There are few situations more alarming than being locked out of your own WordPress admin dashboard. If you've encountered a message reading "Pitiful, you lot are non allowed to admission this folio" when trying to log in, y'all know the feeling commencement hand.

Fortunately, there are several solutions at your disposal for troubleshooting this fault. With a little patience, you tin clear up the mistake and get back to managing your WordPress site in no time.

In this post, nosotros'll dig into the "Pitiful, you are not allowed to admission this page" error and what causes information technology to occur. Then we'll walk you through the many potential solutions to help you find the 1 that addresses your specific state of affairs.

Let'due south spring correct in!

Understanding the "Sorry, You Are Not Allowed to Access This Folio" Error

Although nosotros're referring to information technology as an "error" for the purposes of this post, the "Sad, you are not allowed to access this folio" message in WordPress is meant to be a helpful security measure.

Ultimately, seeing this notification merely ways there's a permissions setting that's blocking yous from a certain area.

This becomes a problem when you're locked out of a role of your site that you should accept permission to enter which, as an Administrator, is anywhere on the backend. When this situation arises, it is oftentimes following a recent update to a theme, plugin, or WordPress core.

You may run across the "Pitiful, you are not allowed to admission this page" message for a multifariousness of reasons. It might be that WordPress doesn't recognize you equally an Ambassador. In other situations, the information independent in your site's core code or in a theme or plugin may non match what's in your database.

Boosted causes include incorrect information in your wp-config.php file or a site that's running an outdated version of PHP. Whatever the source, this error may forbid you lot from accessing the entire admin area or simply a portion of information technology.

Since it's likely that you will non be able to access cardinal settings via the dashboard, you'll need to use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or phpMyAdmin to resolve this effect. Make sure to support your site and brush upwardly on using these platforms before you dive into the troubleshooting process.

The virtually frustrating matter about encountering the "Distressing, you lot are not allowed to admission this folio" notification is that it can exist difficult to pin down which of its causes are at play. Fortunately, at that place are many solutions you can test out to discover the root of the trouble.

How to Fix the "Sorry, Yous Are Not Allowed to Access This Page" Mistake in WordPress (eleven Potential Solutions)

Due to its many possible causes, the "Sorry, yous are not allowed to access this page" error takes quite a chip of patience to resolve. This long listing of solutions may be intimidating but information technology also covers a variety of situations to help you find the right one for your site.

1. Restore a Previous Version of Your Site

The simplest and oftentimes the fastest way to get back into your WordPress dashboard is to restore your site to an before version. A contempo change, such as an update, might be the crusade of the error you're seeing. Undoing your latest modification should enable you to access your site again.

Kinsta clients take information technology easy in this regard. You tin restore a WordPress fill-in in your hosting account with a single click:

Restoring a backup in MyKinsta
Restoring a backup in MyKinsta

The drawback to this solution is that you may lose your contempo changes and will have to detect a mode to accomplish your goals without causing the same error again.

For this reason, y'all may desire to restore your backup to a staging site instead. You lot can then examination different modifications to determine what caused the trouble. Afterward uncovering the root of the issue, you lot can undo the troublesome change to regain admission to your site.

ii. Disable All of Your Plugins

A specific change that may exist causing the "Sorry, you lot are non immune to admission this page" message on your site is the recent improver or upgrade of a plugin. If y'all suspect that this is the case, your best course of action is to disable your plugins ane past ane.

In the consequence that you disable a plugin and the message goes away, you lot've found the source of the problem. You can and so troubleshoot the issue with that plugin (or practise without information technology, if it's not crucial to your site'south functionality).

Of course, if you're locked out of your dashboard entirely, this process gets a petty tricky. Y'all'll need to access your site using SFTP via a client such every bit FileZilla. Once you've washed and then, navigate to wp-content and find the sub-directory labeled plugins:

Disable all plugins by renaming the folder
Disable all plugins past renaming the folder

Enter this folder, and then rename your most recently-added plugin to something like "plugin-name_old". Go dorsum to your site and check to see if the mistake is resolved. If not, change the plugin'southward name back and repeat the process with the adjacent one.

3. Activate a Default Theme

Yet another potential crusade of this error is that y'all've recently updated or installed a theme. Your best bet for resolving this problem is to activate a default WordPress theme such equally Twenty Xx or Twenty Xix.

