgrading 

If the previous version was uninstalled before installing v2, Joomla will remove the associated database tables, and the data cannot be preserved.

Please let me know if you need assistance with the upgrade.

Best regards,
Lefteris

Monday, 16 February 2026 13:37 EET

Wilhelm Giesbrecht

Thanks. I’ve encountered this issue with other installations as well: as soon as I deactivate the backward compatibility plugin, I get the 'JPlugin' error. To fix it, I deleted Route 66 and then performed the upgrade from version 5 to 6. While new installations work fine, this would be quite annoying for upgrades. But I'm sure you'll fix that too, right? :) Thanks for the quick support; I was able to manage well with the workaround.

Monday, 16 February 2026 14:23 EET

Lefteris Kavadas

Hi Wilhelm,

Yes, this is caused by the same issue — leftover Route 66 v1.x extensions that were not properly removed during the upgrade.

The JPlugin error appears because those legacy extensions still attempt to load old Joomla classes that are no longer used or required in Route 66 v2.x. 

Once the old v1.x extensions are properly disabled and removed, the error will no longer occur.

We have already implemented a fix to ensure these legacy extensions are automatically disabled during the upgrade process, so future updates will complete cleanly without requiring manual intervention.

Thank you for your patience, and I’m glad the workaround helped. The next release will make this process seamless.

Best regards,
Lefteris

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