Troubleshooting Common WPS Hide Login Errors: From PHP Warnings to Persistent Notices
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WPS Hide Login: A Guide to Common Issues and Their Fixes
WPS Hide Login is a popular plugin for changing your WordPress login URL, but like any software, users can occasionally run into problems. Based on community reports, this guide covers the most frequent issues and their solutions.
1. PHP Version Compatibility Errors
The Problem: Users see errors like "Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING" or "WP Review Me Error: The library can not be used because your version of PHP is too old." These often occur during activation or on the plugins page.
Why It Happens: Newer versions of the plugin require a more modern version of PHP to function. Older, unsupported PHP versions (e.g., 5.4, 5.5) cannot process the code.
The Solution: Upgrade your server's PHP version. The plugin requires at least PHP 7.0, but it is highly recommended to use a currently supported version like PHP 7.4 or higher for security and performance. You can usually change your PHP version from your hosting provider's control panel (e.g., cPanel).
2. Persistent Admin Notices That Won't Dismiss
The Problem: Notices, particularly about the comment_registration option or a "Do you like this plugin?" rating prompt, reappear on every admin page load even after being dismissed.
Why It Happens: This was a bug in older versions of the plugin related to how dismissal requests were handled. A conflict with another plugin or a JavaScript error on the admin page could also prevent the dismissal from being saved.
The Solution: First, ensure you are running the latest version of WPS Hide Login, as this issue was specifically addressed in version 1.9.13.1. If the problem persists, check your browser's console for any JavaScript errors that might be interfering. Temporarily disabling other plugins can help identify a conflict.
3. Login Error Messages Not Showing
The Problem: After changing the login URL, default WordPress login errors (e.g., for an incorrect password) no longer display, making it difficult for users to troubleshoot their login attempts.
Why It Happens: The plugin's redirection and rewriting of the login flow can sometimes suppress these messages. This behavior is noted to occur with other "rename login" plugins as well.
The Solution: This appears to be a known behavior of the plugin. The WPS Hide Login team has suggested using a companion plugin, WPS Limit Login, which may restore functionality for displaying failed login attempts.
4. "Headers already sent" and Other PHP Warnings
The Problem: Warnings like "Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by..." or "Undefined array key 'path'" appear, especially when WordPress debug mode is enabled.
Why It Happens: The "headers already sent" warning typically occurs when there is unintended output (like whitespace or text) before PHP sends HTTP headers. The "undefined key" warning means the code is trying to access an array element that doesn't exist.
The Solution: For the "headers" warning, ensure your theme's functions.php file and other plugins do not have whitespace or characters outside of the <?php and ?> tags. For "undefined" warnings, update the plugin. The development team has acknowledged and patched many of these minor warnings in subsequent updates (e.g., the 'path' warning was fixed in a version after 1.9.2).
5. 404 Error or "Filename cannot be empty" on Old Login URL
The Problem: Visiting the old wp-login.php URL results in a 404 error or a warning: "Warning: include(): Filename cannot be empty."
Why It Happens: The plugin tries to load your theme's 404.php template file when someone visits the old login URL. If your theme does not have this template file, the path for inclusion is empty, causing the error.
The Solution: The simplest fix is to ensure your active theme has a proper 404.php template file. If it doesn't, you can create one or switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four) temporarily to see if the error resolves.
General Troubleshooting Tips
- Always Update: Many reported bugs have been fixed in later versions. Always ensure you, your theme, and all your plugins are updated to their latest versions.
- Conflict Test: If a problem starts after an update, a conflict with your theme or another plugin is possible. To test, temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (e.g., Twenty Twenty-Four) and disable all other plugins. If the issue resolves, reactivate them one-by-one to find the culprit.
- Check the FAQ: The WPS Hide Login team maintains a FAQ section that addresses common setup issues, like permalink structure.
Remember, when dealing with login-related plugins, it's wise to have an alternative way to access your site's admin area, such as through your hosting provider's file manager, in case you get locked out during troubleshooting.
