How to Fix When You Are Locked Out of WordPress Admin

If you’re locked out of your WordPress admin, and Here are the most common reasons:

  • You forgot the password or username.
  • A security plugin (like Wordfence, iThemes Security) blocked you due to failed logins.
  • A faulty plugin/theme is causing a crash.
  • A misconfigured .htaccess file may block admin access.
  • Server-side issues, like database corruption or memory limits.
  • Your admin user role was changed or deleted.
open-laptop-with-log
How to Fix It:

Here are some easy ways to fix sidebar below content error :

1. Forgot Password?

If the password reset email doesn’t arrive, reset it manually:

  1. Log in to your hosting cPanel and open phpMyAdmin.
  2. Find the wp_users table.
  3. Locate your username, click Edit, and update the user_pass field.
  4. Set the function to MD5, enter a new password, and save.

2. Locked Out by a Security Plugin?

If too many failed logins triggered a lockout:

  • Access your website files via FTP or cPanel File Manager.
  • Go to wp-content/plugins.
  • Find your security plugin folder (like Wordfence or iThemes Security) and rename it (e.g., wordfence_disabled).
  • Try logging in again.

3. A Plugin or Theme is Causing Problems

  • Use FTP or File Manager to access wp-content/plugins.
  • Rename the plugins folder to plugins_old (this disables all plugins).
  • If you can log in now, rename it back and disable plugins one by one to find the faulty one.
  • If it’s a theme issue, rename the wp-content/themes/your-theme-folder to something like theme_old.
4. .htaccess File Issue

If your site is giving you a blank page or login redirects:

  • Go to cPanel > File Manager > public_html.
  • Find the .htaccess file and rename it to .htaccess_backup.
  • Try logging in. If it works, go to Settings > Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes to create a new .htaccess file.

5. Your Admin Account is Deleted or Changed

If someone removed or downgraded your admin role:

  • Open phpMyAdmin and go to wp_users.
  • Click Insert to add a new admin user manually.
    • Username: newadmin
    • Password: yourpassword (Set function to MD5)
    • Email: your@email.com
  • Assign admin rights in the wp_usermeta table:
    • Insert a new row with meta_key: wp_capabilities and meta_value: a:1:{s:13:”administrator”;b:1;}
6. Server or Memory Issues

If your site keeps crashing:

  • Increase PHP memory limit by editing wp-config.php and adding:
    define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);
  • If the database is corrupted, add this to wp-config.php:
    define(‘WP_ALLOW_REPAIR’, true);
    Then go to: yourwebsite.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php and follow the steps.