Debug: SQLSTATE[42S22]: Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ in Magento 2

Hello Magento friends 😃

Did you ever stumble upon the SQLSTATE[42S22]: Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ in Magento 2? Well, in this blog post, I will discuss the same and its possible causes that will help you debug the issue. 👩‍💻

Handling your store’s database can turn complex once you scale up your business, which makes operations prone to technical errors. One of such common technical issues faced by the merchants using Magento 2 (now known as Adobe Commerce) is the Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ error. It is an SQL error that is thrown by the system when the requested column is not found in the requested tables.

In my previous blog post, I provided a complete solution to a similar Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ error in Magento 2 Admin Grid MassAction. But, the error is not just limited to the admin grid; therefore, in this blog post, I will provide you with some of the possible causes of the error in Magento 2.

Possible Causes of Magento 2 SQLSTATE[42S22]: Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’

As discussed at the beginning of the blog post, the SQLSTATE[42S22] is thrown by Magento 2 in case the requested column is not found in the database.

There can be multiple causes for this. Finding the causative factor of the error will help you debug and solve the issue. Discussed below are some of the common causes of SQLSTATE[42S22]: Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ in Magento 2:

1. Outdated SQL Queries of Third-Party Extensions

Many store owners face this error after upgrading their store to the latest Magento version because some updates also come with minor changes in the core database tables. It may be possible that some of the columns in the database may have been deprecated or their names have been changed in the latest version.

The Magento extensions that have been built keeping the older version in mind and calling such non-existing columns may throw the Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ in Magento 2. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the SQL queries fired by the third-party extension are valid. You can try disabling each of the third-party extensions in Magento 2 one by one to find the extension that is producing the error.

2. Incompatible SQL Queries of Extensions

One of the possible and obvious causes of the SQLSTATE[42S22] error in Magento 2 may be the incompatibility of the SQL queries.

It may be possible that the SQL queries fired by the extensions in Magento 2 are just not valid. The cause can be the non-existence of the columns requested by the extension, which can be due to some technical or human errors.

3. Joining Multiple Tables

You may also encounter the SQLSTATE[42S22]: Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ in Magento 2 while joining multiple tables.

The causative factor of the said error can be the SQL error of ambiguity produced when multiple columns with the same name exist. This can confuse the machine about which column you are referring to. In such a case, you can change the name of any duplicate columns to avoid the error.

4. Improper Database Indexing

Another possible cause of the Column Not Found error in Magento 2 may be improper indexing of the database. Poor database indexing in your server can also affect the data retrieval process and produce the above-mentioned error.

In such a case, reindexing in Magento 2 may help! The reindexing will put the required column back to the indexed table so it can be found.

So that’s it!

I hope the reasons provided here will help you debug the SQLSTATE[42S22]: Column Not Found: 1054 Unknown Column in ‘where clause’ in Magento 2.

In case you still have any doubts or queries regarding this error, you can comment. I’d be happy to help you. 😇

Also, do not forget to share this blog post with the Magento community via social media & other channels. 😊

Thanks for reading! 🍀