Title: Invalid verification code & fallback email not working
Last modified: November 10, 2022

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# Invalid verification code & fallback email not working

 *  Resolved [rroundup47](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rroundup47/)
 * (@rroundup47)
 * [3 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/invalid-verification-code-fallback-email-not-working/)
 * I’ve had Defender installed a few months now & it’s worked well with many logged
   hits & a few lockouts. Today I can’t log in to the admin screen. I get the Defender
   message “Invalid verification code” when entering the 2FA backup code (it’s possible
   I’ve already used this one but it’s the last one I had). When I try the fallback
   email option, nothing shows up in email. Wondering if that’s a conflict with 
   the CleanTalk anti-spam service I recently installed. In any case, I’m very much
   a novice and can’t get in to uninstall or maintain ANYTHING. The site is hosted
   on IONOS. Please help.
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Finvalid-verification-code-fallback-email-not-working%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  [Kris – WPMU DEV Support](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpmudevsupport13/)
 * (@wpmudevsupport13)
 * [3 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/invalid-verification-code-fallback-email-not-working/#post-16184382)
 * Hi [@rroundup47](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rroundup47/)
 * I hope you are doing well today.
 * CleanTalk seems to have similar features to block spam. Just in case, there is
   some conflict, please rename CleanTalk plugin folder via FTP in /wp-content/plugin/
   and see if that helps.
 * Also, do you have a new phone or have you changed the timezone in your settings?
   Incorrect timezone could affect this as code is valid only for 30 seconds and
   if your timezone is incorrect for 1h +/- code will not fit.
 * Kind Regards,
    Kris
 *  Thread Starter [rroundup47](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rroundup47/)
 * (@rroundup47)
 * [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/invalid-verification-code-fallback-email-not-working/#post-16192183)
 * Thank you for your response. As I said, I am a novice at this and need guidance
   with FTP. While waiting for a callback from IONOS on this, I contacted CleanTalk.
   They said their anti-spam functionality ONLY block spam from the website forms.
   So this is not this issue.
    So, back to my original problem, how do I get into
   wordpress to manage the site? “Invalid verification code” and fallback email 
   not delivering email.
 *  [Kris – WPMU DEV Support](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpmudevsupport13/)
 * (@wpmudevsupport13)
 * [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/invalid-verification-code-fallback-email-not-working/#post-16199341)
 * Hi [@rroundup47](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rroundup47/)
 * In this case please log in to FTP and navigate to /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
   
   Rename there /wp-defender/ folder to /wp-defender_/ This will temporary disable
   the Defender plugin and you should be able to log in to the site.
 * Please let us know about the results.
 * Kind Regards,
    Kris
 *  Plugin Support [Amin – WPMU DEV Support](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpmudev-support2/)
 * (@wpmudev-support2)
 * [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/invalid-verification-code-fallback-email-not-working/#post-16216771)
 * Hello [@rroundup47](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rroundup47/) ,
 * We haven’t heard from you for some time now, so it looks like you don’t have 
   any more questions for us.
 * Feel free to re-open this ticket if needed.
 * Kind regards
    Kasia

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

The topic ‘Invalid verification code & fallback email not working’ is closed to 
new replies.

 * ![](https://ps.w.org/defender-security/assets/icon-256x256.gif?rev=3435930)
 * [Defender Security - Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall](https://wordpress.org/plugins/defender-security/)
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 * 4 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [Amin – WPMU DEV Support](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpmudev-support2/)
 * Last activity: [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/invalid-verification-code-fallback-email-not-working/#post-16216771)
 * Status: resolved