When we try to log in to our own WordPress websites, there have been times when the login page keeps refreshing and redirecting, preventing us from accessing the WordPress admin area.
If you’re experiencing this, you’re not alone. The WordPress login page refreshing and redirecting issue is common and frustrates many WordPress site owners. That being said, we have tested several tried-and-true methods to resolve the problem.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you how to fix the WordPress login page refreshing and redirecting issue. Let’s dive in and get you back into your WordPress dashboard so you can regain control of your website!
What Causes the Login Page Refresh and Redirect Issue in WordPress?
The WordPress login page refresh and redirect error (also called the WordPress login redirect loop) is usually caused by incorrect WordPress URL settings or failure to set login cookies.
Normally, when you log in, WordPress validates your username and password and then sets a login cookie in your browser. After that, it redirects you to the WordPress dashboard.
If WordPress fails to set the login cookie correctly or your WordPress admin area URL is incorrect, then you will be redirected back to the login screen instead of the admin dashboard.
Login issues can also be caused by different WordPress errors, such as the error establishing database connection, internal server error, or the white screen of death.
With that in mind, let’s troubleshoot and fix the WordPress login page redirect and refresh issue. You can use these quick links to jump to a specific method:
- Method 1: Clear Cookies to Resolve Login Issues
- Method 2: Update WordPress URL Settings
- Method 3: Delete .htaccess File in WordPress
- Method 4: Deactivate Your Plugins
- Method 5: Revert Back to the Default Theme
- Method 6: Reinstall WordPress Core
- Video Tutorial
- What to Do If You Can't Fix WordPress Login Redirect Issue
Note: If you want to try the advanced steps in this WordPress tutorial, then please create a backup of your site first. See our guide on how to manually create a WordPress database backup.
Method 1: Clear Cookies to Resolve Login Issues
WordPress uses cookies for login authentication, so the first step in troubleshooting WordPress login issues is the simplest one. You will need to clear your browser cookies and cache.
In Google Chrome, simply click on the browser settings menu and then select More Tools » Clear Browsing Data.
This will launch the Chrome Settings page with a ‘Clear Browsing Data’ popup displayed on the screen.
From here, you need to select the ‘Clear cookies and other site data’ and ‘Cached images and files’ options.
Next, click on the ‘Clear data’ button, and Google Chrome will clear the browser cache.
Also, make sure that your browser has cookies enabled. After doing that, restart your browser and then try to log in. This should fix the issue for most folks.
We have a complete guide with screenshots showing how to clear the cache and cookies in all major browsers.
Method 2: Update WordPress URL Settings
WordPress comes with settings for the URL of your website and the URL of your WordPress installation.
If you had access to your WordPress admin area, then you could see this option on the Settings » General page.
If these URLs are incorrect, then WordPress will redirect you back to the login page.
Since you are unable to access the WordPress admin area, you will need to edit the wp-config.php file to fix this issue.
The wp-config.php file is a special file in WordPress that contains your important WordPress settings. You can access it using an FTP client or via the File Manager app in your WordPress hosting account dashboard.
You will find the wp-config.php file in your site’s root folder. Simply edit the file and paste the following lines of code just before the one that says, 'That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing'.
define('WP_HOME','https://www.example.com');
define('WP_SITEURL','https://www.example.com');
Don’t forget to replace ‘example.com’ with your own domain name.
After that, save your changes and upload the file back to your website.
You can now visit your WordPress website and try to log in. Hopefully, this will have fixed the issue for you. If it didn’t, then continue reading for additional troubleshooting steps.
Method 3: Delete .htaccess File in WordPress
Sometimes, the .htaccess file can get corrupted, which can result in internal server errors or the login page refreshing error.
Simply access your website using an FTP client or via the File Manager app in your hosting provider’s dashboard.
Once connected, locate the .htaccess file in the root directory of your website and download it to your computer as a backup.
If you can’t find your .htaccess file, this guide on why your .htaccess file may be missing can help you.
After that, go ahead and delete the .htaccess file from your website.
Next, open the wp-admin directory, and if there is a .htaccess file there, then go ahead and delete it as well.
You can now try to log in to your WordPress website. If you succeed, then this means that your .htaccess file was stopping you from logging in to WordPress.
Once you are logged in, simply go to the Settings » Permalinks page in the WordPress admin panel and click on the ‘Save’ button without making any changes. This will generate a new .htaccess file for your website.
