Title: Can’t access network admin Last modified: February 18, 2018 --- # Can’t access network admin * [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/) * Hi, * Thanks in advance for any help you are able to offer. * I set up my multisite network in early 2017 and it was a completely clean install– I’d never used WordPress before and was moving content from blogs on Blogger. I have four sites within the network – three only I use, all created before I put any content on the sites at all, and one created in November 2017 for my partner. * I read several tutorials and followed the advice to set up a second user for the two sites that are blogs I update reguarly – an editor. I log into the editor account frequently and the super admin account very rarely – normally only when WordPress has updated and I want to update plugins. * Before today, the last time I logged in to my super admin account was probably November, when I updated the plugins, set up the site for my partner, and installed a plugin he wanted. He’s the primary user on this site, and I found another post where they’d caused this problem by trying to add a super admin via wp-cli, but I didn’t do that, I set him up an administrator just for that site via the Network Admin. * I have no idea whether this is relevant, but I had to reset my password in order to log in to my super admin account. The password I’d last used wasn’t working at all. * Then, when I had logged in, I found I couldn’t access the network admin at all. I’ve tried going to mysite.com/wp-admin/network and all I get is: ‘Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page.’ * I’ve checked the admin_email and site_admins in wp_sitemeta using phpMyAdmin as suggested in posts I’ve seen elsewhere and also tried disabling all the active_sitewide_plugins, which had no effect. * I’ve done the basic stuff – clearing the site cache, deleting cookies. I read about the bug in 4.9.3, so I used the WordPress Tools in Bluehost to update the site to 4.9.4. None of these have worked. * If you have any more suggestions I would really appreciate them! - This topic was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/). - This topic was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/). Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total) 1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/page/2/?output_format=md) [→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/page/2/?output_format=md) * [abletec](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abletec/) * (@abletec) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987323) * Hi, purpleadmin, & welcome. Could you please provide us w/the url of the site you’re having problems with? This is sometimes a sign of a site compromise. We might know more if we can look at the site(s) in question. * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987357) * Hi Jackie, the site is [http://juliannebenford.com](http://juliannebenford.com)– sorry, in my hurry to include as many details as I could remember I forgot to include the url! * [abletec](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abletec/) * (@abletec) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987413) * It happens, purpleadmin. Thanks for providing it. The truth is it was helpful, because I actually could access it. Not that I could log in, of course, but it did provide me w/a login screen & a math problem to solve. * The other thing that occurred by providing a site url was that I was able to see that you were running a cache plugin on the site. Please, therefore, clear your browser cache, & you may also need to disable the site’s cache if that does not work. Let us know if you require instructions on how to do so. * Please let us know if this did (or did not) help, ok? Thanks. * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987565) * Thanks. I’ve cleared my browser cache, and to be sure, tried using a different browser. I think I’ve disabled the site’s cache – ‘Caching’ is at the top when I’m logged in and I purged all and then turned it off in the settings. Please let me know if there’s another way. It doesn’t seem to have helped. * [abletec](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abletec/) * (@abletec) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987589) * Just curious, purpleadmin–can you access it using a cell phone? * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987604) * Yes, I can log into my site no problem, but Network Admin is still not showing on the menu at the top and /wp-admin/network still gives me the ‘Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page’. * [abletec](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abletec/) * (@abletec) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987630) * Purpleadmin, can we please see your .htaccess file. Also, what security plugins are you running? You’re obviously running 1, else I wouldn’t get this math captcha. That is what I’m supposed to be seeing, right? * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987744) * The captcha plugin is Captcha, which I see from googling was removed from the WP plugin store due to the security backdoor issue. I have deleted it from active_sitewide_plugins in my wp_sitemeta for now, but I don’t know if there is anything I need to do in order to repair any damage this caused. * Otherwise for security I had Jetpack installed, paid version, but after my previous experiment with active_sitewide_plugins it doesn’t seem to be working. * My .htaccess: * ``` # Use PHP5.6 as default AddHandler application/x-httpd-php56 .php # BEGIN WordPress RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L] # add a trailing slash to /wp-admin RewriteRule ^wp-admin$ wp-admin/ [R=301,L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d RewriteRule ^ - [L] RewriteRule ^(wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $1 [L] RewriteRule ^(.