To do and so without access to your admin surface area, you'll need to use FTP over again. Connect to your server with FileZilla and so navigate to wp-content > themes:

Disable your current theme by renaming the folder
Disable your current theme by renaming the folder

The rest of the procedure is fairly similar to the one described above for disabling your plugins.

Rename the folder for your active theme, and then return to your site and log in. You lot should encounter a notification telling you that the active theme is broken, and a default theme has been reactivated.

So yous tin can troubleshoot the theme. Your site should at to the lowest degree exist accessible, albeit with the wrong theme activated.

4. Brand Sure You're an Administrator

Another possibility is that your user role has been inadvertently inverse and you are no longer listed equally an Administrator. This is a mutual trouble with multisite installations. To decide if this is the case, you'll demand to admission phpMyAdmin and wait for the wp_users tabular array:

The WP users table
The wp_users tabular array in phpMyAdmin

Find your username and note your ID. So, navigate to the wp_usermeta table and find the wp_capabilties row:

The wp_usermeta table in phpMyAdmin
The wp_usermeta table in phpMyAdmin

If you have Administrator privileges, the meta_value in this row volition read:

a:1:{southward:13:"ambassador";s:one:"1";}

If your wp_usermeta table says something else, you tin can click on the Edit link and modify it. Alternatively, yous tin can also create an entirely new Administrator account from phpMyAdmin. To have this route, return to the wp_users table and click on the Insert tab at the top of the table:

Change user information in wp_users table
Change user information in wp_users table

And then, fill in the fields with your new user information. Once you're done, click on the Go button and your new user should announced in the table. Side by side, yous'll need to make a note of the ID for this account and head back to the wp_usermeta table.

Click on Insert again, and fill in the resulting fields with the following information:

  • Unmeta_id: Leave this field blank; it will exist filled in automatically for you.
  • User_id: Apply the ID from the WP Users tabular array.
  • Meta_key: Set up this value equally "wp_capabilities".
  • Meta_value: Add the line mentioned above.

Yous should now be able to utilize your new credentials to log in to your WordPress admin area. Delete your old business relationship or change its user role back to Administrator from the dashboard and delete the new one instead.

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five. Check Your Error Log to Pinpoint the Cause

A smart fashion to streamline troubleshooting whatsoever problem on your site is to check your server'south fault log. This may indicate plugin or theme compatibility problems, database errors, or problems with your site'south files that are causing the "Pitiful, you are not allowed to admission this page" bulletin to appear.

How yous view your server'southward error log will vary depending on who your hosting provider is. For Kinsta customers, this procedure is equally simple equally logging into your MyKinsta dashboard. There, select the site that'south experiencing problems and navigate to Logs:

MyKinsta logs tab
MyKinsta logs tab

Cull error.log from the drop-downward menu. If you come across one of the causes of the alert in your log, then you can go about fixing it. Otherwise, you'll need to try another solution on this list.

6. Ensure That Your Database Prefix Is Correct

Every MySQL database has a prefix. If this one listed in your website's files doesn't match the one listed in phpMyAdmin, then you may see the "Sorry, you are non allowed to access this folio" message.

This can occur when migrating your site, including if yous've used a local staging site for development and are now moving to a live server. To bank check for discrepancies, you'll need to access your wp-config.php file.

Y'all tin do this via SFTP every bit we've described in previous solutions. Once you lot're in your wp-config.php file, you should wait for your database'due south prefix (the default is "wp_"):

Database prefix
Database prefix

And so, log in to phpMyAdmin and look at the prefixes for your database'due south tables. They should match the ones listed in your wp-config.php file, like in the image below:

Prefixes should match those in your wp-config.php file
Prefixes should friction match those in your wp-config.php file

If they don't lucifer the prefix in your wp-config.php file, and then you'll need to edit it so that they do.

vii. Expect for Changes in Your wp-config.php File

On a like note, you should likewise look for whatever changes to your WordPress configuration file. This is specially true if you were editing this file shortly earlier you lot received the "Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page" message or if you suspect that your WordPress site has been hacked.

You tin can access your wp-config.php file using SFTP and look for anything that seems awry. Withal, this procedure is much easier if you have some kind of file integrity monitoring or change detection feature in place.