Method 4: Deactivate Your Plugins
Sometimes, WordPress plugins can cause this issue, especially if there is a conflict between two plugins.
To easily deactivate all your WordPress plugins, connect to your website using an FTP client or via the File Manager app in your web hosting account dashboard.
Once connected, go to the /wp-content/ directory. Inside it, you will see a folder named ‘plugins’. This is where WordPress installs all your plugins.
Simply rename the plugins folder to ‘plugins_backup’. This will deactivate all WordPress plugins installed on your website.
We also have a detailed tutorial on how to deactivate all WordPress plugins when the WordPress admin is inaccessible.
Once you have deactivated all plugins, try logging in to your WordPress site. If you succeed, then this means that one of your plugins was causing the issue.
Method 5: Revert Back to the Default Theme
WordPress themes can also cause conflicts after upgrading to a newer version of WordPress or the theme itself. To find out whether the problem is being caused by your theme, you will need to deactivate it.
The process is similar to deactivating plugins. Connect to your website using an FTP client. Then, you must go to /wp-content/themes/ directory and rename your current theme directory to ‘themes_backup’.
Once you have done that, then try logging in again. If you succeed, then this means your theme was causing the issue.
You can now reinstall a fresh copy of your theme to see if this resolves the issue. If the problem reappears, then you will need to contact your theme’s support or switch to a different WordPress theme.
Method 6: Reinstall WordPress Core
In rare cases, the persistent login page refresh issue might be caused by corrupted WordPress core files.
These core files are the foundation of your WordPress website and manage essential functionalities. If these files become damaged or overwritten with incorrect code, it can lead to various errors, including login problems.
First, head over to WordPress.org and download the latest version of the software. Once downloaded, unzip the file on your computer. This will create a folder named ‘wordpress’ containing all the necessary files for the reinstall.
Next, you’ll need to connect to your website using an FTP client or the file manager provided by your hosting company.
Once connected, navigate to the root folder of your website. This is the main directory that contains folders like wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes.
At this stage, grab all the files from the ‘wordpress’ folder on your computer and upload them to your website’s root directory.
Your FTP client will ask you to confirm overwriting any existing core files.
Since you’re deleting corrupted WordPress core files and replacing them with new ones, choose ‘Overwrite’ and select the option to ‘Always use this action’ to avoid needing to confirm each file individually.
Finally, click ‘OK’ to begin the upload process. Your FTP client will replace the core WordPress files on your website with the fresh ones from your computer.
Once the upload is complete, visit your website to see if the error is fixed. If the login issue is caused by a corrupted core file or malware, the error message should be gone, and you should be able to log in successfully.
Video Tutorial
If you need visual instructions, then please watch the video below.
What to Do If You Can’t Fix WordPress Login Redirect Issue
If you have tried everything from clearing browser cookies to deactivating themes and plugins, but the issue still exists, then you can try asking for support in the WordPress community.
Users from groups like the WPBeginner Engage Facebook group may have experienced the same problem as you and can provide pointers on what to do to resolve the login page issues.
Other than that, you can reach out to WordPress support solutions like WPBeginner Pro Services. We offer emergency premium WordPress support, where experts can pinpoint what’s happening with your website and address the root cause of the problem.
You can also hire our WordPress maintenance services to prevent problems like malware, high downtime, and outdated WordPress from affecting your website in the first place.
Feel free to book an appointment with our team today to see what we can do to fix your website.
Learn More WordPress Troubleshooting Solutions
Are you experiencing other common WordPress errors and need to find a way to fix them? Here are other articles you can check out:
- How to Fix Error Too Many Redirects Issue in WordPress
- How to Easily Fix This Site Can’t Be Reached Error in WordPress
- How to Fix ‘The Site Is Experiencing Technical Difficulties’ in WordPress
- How to Fix WordPress Posts Returning 404 Error (Step by Step)
- How to Fix the Mixed Content Error in WordPress (Step by Step)
- How to Fix the Invalid JSON Error in WordPress (Beginner’s Guide)
- How to Find and Access WordPress Error Logs (Step by Step)
- How to Fix WordPress Not Sending Email Issue
- How to Fix WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode (The Easy Way)
We hope this article helped you resolve the WordPress login page refreshing and redirecting issue. You may also want to see our complete WordPress troubleshooting guide or check out our top picks for the best WordPress plugins and tools to grow your site.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Helen
this is one of the best tutorial that fixed my issue.. ive tried so many and it just messed my code.
what i did was just delte my htacess and generated a new one.. and im even able to login to my wp admin already
Kelly Taylor-Faye
Thank you. Really helped after a VERY frustrating day to find out it was a broken plug-in. Many thanks
Jen
Thank you so much! This worked!