*\.php)$ $1 [L] RewriteRule . index.php [L] ExpiresActive On ExpiresByType image/jpg "access plus 1 year" ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year" ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 year" ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year" ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month" ExpiresByType application/pdf "access plus 1 month" ExpiresByType text/javascript "access plus 1 month" ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access plus 1 year" ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 weeks" AddHandler application/x-httpd-php70s .php RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /index.php [L] # END WordPress ``` - This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/). * [abletec](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abletec/) * (@abletec) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987818) * Well, purpleadmin, now that you said that about the captcha plugin, it again raises the spectre of a site compromise. I don’t see any evidence in the code, but that is not always necessary. Indeed, because the criminals wish to remain in control for as long as possible, it often does not ever show up there. * Can you tell us whether you have a subdomain or subdirectory installation? * It might also be instructive to see your wp-config.php file, but, if you paste it here, purpleadmin, please, please, please, for goodness’ sake, make sure to redact your database credentials. This is a public forum, &, lest you think I’m being condescending, I have seen this happen on considerably more than 1 occasion. So yeah–whenever I ask for someone’s wp-config.php file, I always do so w/that warning attached. * I’m going to suggest some changes to your .htaccess file, but I nee to know what sort of multisite install we’re dealing with here before doing so. * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9987828) * It’s a subdomain installation. Not taken as condescending at all. Here’s the wp-config: * ``` RewriteEngine On RewriteBase/ RewriteRule ^index\.php$ – [L] * # add a trailing slash to /wp-admin RewriteRule ^wp-admin$ wp-admin/ [R=301, L] * RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d RewriteRule ^ – [L] RewriteRule ^(wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $1 [L] RewriteRule ^(.*\. php)$ $1 [L] RewriteRule . index.php [L] * I do suggest you join Google Search Console: [http://www.google.com/webmastertools](http://www.google.com/webmastertools) Verify your ownership of the site, & see if they find anything suspicious. * If the site were mine, I’d be changing passwords on my database (remembering to make the changes in wp-config.php), as well as my dashboard & my hosting provider’s control panel. * I’d also change the salt keys in my wp-config.php to log out any unauthorized users. I’d check to see if there are any users you don’t recognize, especially admins. & I think I’d run a security plugin like Wordfence or All in One WP Security to see if files were modified. * Lastly, since I can access this & you can’t, perhaps check w/Bluehost & insure that your IP hasn’t in some way been locked. If you have a firewall running, chec the rules as well. Since you’re able to log into the site, I doubt this, but it might be worth checking nonetheless. * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9989729) * > Lastly, since I can access this & you can’t, perhaps check w/Bluehost & insure > that your IP hasn’t in some way been locked. If you have a firewall running, > chec the rules as well. Since you’re able to log into the site, I doubt this, > but it might be worth checking nonetheless. * Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by ‘since I can access this & you can’t’? What can you access that I can’t? * [abletec](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abletec/) * (@abletec) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9990408) * Purpleadmin, when I type: [http://juliannebenford.com/wp-admin/network](http://juliannebenford.com/wp-admin/network) I get a login screen. You say you’re not getting that, so I’m guessing I can access it & you’re not able to. Or perhaps you meant that once you log in you get a permissions error? Obviously I can’t log in, but I am getting a login screen when I type the url. * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9990964) * It’s a permissions error. I get the login screen, unless I am already logged in, in which case I get the ‘Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page.’ message. And if I log in through that login screen, I get the same message. It’s like I’ve been downgraded to admin on the multisite – I can’t access Network Admin, or use any of the superadmin role capabilities. - This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/). * Thread Starter [purpleadmin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/purpleadmin/) * (@purpleadmin) * [8 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/#post-9991092) * I’ve fixed it! * It turns out that for some reason, in my wp_sitemeta, my site_admins was set to the email address I use to login, rather than the actual username. I have no idea why this happened, but after searching for instructions on how to add a new superadmin I wondered if that was the issue, and after changing that one line it all started working. * Many thanks for your help, I will take your advice about security plugins. Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total) 1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/page/2/?output_format=md) [→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/page/2/?output_format=md) The topic ‘Can’t access network admin’ is closed to new replies. * In: [Networking WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/multisite/) * 29 replies * 7 participants * Last reply from: [projectitis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/projectitis/) * Last activity: [6 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-access-network-admin-6/page/2/#post-11806777) * Status: not resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics