Can’t Access WP-Admin Error: Fixing WordPress Login Not Working Issue

WordPress login not working is undeniably frustrating.

It’s a common error caused by invalid login credentials, cache conflicts, plugin and theme complications, corrupted .htaccess, and many more.

Although login problems may seem complicated, the solution is often simple.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the most common reasons for WordPress login problems and how to resolve them. Take a look at them.

Note: Before making any internal changes to your website, create a backup of your website files to prevent data loss.

1. Enable Cookies and Clear Your Browser Cache

Cookies are small pieces of data stored by browsers when users interact with websites. Disabling cookies for some reason can result in issues like ”Cookies are blocked or not supported by your browser.”

You can resolve WordPress login issues by enabling cookies, but it’s vital to clear your browser cache even with cookies enabled.

Browser cache contains temporary files that may become outdated or conflicting, resulting in login errors. Clearing the cache is a common solution for resolving WordPress login not working issues.

Here’s how to clear caches in different browsers:

• Google Chrome: Navigate to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data
• Safari: Find Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data
• Mozilla Firefox: Go to Options > Privacy & Security > Clear Data
• Microsoft Edge: Access Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data

Expert Advice: To ensure a thorough clean-up, always select “all time” when clearing your browser cache. Reload the login page after this thorough cleanup and try logging in again.

2. Get Your Lost Or Forgotten Password Back

Are you facing issues with incorrect credentials despite entering the correct login information? Sometimes you forget your password, and another user may have changed it, or even a security breach might be the cause.

While the possibilities may seem endless, the solution is remarkably straightforward. You can resolve password-related issues using multiple methods, for example: 

Reset Your Password:

Use WordPress’ built-in password recovery feature if you’ve forgotten your login password. Upon entering an incorrect password, you’ll get ”Error: The password you entered for the username [your username] is incorrect. Lost your password?”

Simply click on the ‘’Lost your password’’ link, and you will be redirected to the password reset page. Simply enter your email address and follow the instructions sent to your inbox.

Get Your Password Reset by an Administrator:

If your site has another administrator, you can ask them to reset your password. The user will be able to manually reset the password if they still have access to your website. Here are the steps they can take:

Step: 1 – Navigate to the “Users” tab in the WordPress dashboard.

Step: 2 – Select or click the user you’d like to edit.

Step: 3 – Scroll down to the ‘’New Password’’ section and set a password.

A new password will be generated for you by WordPress, or you can create a new one. Once you’ve changed your password, click ‘’Update Profile’’, then try to log in to your site.

Change Your WordPress Password Manually:

If you don’t have another admin or can’t reset your password using the built-in feature, consider the manual process. This involves changing the password using phpMyAdmin (note that different hosting providers use various database management software).

Since most hosting providers have cPanel, we’re going to show you how to change your WordPress password using it:

Step: 1 – Log in to your hosting account’s cPanel and navigate to phpMyAdmin.

Step: 2 – Select your database (if you have multiple databases).

Step: 3 – Within the selected database, find and open the table named “wp_users”

Step: 4 – Search for the row containing your username or email address.

Step: 5 – Click “’Edit,’’ enter a new password in the ‘’Value’’ field under the ‘’user_pass’’ column.

Step: 6 – Choose MD5 encryption method from the drop-down menu and click ‘’Go’’ to save your changes.

Note: Create a backup of the website and database before making any manual changes.

After manually changing your password, log in with the new one. Simply clear your browser cache, refresh the login page, and try again. You should be able to access your website.

3. Deactivate All the Plugins

Another common factor contributing to WordPress login not working issues is plugin conflicts. You’ll face issues like blank login pages, HTTP 500 Internal Server Error, ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS, and more. 

Occasionally, conflicts arise between plugins, or a security plugin may be blocking your login.

To resolve the login error, you need to deactivate all plugins. And since you don’t have access to the WordPress dashboard, you must deactivate or disable all plugins manually.

To do so, you can use FTP client or your cPanel’s File Manager. We’ll guide you through disabling plugins using both FTP and cPanel:

Deactivate Plugins Using cPanel:

Step: 1 – Log in to your hosting account’s cPanel and locate “File Manager.”