8. Upgrade to the Latest Version of PHP

If your WordPress site is running an outdated version of PHP, this could be the source of your troubles. With that said, even if upgrading PHP doesn't solve this event for yous, it should amend your site's overall security and performance.

Earlier you outset the upgrade procedure, create a backup of your site. You tin do this manually or from your MyKinsta dashboard, even if you're locked out of your admin area. Once you've saved your backup, you lot'll desire to test to see whether your account is compatible with the latest version of PHP. One mode to practice this is with a WordPress staging site.

Assuming that all goes well, you lot tin can run the update. Kinsta customers tin easily do so by logging into the MyKinsta dashboard and navigating to the relevant site. So get to Tools > PHP Engine > Modify, and select the newest version from the drop-downwards bill of fare:

How to upgrade PHP version in MyKinsta
How to upgrade PHP version in MyKinsta

If you're with some other provider, you may be able to follow a like process via your ain control console. It's recommended that you lot contact your spider web host for more information.

9. Evaluate Your File Permissions

It'south as well possible that your site'due south file permissions have been tampered with. In this case, WordPress may consider yous unauthorized to view certain areas of your site, even if you're even so listed as an Ambassador.

To check your site'southward file permissions, you'll need to use SFTP to admission your server. Once you lot're logged in, enter the public_html directory and majority-select wp-admin, wp-content, and wp -includes. Right-click on these folders and choose File Permissions:

Checking file permissions
Checking file permissions

In the resulting window, brand sure the following options are selected:

  • The Numeric Value is ready to 755.
  • Recurse into subdirectories is checked.
  • Utilize to directories but is selected.

Click on OK when you're done. Then, highlight all the other files in public_html, correct-click on them, and select File Permissions again:

Setting new file permissions
Setting new file permissions

This time, set the options in the permissions window to the post-obit:

  • The Numeric Value should be 644.
  • Recurse into subdirectories should still be checked.
  • Use to files merely should be selected.

Then, return to your site to see if this solves the trouble and the "Pitiful, you are non allowed to access this folio" message is gone.

x. Create a New .htaccess File

If none of the in a higher place strategies have worked, you may need to reset your .htaccess file. To practise so, launch FTP and navigate to your public_html binder. You should see your .htaccess file at that place, but if you don't, follow instructions for showing subconscious files in FileZilla.

Side by side, you'll need to rename your existing .htaccess file, similar to how we renamed plugin and theme files in earlier solutions. Something recognizable such as .htaccess_original or .htaccess_backup is ideal.

So, right-click on the file and select Download. Open the file in a text editor and replace its contents with the post-obit:

          #Begin WordPress  RewriteEngine On  RewriteBase /  RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f  RewriteCOnd %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d  RewriteRule . /index.php [L]  #Stop WordPress        

Rename this file .htaccess and upload it to your server. If this file was the source of the "Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page" mistake, then it should at present be fixed.

11. Reset Your WordPress Site

In the worst-case scenario, there may exist an installation issue. To prepare it, you'll have to reset your WordPress site. It's vital that you have a recent backup you can restore afterward this process is complete, as resetting your site volition crusade you to lose all posts, pages, and user comments.

There are several methods for doing this, including via your MyKinsta dashboard, using a WordPress plugin, and past using WP-CLI (the WordPress command line). It'southward all-time to salve this route equally a last resort, and then you don't take a chance losing your site's content.

Are y'all getting the awfully alarming *Deplorable, You Are Non Immune to Admission This Folio* message? Try i of these methods to go your admission dorsum! 🙅‍♂️🔑 Click to Tweet

Summary

Being locked out of your admin dashboard in WordPress is nerve-wracking, to say the least. Quickly finding the correct solution to the "Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page" fault is vital to both your site and your peace of mind.

In this post, we covered a wide range of possible causes and fixes for this issue. Let's epitomize them apace:

  1. Restore a previous version of your site.
  2. Disable all of your plugins.
  3. Activate a default theme.
  4. Make sure yous're an administrator.
  5. Cheque your error log to pinpoint the crusade.
  6. Ensure that your database prefix is correct.
  7. Wait for changes in your wp-config.php file.
  8. Upgrade to the latest version of php.
  9. Evaluate your file permissions.
  10. Create a new .htaccess file.
  11. Reset your WordPress site.

Happy fixing!


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