Hi @cousineddie,
I’m following up on this issue since we haven’t heard back regarding the browser console log.
Because we haven’t been able to replicate this behavior on our test servers (where we also run Elementor, RankMath, and heavy backend editors without issues), I suspect this is a highly specific conflict related to how background requests (AJAX/REST API) are being handled or intercepted in your particular environment.
To help you resolve this quickly—and to leave this as a helpful guide for the community—here is a step-by-step troubleshooting process for when backend editors or analytics graphs fail to load:
1. Isolate the Plugin’s Protections (Global Exclusions) Sometimes, aggressive security settings can accidentally block internal WordPress processes (like the ones RankMath or the WP Editor use to fetch data). We have a feature designed specifically to prevent this. Please go to Security > Settings > General and look for the “Global URL Exclusions” text box. Add the following lines (one per line):
/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
/wp-json/
/wp-json/rankmath/
/wp-json/elementor/
etc ..
Why this works: This tells Advanced IP Blocker to completely bypass Rate Limiting, Signature Challenges, and 404/403 monitoring for these essential WordPress communication channels, which usually resolves AJAX timeouts instantly.
2. Check your WAF and Honeypot Rules If you have added custom rules to the Web Application Firewall (WAF) or the Honeypot URLs, double-check them. A broadly defined rule (for example, blocking any URL containing the word admin or api .. etc) might be unintentionally catching legitimate requests from your SEO plugins or the WordPress editor.
3. Server-Level or Third-Party Conflicts Since you mentioned your .htaccess file being continually modified, it’s worth noting that AIB only writes to .htaccess when a new threat is detected (if the Server-Level Firewall feature is enabled). However, if the AJAX timeouts persist even after adding the exclusions in Step 1, the block might be happening before the request even reaches our plugin:
- Other Security Plugins: Are you running another security plugin simultaneously? Two firewalls can often conflict.
- Cloudflare / Hosting WAF: Check your Cloudflare Firewall Event logs or your hosting provider’s WAF logs (like ModSecurity). Very often, heavy AJAX requests containing HTML payloads (saving a post in an editor) are blocked by Cloudflare’s Managed Rules, resulting in the exact timeout errors you are seeing.
Please try adding the Global URL Exclusions mentioned in Step 1 first. If that resolves it, we know the issue was an overly aggressive setting. If it doesn’t, I highly recommend checking your Cloudflare/Server logs to see what is dropping the connection.
Let me know how it goes or if you need help analyzing any server logs!