Benjamin Marlatt
I have tried everything and nothing works!! I then tried re-registering, but that completely wiped out my dashboard. I’m getting extremely frustrated over this!!
Brown
My site doesnt login to dashboard or takes time to load the /wp-login page which after inserting the login details it takes forever to load … but on a different network it loads well what could be the problem
Bethany
Thank you so much for this article! Thankfully mine was an easy fix and I just needed to delete the cookies from WP.org so I could sign in. I had just reset my password before the error occurred where it kept refreshing the log in screen so that may have had something to do with it.
Shay
Hi guys,
I’ve tried everything and nothing worked. I had the same problem with another computer and after about 5 attempts I got in but this morning I tried logging in with another computer, it’s happening again. The page redirects to mysite.com/wp-login.php. Any ideas?
Thanks all for your help!
Patrick Ogbuitepu
LAST RESORT THAT WORKS
You can temporarily disable redirection from the wp-login.php file and then delete all newly installed or updated plugins.
1. Disable redirection by opening the file wp-login.php
2.Scroll down to the line where you have the code “do_action( “login_form_{$action}” );”
Mine was around line 461
3. Comment out that line of code to disable redirection
4. Save the file. You will now be able to login using example.com/wp-login.php
5. Disable or delete all recently installed plugins especially plugins that manage access control functionalities
6. Clear your cookies and cache
Luqman Arif
Thank you so muchhhhh!!!.Finally i can access my admin site.after 2 days struggling.
Luqman Arif
Should i continue to comment the codes?because i am not sure which plugins that cause the problem.Before this i have disable all the plugins manually, but still cannot access wp-login.php.
Slav
Tylko to mi pomogło. Wielkie dzięki!
nirmal
define(‘WP_HOME’,’http://example.com’);
define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’http://example.com’);
i change this examples.com to my site url, now not able to login. it shows 401 unauthorized. After changing the original file wp-config also, not able to login. any idea?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Nirmal,
Try adding with www like this:
1-click Use in WordPress
Admin
Paul
Turned out to be one of my plugins that was giving me grief, simply went into my Ftp and deactivated them and got rid of the last plugin that i installed, happy days fixed the problem, many thanks guys your knowledge is invaluable , respect!
Oliver McLeod
Great thank you I appreciate it. Clearing my cookies worked.
Graham Campbell
Tried these to no avail. My host says “The site ran out of space” except that there is 3gb free, so that’s not true. This problem is on 40+ sites and happened at the same time, so it’s not me but I have grumpy customers expecting me to fix it.
Site works but login does not,
I get :
https://example.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fwp-admin%2F%3Fdoing_wp_cron%3D1512599810.4524919986724853515625&reauth=1&doing_wp_cron=1512600006.5833470821380615234375
Any thoughts welcome. Thank you
WPBeginner Support
Hey Graham,
Here are a few things you can try:
1. Set ALTERNATE_WP_CRON to false in your wp-config.php file.
2. Deactivate all WordPress plugins and turn them on one by one.
See our WordPress troubleshooting guide for more steps.
Admin
Abby
Finally! The delete .htaccess file works fine for me! Also have to go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save to generate a new .htaccess file.
August P
How can I go to Settings > Permalinks if i can’t log in to the dashboard????????
WPBeginner Support
Hi August,
If you cannot login to your WordPress site, then you can refresh permalinks via FTP. Simply connect to your website using an FTP client. After that download your .htaccess file to your computer as a backup. Now delete the .htaccess file from your server. You can now try to log in to your website.
Once logged in you can go to Settings > Permalinks page and click on the save changes button to generate new .htaccess file.
Admin
Andrew See
My problem was customers needed to try login 3 times before it goes through for Chrome, IE and Opera but not for Firefox users. I am using Woocommerce and WP (currently the latest although it started happening about the last upgrade or earlier). Tried clear cache, delete htaccess. Didnt work. The following worked:
Added a new page and re-direct the “Woocommerce|Account” (login) page to the new page.
This worked. I then pointed the Account page to the original Account page and it worked. Guess something got refreshed. Thanks for the tips anyhow.
Gina
after changing site URL through the dashboard the whole site went to 404. Your define(‘WP_HOME’,’http://example.com’);
define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’http://example.com’);
solved that issue, but now I need to move my site to the root directory and don’t know how because of this fix.
