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Troubleshooting Administrator Role Issues in WordPress Multisite with User Role Editor

24 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → User role editor

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Why Administrators Disappear or Lose Permissions in Multisite

A common and confusing issue for WordPress Multisite administrators is the sudden inability to see, assign, or manage the Administrator role on individual subsites. Users report that the role is missing from dropdowns, their own admin accounts seem hidden, and they receive "Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page" errors when trying to reach the User Role Editor settings. This problem typically arises from the fundamental way WordPress Multisite and the User Role Editor plugin handle role security by default.

Understanding the Core Issue: Administrator Protection

In a standard WordPress single-site installation, users with the Administrator role have full control. However, in a Multisite network, the Super Admin has ultimate authority. To prevent a subsite Administrator from accidentally (or intentionally) disrupting the entire network, User Role Editor implements a layer of protection. By default, it hides the powerful 'administrator' role from subsite admins to protect it from being edited or assigned. This is a security feature, but it can be confusing if you're not expecting it.

Common Solutions to Regain Access

Solution 1: Enable the Administrator Role in Network Settings

The first and most straightforward step is to check a critical network-wide setting.

  1. Log in to your network as a Super Admin.
  2. Navigate to Network Admin -> Settings -> User Role Editor.
  3. Look for the General tab.
  4. Find the option labeled "Show 'Administrator' role" and turn its checkbox ON.
  5. Save the changes by clicking Update.

This setting is designed to make the Administrator role visible and assignable by subsite administrators. For many users, this single step resolves the issue.

Solution 2: Use a Custom Code Snippet (For Advanced Cases)

In some specific cases, particularly after complex network operations like converting from Multisite to a single site, the first solution may not be sufficient. If the Administrator role remains hidden, a custom filter can be used to suppress the protection mechanism entirely.

Warning: This involves editing your theme's functions.php file or creating a custom plugin. Always back up your site before proceeding.

add_filter( 'ure_supress_administrators_protection', 'ure_supress_admin_protection', 10, 1);
function ure_supress_admin_protection( $supress ) {
    $supress = true;
    return $supress;
}

Adding this code will tell User Role Editor to stop protecting the Administrator role, making it fully visible and editable across your network.

Solution 3: Check User Meta Data (For Missing Admin Users)

If your own administrator user account appears to be missing from the Users list, the problem might be corrupted user level metadata in the database. This can sometimes happen during migrations or other significant changes.

A Super Admin can investigate this by running a direct database query (e.g., via phpMyAdmin). The exact query depends on your database prefix and site ID. For example, for the primary admin user (ID=1) on the main site of a network with the standard 'wp_' prefix, you would check:

SELECT * FROM wp_usermeta WHERE user_id=1 AND meta_key LIKE '%user_level%';

If this key is missing, it could explain the user's disappearance. Manually restoring this metadata or updating the user's profile from the Network Admin dashboard may resolve the issue.

Conclusion

The disappearance of the Administrator role in Multisite is almost always a security feature, not a bug. The User Role Editor plugin is working as intended to prevent potential conflicts. By adjusting the network settings or, in rare cases, using a custom filter, you can regain the control you need while understanding the security implications. If problems persist after trying these steps, consider deactivating other plugins to rule out a conflict, as some security or management plugins can also interfere with user role visibility.

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