Step: 2 – Navigate to “public_html” and then “wp-content.”

Step: 3 –  Inside ‘’wp-content,’’ select the ‘’plugins” folder.

Step: 4 –  Right-click the ‘’plugins’’ folder and rename it (this deactivates all plugins).

Step: 5 – Attempt to log in to your website to check if the issue is resolved.

Deactivate Plugins Using FTP :

Step 1: Connect to your site using your preferred FTP program.

Step 2: Navigate to the wp-content folder and find the plugins folder within it.

Step 3: Rename the folders of plugins you want to deactivate.

Step 4: Attempt to log in to the WordPress admin area to see if the issue is resolved.

Regardless of the method you choose, successful login indicates a plugin issue. To identify the culprit, reactivate plugins one by one, testing login after each activation. Once found, update the problematic plugin, contact its support, or explore alternative options.

4. Disable Your WordPress Theme

WordPress theme conflicts can also cause login errors, especially if you have a custom login page or there is a compatibility issue. Before you draw any conclusions, try disabling your site’s theme using FTP or cPanel.

• cPanel users can access their themes in the wp-content folder via cPanel > File Manager > public_html > WP-content > Themes. Rename the theme folder.
• FTP users should access their FTP account, navigate to wp-content > Themes, and rename the theme folder.

Renaming the theme folder disables your current theme, replacing it with one of WordPress’ built-in themes. Try logging in. If you can access your site, it confirms that your installed theme may be the cause of the error.

In order to resolve the conflict, try reinstalling a fresh copy or contacting theme support.

5. Delete .htaccess File and Create a New One

.htaccess file plays a crucial role in your WordPress site, and if it becomes corrupted, you may encounter login errors, 404 messages, URL redirection issues, or constant page refreshes. (This file is particularly significant for websites hosted on an Apache server.)

To resolve this issue, the recommended solution is to delete the corrupted .htaccess file and create a new one. Since you cannot access the WordPress dashboard, you’ll need to manage the file through File Manager or FTP client

Utilizing the File Manager or FTP client for .htaccess file management is super effortless. 

Delete .htaccess File Using cPanel:

• Log in to your hosting account and access cPanel.
• Navigate to File Manager > public_html.
• Locate the .htaccess file.
• Right-click the file and select Delete. (Before deleting, download the.htaccess file to your local computer.)

Delete .htaccess File Using FTP Client:

Instead of using cPanel, you can employ an FTP client to resolve the WordPress login not working error by deleting the .htaccess file. Follow these steps:

• Connect your site to your FTP client.
• Navigate to the root directory of your site (usually containing folders like “wp-admin,” “wp-content,” and “wp-includes”).
• Locate and then right-click the .htaccess file and select Delete. (Download the .htaccess file before deleting.)

After deletion, log in to see if the error is resolved. If successful, there were issues with the .htaccess file. Now you have to add a .htaccess file to your server to make your work smoothly. 

1. Go to Settings > Permalinks in your dashboard.
2. Click Save Changes. Doing so will automatically create the .htaccess file on your server.

Note: If you can not able to find the .htaccess file, go to the settings and enable the option to “Show Hidden Files” or “Show Hidden Files and Folders.” 

6. Correct Your Site URL:

Having forgotten a custom login URL created through a plugin or coding can result in login errors, 404 errors, redirects, or page refreshes. You can easily resolve this issue by disabling the plugin using cPanel or FTP. 

Alternatively, you can use your FTP client or cPanel to recreate or correct this URL-related problem. Simply log in to your hosting account or connect to your FTP client and follow the instructions below,

• Locate the “wp-config.php” file in your site’s root folder.
• Right-click, select the edit option, and add the following snippet just above the /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */ line:

define(‘WP_HOME’,’https://www.yoursite.com’);

define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’https://www.yoursite.com’);

Be sure to replace ‘example.com’ with your own domain name and keep both URLs’ domain names the same.

Note: By adding this code to your wp-config.php file, you forfeit the ability to change the URL of your WordPress site from the dashboard. If you’ve utilized custom code for a personalized login URL, you’ll need development assistance.