HELP!
Phil
Thanks for the guide.
Updating the site URL using
define(‘WP_HOME’,’https://example.com’);
define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’https://example.com’);
Worked for me
Rui Santiago
I have tried every single step and no success… what should i do now??
Jason
Pro Tip : I have the same problem, check your wp-config.php file and locate : WP_ADMIN_COOKIE_PATH or ADMIN_COOKIE_PATH and erase it!
Jon
All of these steps did not fix my problem.
I think I’ve found part of the cause though.
When I type in mysite.com/wp-admin I am redirected to mysite.com/wp-login.php only the redirect is incorrect.
Rather than redirecting to mysite.com/wp-admin after login it is redirecting to mysite.com/domains/mysite/wp-admin
Any help out there for fixing this?
TH
Hi.
I moved my site from my local host to live following the steps in your article related to that.
I faced some login/redirect issues.
I tried all the steps as listed in this article.
When I revert back to default theme, the page only shows a text of my domain name with no other content.
When I delete .htaccess file, it shows my home page but when I click on login button it shows 404 error NOt Found
When I update site url, I also get 404 error when I click on login button or go to domain/wp-admin
What else can I try to troubleshoot?
Will appreciate your help.
Thanks.
Geetika jain
I am not able to understand what is the problem with my website. In home page after 5 posts i am not able to post anything, in the dashboard, it redirects me to the post page. and revolution slider is not activating in my site.
Richard Payne
I can not log in it gives me a page can not be founed I think it is because my web page name was altered in an plug in
Dan
Everytime I log in I am redirected to the My sites page (light Blue) I want to go directly to the standard dashboard. Can someone help me fix this problem
amacn
hI! I have just paid my renewal and when I try to login to my account it keeps telling me error?? Why is this ?? Thanks.
John D'signer
thanks a lot..this is so helpful to retrieve wp site as mush as easier way.every pin points are so understandable and worth to try it.oncw again thank you so much
Adele
Why can’t I access my Wordpress dashboard anymore? It’s driving me insane. I have tried resetting the password, several times, but it keeps telling me there is no account with that name. I need to publish a blog but I can’t. HELP!
WPBeginner Support
Hi Adele,
Instead of username, try entering your email address in the username field to login. This should be the same email address you used to reset password. Hope this helps.
Admin
Moha
Thanks a lot, you’ve saved the life of my web! Love you guys!
Arfat Malik
It worked when I opened it in Incognito browser. thanks
Mumbere Ausbel
Thanks so much. your info helped me out
chuck
I could not login to wordpress site went to cpanel and deleted plugin I just installed and fixed problem
Atif Sharif
My site also fixed with last two lines added in wp-login.php file thanks for sharing
Koupe lakay
The last one worked for me
Giorgio Mula
Hi there,
I have a weird issue with login on WP: my problem arise with domain redirect because I have a wp site into a subfolder of my domain (www.example.com/site) and a redirect from my provider (www.example2.com) that I setup to point at http://www.example.com/site.
WP works great except for “login”: I can access from http://www.example.com/site but not from http://www.example2.com. From this last one it happens that pushing “Login” button simply get no result. Do you have any idea? Both WP_HOME and WP_SITE_URL point to http://www.example.com/site
Thanks a lot for your support and your amazing site
WPBeginner Support
Hi Giorgio,
We are not sure we understand your issue correctly. However, it seems like example2.com is already redirecting to your other website. In that case, you’ll not be able to login from there.
Admin
Tariq
I am running a WP website, Its about mobile products tells Specifications and features of smartphones. I tried to activate a price filter plugin for my website but they said I have to activate the woo commerce plugin first then filter plugin will work. I did that. But it was a big mess. so I delete the both woo commerce as well as the first one price filter plugin. But now I am facing an issue. when ever I click on my any product on my website or from google search result it comes back to my site homepage. Can anyone help me out about it? I am a beginner. Thanks
Mike
Thanks a million! Deactivating Plugin fix worked perfectly!
Salman Ansari
i Just copied all the wordpress folder to one site to another & Import All my database but… after login, page redirect to previous site….
what should I do?
Phil
I have tried all what you said and i”m still getting a 404.php error when
i try to login to http://www.example.com/Blog/wp-login.php
If I reinstall WP on the server, will I loss all my blog posts?
since I cannot login to Dashboard.
