Last reviewed 7 May 2026

Applies to

Unity URP migration Material conversion and cleanup Pipeline compatibility troubleshooting

Difficulty Intermediate

How to Update Materials to URP in Unity 2020

When moving a Unity 2020 project to the Universal Render Pipeline, one of the most common problems is that older materials stop looking correct. Some may turn pink, lose expected lighting behavior, or render with the wrong surface settings.

That happens because the materials were built for a different pipeline and need to be converted or rebuilt for URP.

Why Materials Break During URP Migration

Materials are tied to shaders, and shaders are tied to the render pipeline they were designed for.

If a project originally used the built-in pipeline, older shaders may not work correctly in URP.

Common symptoms:

• pink materials
• incorrect transparency
• missing reflections
• wrong lighting response
• flat or broken-looking surfaces

Symptom	Likely cause	First check
Material turns pink	Shader is missing or incompatible with URP.	Confirm the project is using URP, then assign a URP-compatible shader.
Texture disappears	Texture slot did not map cleanly during conversion.	Reassign base map, normal map, mask, or emission texture manually.
Surface becomes too shiny	Smoothness or metallic values changed meaning.	Compare the old material and adjust URP Lit properties.
Transparency looks wrong	Surface type, alpha clipping, or blending changed.	Review URP material surface options.
Custom shader breaks	Built-in pipeline shader code cannot be auto-converted.	Find a URP version or rebuild the shader/material.

Before You Convert Anything

Do this first:

1. back up the project
2. confirm the URP package is installed properly
3. make sure a URP pipeline asset is actually assigned
4. test in a duplicate scene if possible

Do not start mass-converting materials until the base URP setup is correct.

Also remember that Unity menu names changed over time. In Unity 2020-era URP projects, material upgrade commands may appear under an Edit > Render Pipeline or Rendering menu. In newer Unity versions, Unity uses the Render Pipeline Converter window for Built-in to URP material upgrades. Follow the menu path that matches the Unity version you are actually using.

Basic Conversion Workflow

The usual process is:

1. install and configure URP
2. switch the project to the URP pipeline asset
3. run Unity's material upgrade process if available
4. inspect converted materials manually
5. fix any problem materials one by one

Automatic conversion helps, but it rarely solves every edge case.

Conversion approach	Use it when
Convert selected materials	You are testing a few assets or repairing a small imported pack.
Convert project materials	The whole project is intentionally moving from Built-in to URP.
Rebuild material manually	The material uses a custom shader, special transparency, or a result that converted poorly.
Replace with mobile-safe material	The world needs Android or Quest support and the old material is too expensive.

What To Check After Conversion

Review materials for:

• base color and albedo appearance
• metallic or smoothness values
• normal map behavior
• transparency mode
• emission settings
• shader assignment
• material references on prefabs and scene objects
• platform-specific material variants

Some materials will need manual cleanup even if the automatic upgrade mostly worked.

When A Material Turns Pink

Pink usually means the shader is missing or incompatible.

To fix it:

1. select the material
2. assign a URP-compatible shader
3. reapply texture maps if needed
4. test the result under scene lighting

If the old shader came from a custom package, you may need a URP version of that shader or a manual rebuild.

Do not keep clicking conversion tools on the same broken material without checking the shader. If the shader itself is not convertible, repeated conversion attempts will not solve the real problem.

Common Conversion Problems

Transparency looks wrong.

Surface type, alpha clipping, blend mode, sorting, and texture alpha may need adjustment in the URP material. For VRChat mobile targets, avoid transparency where possible.

Materials look too shiny or too dull.

Smoothness and metallic values may not translate exactly the same way. Compare the material under the actual scene lighting instead of relying only on the Inspector preview.

Emission no longer looks correct.

Emission settings often need to be checked manually after conversion. Confirm the emission color, texture slot, intensity, and any bloom or post-processing assumptions.

Custom shaders stop working.

Custom shaders built for the old pipeline usually need a URP-compatible replacement, Shader Graph rebuild, or manual shader rewrite rather than a simple material conversion.

Best Practice For Bigger Projects

If the project is large:

• convert in stages
• test one scene at a time
• fix shared materials first
• keep notes on what needed manual replacement
• check prefabs after conversion, not only loose material assets
• keep a list of custom shaders that need separate handling

This is much safer than trying to convert everything blindly and hoping it all works.

References

• Unity Documentation

• Unity Manual

• Unity URP Manual

• Unity's material upgrade documentation explains that Built-in Render Pipeline materials need upgrading for URP or HDRP, otherwise they can appear pink.

• Newer Unity versions use the Render Pipeline Converter with a Built-in to URP material upgrade path, while Unity 2020-era workflows may use older Edit menu conversion commands.

• Unity's converter helps with built-in material upgrades, but custom shaders often need a URP-compatible shader or manual rebuild.

Final Advice

URP migration in Unity 2020 is not just a checkbox. It is a shader and material cleanup process. Set up URP properly first, use automatic conversion where it helps, then manually inspect the materials that matter most.

That approach is much more reliable than expecting every old material to survive the pipeline change unchanged.

Helpful follow-up pages

• Universal Render Pipeline (URP) Basics
• How to convert a SRP material to URP
• Converting Custom Shaders to the Universal Render Pipeline Tutorial
• URP

Help! My material or shader looks wrong after changing it.

Check the assigned shader, texture slots, render pipeline, and platform target. Revert to the backed-up material if the conversion changed more than expected.

Help! Will this work on Quest or Android?

Assume mobile is stricter. Use mobile-safe shaders and test the Android build path before depending on the effect in a cross-platform VRChat project.

Related Navigation

• Unity3D Documentation
• Unity Troubleshooting
• VRChat Documentation