Title: Admin user doesn’t have admin controls or dashboard
Last modified: April 7, 2025

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# Admin user doesn’t have admin controls or dashboard

 *  [funbooker](https://wordpress.org/support/users/funbooker/)
 * (@funbooker)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/admin-user-doesnt-have-admin-controls-or-dashboard/)
 * Last week I had to figure out how to migrate a site to a new server. Thanks to
   those who offered suggestions.
 * New week, new questions. This is a problem left over from the same site on the
   earlier server. Somehow, when the old site got working on the new server, the
   old problem came back. The user has a “0” in the user_status field. user_meta
   shows wp_capabilities a:1:{s:13:”administrator”;s:1:”1″;} and wp_user_level “
   10”. I’ve played around with wp_capabilities, trying some things I found in a
   search. I also created a new user in phpmyadmin with different log in credentials
   and password but the same user_status and wp_user_level. When I log into that
   user I see the user name on the right but no drop down with Dashboard on the 
   left. I have deleted a couple unused themes and plugins
 * When I check the sit with WP Toolbox in cPanel, I get no errors. I feel like 
   I’ve tried all the easy stuff. It’s time for some next level solutions.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

 *  [Marcelo R. Berwanger](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mrberwanger/)
 * (@mrberwanger)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/admin-user-doesnt-have-admin-controls-or-dashboard/#post-18406232)
 * Hi [@funbooker](https://wordpress.org/support/users/funbooker/) ,
 * It sounds like you’ve already done a thorough job troubleshooting—especially 
   with manually inspecting wp_capabilities and even creating a new user. Since 
   the issue persists even with a new admin account, here are a few next-level steps
   you can try:
 * **Temporarily disable all plugins**
 * There could be a plugin or theme interfering with admin capabilities or UI rendering.
 * **Force Administrator role via code**
 * To be absolutely sure the user has the correct role, add the following snippet
   temporarily to your theme’s `functions.php`:
 *     ```wp-block-code
       add_action('init', function() {    $user = get_user_by('login', 'yourusername'); // replace with actual username    if ($user) {        $user->set_role('administrator');    }});
       ```
   
 * **Double-check usermeta entries**
 * Confirm the correct capability format. Run this in your database (adjusting for
   your table prefix and user ID):
 *     ```wp-block-code
       SELECT * FROM wp_usermeta WHERE user_id = X AND meta_key = 'wp_capabilities';
       ```
   
 * The value should ideally look like this:
 *     ```wp-block-code
       a:1:{s:13:"administrator";b:1;}
       ```
   
 * If it’s different, you can try update it with:
 *     ```wp-block-code
       UPDATE wp_usermeta SET meta_value = 'a:1:{s:13:"administrator";b:1;}' WHERE user_id = X AND meta_key = 'wp_capabilities';
       ```
   
 * **Reinstall Core WordPress Files**
 * If none of the above helps, try re-uploading the core WordPress files:
    - Download a fresh copy from wordpress.org.
    - Upload and replace everything **except** `wp-content` and `wp-config.php`.
 * Let us know what you discover after these steps. If the problem persists, I’d
   be happy to help you dig deeper.
 * Good luck!
 *  Thread Starter [funbooker](https://wordpress.org/support/users/funbooker/)
 * (@funbooker)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/admin-user-doesnt-have-admin-controls-or-dashboard/#post-18412781)
 * Sadly, I did all that but did it all over again at your suggestion. One thing
   that might be helpful to understanding this problem is that it happened to this
   site when it was on another server that failed. I was unable to access the old
   server to transfer the site so I created a new site on a new server. I imported
   the db data from a .sql backup. If the site had been hacked and the db corrupted,
   the backup was from a date long after the hack so if there’s some kind of malicious
   code in the db causing this problem in the old db, it was in the .sql backup.
 * I installed wp from the wp toolkit in cpanel. No problems. I had an admin with
   all admin controls. I imported the .sql backup. I deleted the duplicate tables
   that were installed with wp and kept the ones from the .sql backup. I renamed
   the folders wp_admin, content and includes in the new site. I pulled in copies
   of those three directories from a backup of the old server. When this was done,
   I had my site back with only one user, admin. When I logged in, I got the same
   problem I had with the old server, no admin console.
 * I can see admin logged in up in the right hand corner. I have performed repairs
   on all tables, no indication there were any problems to be repaired.
 * One thing that might mean something to someone who knows more than me, when I
   try to go to [/wp-admin/options.php](https://westboylstonstreetschool.com/wp-admin/options.php)
   I get an error saying I don’t have adequate permissions. All the .php files in
   the directories had 644 permissions. So my one user admin, that has user_status“
   0”, is denied access to this file due to a permission problem, or at least it
   looks that way.
 * Thanks for any help you may provide.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

The topic ‘Admin user doesn’t have admin controls or dashboard’ is closed to new
replies.

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 2 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [funbooker](https://wordpress.org/support/users/funbooker/)
 * Last activity: [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/admin-user-doesnt-have-admin-controls-or-dashboard/#post-18412781)
 * Status: not resolved

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