Related Support Threads Support
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Notification appears on other settings pageshttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/notification-appears-on-other-settings-pages/
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Modified plugin filehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/modified-plugin-file-5/
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Error requirehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/error-require/
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Request: Remove persistent noticehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-remove-persistent-notice/
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Login error message not showinghttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/login-error-message-not-showing/
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E_COMPILE_ERRORhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/e_compile_error-42/
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Modification: Author: WPServeur, NicolasKulka, tabrisrphttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/modification-author-wpserveur-nicolaskulka-tabrisrp/
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unexpected T_STRING wps-hide-login.php on line 37https://wordpress.org/support/topic/unexpected-t_string-wps-hide-login-php-on-line-37/
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Segmentation Faultshttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/segmentation-faults/
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Do you like plugin WPS Hide Login?https://wordpress.org/support/topic/do-you-like-plugin-wps-hide-login/
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Seeing a ton of warnings related to while logged inhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/seeing-a-ton-of-warnings-related-to-while-logged-in/
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E_COMPILE_WARNINGhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/e_compile_warning/
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Cookie popup appears when WPS Hide Login plugin activehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/cookie-popup-appears-when-wps-hide-login-plugin-active/
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Modified plugin file: wp-content/plugins/wps-hide-login/wps-hide-login.phphttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/modified-plugin-file-wp-content-plugins-wps-hide-login-wps-hide-login-php/
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lost password / fatal error messagehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/lost-password-fatal-error-message/
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Cannot modify header information – headers already sent byhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/cannot-modify-header-information-headers-already-sent-by-36/
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Update Mystery ??https://wordpress.org/support/topic/update-mystery/
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Changes in the file wps-hide-login/classes/plugin.php detected by Wordfencehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/changes-in-the-file-wps-hide-login-classes-plugin-php-detected-by-wordfence/
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I cant hide notice after update to 1.9.12https://wordpress.org/support/topic/i-can-hide-notice-after-update-to-1-9-12/
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Fatal error plugin conflicthttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-plugin-conflict-4/
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GitHub link needs updatinghttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/github-link-needs-updating/
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PHP Warning: call_user_func_array() expects parameter…..https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-warning-call_user_func_array-expects-parameter/
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Header missing because of php version (?)https://wordpress.org/support/topic/header-missing-because-of-php-version/
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mensaje warning en escritoriohttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/mensaje-warning-en-escritorio/
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Plugin not working getting warning Login url not foundhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-not-working-getting-warning-login-url-not-found/
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W3 Total Cache & WP Super Cache Plugin Notice is Missing?https://wordpress.org/support/topic/w3-total-cache-wp-super-cache-plugin-notice/
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After update – “Users must be registered and logged in to comment”https://wordpress.org/support/topic/after-update-users-must-be-registered-and-logged-in-to-comment/
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Broken In 2017 Themehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/broken-in-2017-theme/
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Missing login error messageshttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/missing-login-error-messages/
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Gettting a parse errorhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/gettting-a-parse-error/
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Naghttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/nag/
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error: filename cannot be emptyhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/error-filename-cannot-be-empty/
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WPS_Hide_Login class not properly used – suggestionhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/wps_hide_login-class-not-properly-used-suggestion/
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Undefined array key “path”https://wordpress.org/support/topic/undefined-array-key-path/
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Private methods cannot be final as they are never overridden by other classeshttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/private-methods-cannot-be-final-as-they-are-never-overridden-by-other-classes-2/
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Deprecated error messagehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/deprecated-error-message-2/
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Can’t dismiss “do you like plugin…” messagehttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/cant-dismiss-do-you-like-plugin-message/
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WP Review Me Errorhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-review-me-error/
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Undefined index: pathhttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/undefined-index-path-2/
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Problem with commenthttps://wordpress.org/support/topic/problem-with-comment-7/