diff --git a/config/config.sample.php b/config/config.sample.php
index f05b206957..7778d4f6d6 100644
--- a/config/config.sample.php
+++ b/config/config.sample.php
@@ -1196,6 +1196,11 @@ $CONFIG = array(
  */
 'memcache.locking' => '\\OC\\Memcache\\Redis',
 
+/**
+ * Disable the web based updater
+ */
+'upgrade.disable-web' => false,
+
 /**
  * Set this ownCloud instance to debugging mode
  *
diff --git a/core/ajax/update.php b/core/ajax/update.php
index 631a8a7871..cf6e265951 100644
--- a/core/ajax/update.php
+++ b/core/ajax/update.php
@@ -37,9 +37,17 @@ $eventSource = \OC::$server->createEventSource();
 // need to send an initial message to force-init the event source,
 // which will then trigger its own CSRF check and produces its own CSRF error
 // message
-$eventSource->send('success', (string)$l->t('Preparing update'));
+//$eventSource->send('success', (string)$l->t('Preparing update'));
 
 if (OC::checkUpgrade(false)) {
+
+	$config = \OC::$server->getSystemConfig();
+	if ($config->getValue('upgrade.disable-web', true)) {
+		$eventSource->send('failure', (string)$l->t('Updates need to be installed. Please use the command line updater.'));
+		$eventSource->close();
+		exit();
+	}
+
 	// if a user is currently logged in, their session must be ignored to
 	// avoid side effects
 	\OC_User::setIncognitoMode(true);
diff --git a/core/templates/update.use-cli.php b/core/templates/update.use-cli.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..52d40cdea5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/templates/update.use-cli.php
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<div class="update" data-productname="<?php p($_['productName']) ?>" data-version="<?php p($_['version']) ?>">
+	<div class="updateOverview">
+		<h2 class="title"><?php p($l->t('Update needed')) ?></h2>
+		<div class="infogroup">
+			<?php if ($_['tooBig']) {
+				p($l->t('Please use the command line updater because you have a big instance.'));
+			} else {
+				p($l->t('Please use the command line updater because automatic updating is disabled in the config.php.'));
+			} ?><br><br>
+			<?php
+			print_unescaped($l->t('For help, see the  <a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="%s">documentation</a>.', [link_to_docs('admin-cli-upgrade')])); ?><br><br>
+		</div>
+	</div>
+</div>
diff --git a/lib/base.php b/lib/base.php
index 818e13fbef..2796758836 100644
--- a/lib/base.php
+++ b/lib/base.php
@@ -337,27 +337,49 @@ class OC {
 	 */
 	private static function printUpgradePage() {
 		$systemConfig = \OC::$server->getSystemConfig();
+
+		$disableWebUpdater = $systemConfig->getValue('upgrade.disable-web', false);
+		$tooBig = false;
+		if (!$disableWebUpdater) {
+			// count users
+			$stats = \OC::$server->getUserManager()->countUsers();
+			$totalUsers = array_sum($stats);
+			$tooBig = ($totalUsers > 50);
+		}
+		if ($disableWebUpdater || $tooBig) {
+			// send http status 503
+			header('HTTP/1.1 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable');
+			header('Status: 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable');
+			header('Retry-After: 120');
+
+			// render error page
+			$template = new OC_Template('', 'update.use-cli', 'guest');
+			$template->assign('productName', 'ownCloud'); // for now
+			$template->assign('version', OC_Util::getVersionString());
+			$template->assign('tooBig', $tooBig);
+
+			$template->printPage();
+			die();
+		}
+
+		// check whether this is a core update or apps update
+		$installedVersion = $systemConfig->getValue('version', '0.0.0');
+		$currentVersion = implode('.', \OCP\Util::getVersion());
+
+		// if not a core upgrade, then it's apps upgrade
+		$isAppsOnlyUpgrade = (version_compare($currentVersion, $installedVersion, '='));
+
 		$oldTheme = $systemConfig->getValue('theme');
 		$systemConfig->setValue('theme', '');
 		\OCP\Util::addScript('config'); // needed for web root
 		\OCP\Util::addScript('update');
 		\OCP\Util::addStyle('update');
 
-		// check whether this is a core update or apps update
-		$installedVersion = $systemConfig->getValue('version', '0.0.0');
-		$currentVersion = implode('.', \OCP\Util::getVersion());
-
 		$appManager = \OC::$server->getAppManager();
 
 		$tmpl = new OC_Template('', 'update.admin', 'guest');
 		$tmpl->assign('version', OC_Util::getVersionString());
-
-		// if not a core upgrade, then it's apps upgrade
-		if (version_compare($currentVersion, $installedVersion, '=')) {
-			$tmpl->assign('isAppsOnlyUpgrade', true);
-		} else {
-			$tmpl->assign('isAppsOnlyUpgrade', false);
-		}
+		$tmpl->assign('isAppsOnlyUpgrade', $isAppsOnlyUpgrade);
 
 		// get third party apps
 		$ocVersion = \OCP\Util::getVersion();
@@ -423,7 +445,7 @@ class OC {
 	}
 
 	public static function loadAppClassPaths() {
-		foreach (OC_APP::getEnabledApps() as $app) {
+		foreach (OC_App::getEnabledApps() as $app) {
 			$appPath = OC_App::getAppPath($app);
 			if ($appPath === false) {
 				continue;