Title: 401 error – authorization required
Last modified: August 22, 2016

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# 401 error – authorization required

 *  Resolved [MBWD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbwd/)
 * (@mbwd)
 * [11 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/401-error-authorization-required/)
 * The website in question is [http://www.empsolutions.ca](http://www.empsolutions.ca).
 * Was running fine up until a few hours ago, when users trying to access /wp-admin
   are redirected to the 401 Authorization required page. The site itself is running
   fine and the email servers are running fine.
 * Here’s what I’ve tried:
 * Read through the WP codex page on WP Login Trouble and tried all relevant solutions
   
   Disabled Wordfence plugin Disabled all plugins Deleted old wp-login.php and uploaded
   fresh copy Created new user in database (no use since can’t even get to login
   screen) Spoken to hosting provider to determine no IPs of mine were blocked Deleted.
   htaccess file Renamed child theme
 * None of these things have worked… grateful for any suggestions.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Moderator [t-p](https://wordpress.org/support/users/t-p/)
 * (@t-p)
 * [11 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/401-error-authorization-required/#post-5622969)
 * try a few basic troubleshooting steps:
    – Flushing any caching plugins you might
   be running, as well as server and/or browser caches. – deactivating ALL plugins
   temporarily to see if this resolves the problem (plugin functions can interfere).
   If this works, re-activate them individually (one-by-one) to find the problematic
   plugin(s). When you can’t get into your admin dashboard, try deactivating via
   [FTP or SFTP ](http://codex.wordpress.org/FTP_Clients)or whatever file management
   application provided by your [hosting provider](https://codex.wordpress.org/Glossary#Hosting_provider)(
   cPanel…). Also remember to deactivate any plugins in the mu-plugins folder (If
   you have created such folder). The easiest way is to rename that folder to mu-
   plugins-old. – If that does not resolve the issue, try switching to the unedited
   default Twenty Fifteen Theme for a moment using the WP dashboard to rule out 
   any theme-specific issue (theme functions can interfere like plugins). When you
   don’t have access to your admin area, use [FTP or SFTP ](http://codex.wordpress.org/FTP_Clients)
   or whatever file management application your host provides. Navigate to /wp-content/
   themes/ and switch to the default theme by renaming your current theme’s folder
   by adding “-old” to the end of the folder name via [FTP or SFTP ](http://codex.wordpress.org/FTP_Clients)
   or whatever file management application your host provides. Alternately, you 
   can remove other themes except the default theme. That will force your site to
   use it. – If that does not resolve the issue, try [resetting the plugins folder](http://codex.wordpress.org/FAQ_Troubleshooting#How_to_deactivate_all_plugins_when_not_able_to_access_the_administrative_menus.3F)
   via [FTP or SFTP ](http://codex.wordpress.org/FTP_Clients)or whatever file management
   application your host provides. Sometimes, an apparently inactive plugin can 
   still cause problems.
 *  Thread Starter [MBWD](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mbwd/)
 * (@mbwd)
 * [11 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/401-error-authorization-required/#post-5622977)
 * Thanks for your response. It turns out the error was related to my hosting provider’s
   use of the Cloudflare CDN.
 *  Moderator [t-p](https://wordpress.org/support/users/t-p/)
 * (@t-p)
 * [11 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/401-error-authorization-required/#post-5622998)
 * glad you got it sorted 🙂

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘401 error – authorization required’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [401 error](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/401-error/)

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 3 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [t-p](https://wordpress.org/support/users/t-p/)
 * Last activity: [11 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/401-error-authorization-required/#post-5622998)
 * Status: resolved

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