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How to Fix WordPress Keeps Logging Out Problem

WordPress Keeps Logging Out

Have you been experiencing the WordPress keeps signing out problem recently? We understand your pain, since accessing your WordPress Admin Section is one of the essential features of this Content Management system. And since it allows you to feel in control of both the frontend and backend, it can get very exhausting having to log back in. We’re here to tell you that the solution isn’t very complicated, and you can most likely fix it rather quickly. Plus, it’s not urgent or devastating like the white screen of death in WordPress, you can still login to WordPress normally. With that said, here’s how to fix WordPress keeps logging out problem.

To fix WordPress keeps logging out problem

1. Clear your browsers cookies and login again

We’ll demonstrate the solution in Google Chrome and Safari, to cover both Windows and macOS users. If you’re not an active user, you can always download Google Chrome and use it as a temporary fix until you delete cookies in your default browser.

Google Chrome

  1. In the top-right corner, click on the More (three dots) button.
  2. From the drop-down menu select More tools, then Clear browsing data.
    You can also press Control + Shift + Delete on your keyboard.
  3. Select the time range – we recommend All time.
  4. Make sure the boxes in front of Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files are ticked.
  5. Click on the Clear data button.

Safari

  1. In the upper left corner, click on Safari, then select Preferences.
  2. Switch over to the Privacy tab.
  3. Click on Manage Website Data…
  4. You can search for ‘WordPress’ in the bar in the upper right corner to narrow down the list. Otherwise, all cookies will be removed.
  5. Click on Remove All.
  6. Click on Done.

2. Check whether the cookies are blocked

Your browser might force cookies to expire, thus logging you out of WordPress every time you close it. Do this to check.

Google Chrome

  1. Click on the More button.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Scroll down and select Advanced to expand the list.
  4. Find the option titled Site Settings under Privacy and security and click on it.
  5. Does it say Blocked below Cookies and site data under Permissions?
    1. If so, click on it. Toggle the switch in front of Blocked to Off.
  6. If not, then it wasn’t the cause of WordPress keeps logging out problem.

Safari

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above.
  2. Make sure the box in front of Block all cookies isn’t checked.
  3. If it is, click on the box to remove the checkmark.
  4. Check the option above (Website tracking:) and make sure Prevent cross-site tracking isn’t checked.

3. Check your WordPress website cache

If methods 1 and 2 didn’t produce results, the root source of the constant WordPress logging out isn’t the browser. It’s time to turn to WordPress itself. Here’s a guide on how to clear cache on WordPress manually. It might be different based on hosting too. We covered a popular option – how to clear WP Rocket cache. Finally, if you are using a WordPress caching plugin, check its backend configuration for a button to delete the cache. If needed, read the documentation page of the plugin, or ask the developers for help.

4. Double-check your WordPress website URL

Sometimes it’s possible that the site address defined in the cookie isn’t the same as the actual site address. To make sure this isn’t the solution to WordPress keeps signing out problem, we’ll show you two methods.

Updating WordPress website address via Admin Dashboard

  1. Login to your WordPress Dashboard.
  2. In the menu on the far left, click on Settings.
  3. When it expands, click on General.
  4. Make sure that the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) are identical.
  5. Remove or add www. if one of them contains it but the other doesn’t. To determine which is correct, simply open your website in a New Tab, and check whether www is present or not. Also, if you installed an SSL certificate, change HTTP to HTTPS in both addresses.
  6. Click on Save Changes at the bottom.

Updating WordPress website address via FTP

Did you get locked out of WordPress Admin Dashboard? Check our guide to restoring access. In the meantime, you can do these steps via FTP.

  1. Access your WordPress website via FTP.
  2. Look for a file titled wp-config.php.
  3. Right-click on it, then select View/Edit.
  4. Search (Control + F) for this line: /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */.
  5. Paste this anywhere above that line:
    define('WP_HOME','http://yoursite.com);
    define('WP_SITEURL','http://yoursite.com);
  6. Replace yoursite.com with the actual address. Don’t forget to change HTTP into HTTPS in this case as well. If the www. prefix is present in your hosting DNS (is it there when you open the website in the browser?), add it as a prefix as well.
  7. Save the file.
  8. Click Yes when prompted to update changes.

5. Temporarily disable all WordPress plugins

It’s possible that installing a WordPress plugin is the source of the issue. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a caching plugin. Any plugin that uses an authentication cookie can potentially cause the WordPress login timeout error. To check whether this is the root problem, it’s better to disable all of them temporarily. This is also a solution to fixing the “Are you sure you want to do this” error in WordPress. For that reason, follow the steps listed under the headline titled Fixing the problem if the plugin caused it.

6. Contact your hosting

If you feel overwhelmed and unsure, why not let the professionals handle it? Your hosting most likely has a 24/7 Customer Service chat, although we can’t guarantee they will help directly. However, their team of qualified individuals can at least pinpoint the issue or point you in the right direction.