7. Increase Your Server Memory

If you encounter login errors, including ‘’Allowed memory size exhausted’’ or ‘’Fatal error: Out of memory,’’ Your site may be suffering from a memory constraint issue. Having a memory constraint means your site runs out of PHP, so you have to increase your server’s memory.

There are several ways to increase the PHP memory limit of your site, including using cPanel or an FTP client. Check out our provided instructions: 

• Access your hosting cPanel or connect your site to an FTP client.
• Navigate to your site’s root folder and locate the ‘’wp-config.php’’ file.
• Right-click on the ‘’wp-config.php’’ file and select View/Edit.
• Paste the following code snippet before the ‘’That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing’’ line and save it.

define( ‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’ );

By increasing the PHP memory limit, you may be able to fix the login error. If you’re still having memory-related issues, increase the limit to 512MB, upgrade your hosting plan, or contact your hosting provider.

8. Fix File and Folder Permission Problems

The “403 Forbidden” or “500 Internal Server Error” error messages are examples of permission issues with files and folders. File and folder permission issues are rare, but they can be resolved easily.

The wp-admin folder and the wp-login.php file contain all your browser directories, so if they contain the wrong permissions, you’ll have log in problems. Fortunately, you can easily resolve this issue with an FTP client or a file manager.

• Connect your site to an FTP client or log in to your cPanel.
• Locate the wp-admin folder and wp-login.php file in your WordPress root directory.
• Right-click on them, choose ‘’Permission,’’ and adjust the following numeric values:

wp-admin folder numeric value: 755

wp-login.php file numeric value: 644

Once you’ve adjusted the values of the file and folder, click OK. Now refresh the login page and attempt to log in to verify whether there is still an error.

9. Fix Error Establishing a Database Connection

‘’Error Establishing a Database Connection’’ is a relatively rare yet frustrating login issue. It occurs when WordPress loses connection to the database, usually due to incorrect database credentials, corrupted databases, or damaged files.

There could be a lot of reasons to face such a login error, but you can fix this with proper guidance. You can follow the below-provided steps to fix the database connection error and regain login access:

• Check the Database Login Credential of Your WordPress Site:  Verify the database name, username, password, and hostname in wp-config.php by using FTP or your hosting control panel. You can find the database credentials in the MySQL section.

• Fix Your Corrupted WordPress Database: An error message such as ‘’Database tables unavailable’’ indicates a potential corruption in your WordPress database. You can rectify this issue by using your hosting provider’s database repair tool, such as phpMyAdmin. 

• Repair Your Plugins and Themes File: Use cPanel or an FTP client to deactivate all the plugins and themes you have on your site. Corrupted plugins or theme files can lead to database connection problems. (Follow the third and fourth steps’ instructions for that.)

• Reinstall the WordPress Core File: Download a fresh copy from the official website, then upload and overwrite existing files via FTP or your hosting control panel (excluding wp-config.php and wp-content). 

• Check If Your Database Server is Down: If facing high traffic, your database server may be overwhelmed, leading to connection issues. Contact your hosting provider for assistance. Alternatively, manually check server status via the control panel’s public_html folder by creating a PHP file.

• Revert to an Earlier Version: Restore a backup from before a recent update if the login issue occurred after a recent update. 

Fixing the ‘’Error Establishing a Database Connection’’ is a broad topic that requires in-depth information from experts. For detailed guidance, we recommend checking out our article on the 6 Ways to Fix WordPress Error Establishing a Database Connection.

Final Thoughts

Don’t freak out when you encounter WordPress login not working issues.

It’s a common error that every blogger and developer faces at least once. Hence, instead of becoming frustrated, follow our detailed guide to troubleshoot login issues.

Start with basics, like clearing the cache and disabling plugins and themes. For more advanced troubleshooting, consider actions such as deleting the .htaccess file, correcting site URLs, adjusting PHP memory limits, and resolving file and folder issues.

Remember, whichever method you choose, you should always back up your website beforehand. By taking this precaution, you ensure that your data is safe throughout the troubleshooting process.