Thanks,
Phil
WPBeginner Support
Hey Phil,
Before you reinstall please try these:
1. Try to access login page by visiting http://www.example.com/wp-login.php
2. Try updating your permalink structure. Connect to your website using an FTP client or File Manager in cPanel. Locate the .htaccess file in the root folder of your website. Download the file to your computer as a backup and then delete it from your website.
Admin
Vincent Sabatia
Had the same problem though all I had to do was to reset my admin user password to something stronger, cleared the browser cache and everything started working fine
Denise
None of these solutions worked for me, nothing. I was completely perplexed. Finally, I went to the Wordpress forum on my hosting site, Dreamhost, and found a thread about login problems. Turns out I didn’t have my auth keys and salts defined. A quick cut and paste into my wp-config.php file and boom! I’m in! So my addition is to check with your hosting service and see they have specific instructions or recommendations. IDK why my wp-config.php was wrong in the first place, but so glad I found the fix! This has been frustrating!
Marcelo Muianga
Thank you so much, deleting the .htaccess did the trick, just remind people to show hidden files on file manager html root of their cpanel
Aman Potlia
hey thanks your last method update url method really works for me. now i am able to log in my wordpress admin panel
Brad
Super helpful, thank you. I had 2 or 3 plugins running that did logins and membership and they basically made my site inaccessible.
Graeme
The site url option:
define(‘WP_HOME’,’http://example.com’);
define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’http://example.com’);
worked for me. The problem happened when I moved a site from a .co.nz to .nz url.
Thanks.
Awais Khalid
Sir i have uplaod database file and and backup for my old website on new domain but it is redirecting to old website and i am unable to access Wordpress Login page
WPBeginner Support
Hi Awais,
You will need to change the site URL. You can do that in your wp-config.php by adding this code:
define('WP_HOME','http://example.com');define('WP_SITEURL','http://example.com');
Admin
David ACQ
Last option worked for me just fine (Update Site URL)
define(‘WP_HOME’,’http://example.com’);
define(‘WP_SITEURL’,’http://example.com’);
I wish i could know what caused the problem and why that solution was the one that worked, in order to prevent having this issue again and be alert of else issues could produce the origin problem.
Bakkiya
Having a problem login into wordpress wp-admin page. No error messages, but keep getting redirected to the login page itself.
Wrong credentials return appropriate error message, but not in this case. No white screen of death also. Just the login page reappearing, after shaking a couple of times.
Tried all suggested methods, including clearing cookies, deactivating plugins, deactivating theme. And deleting .htaccess, making appropriate entries for site url and home url in wpconfig, enabled wp_debug too. Tried all tricks recommended.
Interestingly, this has happened in two different servers, with two different staging sites (both in advanced stages of development) – on two different servers…one windows, one linux. These were working fine till last night…and then this sudden has happened since morning.
Can any one suggest what the problem could be?
Nithin Bhaktha
Well I had the same problem yesterday just after installing Wordpress. Check in your host cPanel if varnish caching has been enabled. If so, go ahead and disable it. Wait for 30 minutes and then try logging in.
Tushar
You my friend deserve a pat on the back. After struggling for nearly the whole day and trying everything else out, your solution is what finally worked. I disabled varnish and voila, I am in
Kapil
Superb..that worked for me too. Thanks.
Siddhesh
Nothing work for me ? dont know how to fix it? please help ?
Cant login to wordpress dashboard
it says sorry you are not allowed to access this page
Sheila King
I was locked out. At first I doubted my password and tried to get a reset but my admin log in page was just doing circles with my website front page. I tried every action suggested – even managing to get the dreaded blank, white page.
So I started putting everything back as it was to try again another day. But with a deleted .htaccess file and the theme and plug in still deactivated I managed to get a password reset from WP – I’m in!
Thank you to everybody who commented.
Muhammad Aqeel
follow this tutorial A to Z problem not solved. i couldn’t login to my wp-admin since i migrate my wordpress website from localhost wamp to web server using cpanel. the front end design not rendered properly and also i couldn’t login to my wordpress admin
Javier Madrid
The last option worked for me: “Update Site URL”
Thank you
christopher
Just learned this … from a Bluehost help desk. To see what’s on the server press Shift/ Reload
Cathy Ford
I have a slightly different problem — when I am logged off wordpress and on my website when I click on the main menu to select a page I get redirected to the Wordpress Login page. It is sporadic and seems to happen with several different links. This is also happening to visitors to my site so it’s not just my computer. .
Thanks, Cathy