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Understanding MailPoet's WordPress User List and Sync Issues

35 threads Sep 9, 2025

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Many WordPress site administrators use the MailPoet plugin to manage their email newsletters and subscriber lists. A common point of confusion and technical difficulty arises with the integration between WordPress user accounts and MailPoet's 'WordPress Users' list. This article explains how this integration is supposed to work and provides steps to troubleshoot common synchronization problems.

How the WordPress User List is Supposed to Work

The 'WordPress Users' list in MailPoet is designed to be a reflection of the user accounts in your WordPress dashboard. When a new user registers on your site, they should automatically be added to this specific MailPoet list. Similarly, if a user updates their email address or name in their WordPress profile, that change should synchronize with their subscriber record in MailPoet.

Common Sync Problems and Their Causes

Based on community reports, the automatic sync does not always work as expected. Users have reported scenarios where:

  • New WordPress users are not added to the MailPoet list.
  • Profile updates (like an email change) are not reflected in MailPoet.
  • A 'Force Sync' operation from the MailPoet settings does not resolve the missing data.
  • Imported subscribers to the 'WordPress Users' list do not become actual WordPress users.

It's important to note that the 'WordPress Users' list in MailPoet and the actual Users section in your WordPress dashboard are two separate entities. The list is meant to mirror your users for email purposes; importing subscribers into it does not create new user accounts on your site.

Troubleshooting Steps

If you are experiencing a sync issue, follow these steps to diagnose and potentially resolve it.

1. Confirm the Subscriber's Status and Origin

First, check the status of the affected subscriber within MailPoet. Go to MailPoet > Subscribers and search for the user. Determine if they are listed as 'Subscribed', 'Unconfirmed', or 'Unsubscribed'. Also, check which lists they belong to. A user might be in a different list and not the 'WordPress Users' list, which could explain why a WordPress profile update isn't syncing.

2. Perform a Manual Sync

While you may have already tried a 'Force Sync', it's worth attempting again after checking the subscriber's status.

  1. Navigate to MailPoet > Lists.
  2. Find the 'WordPress Users' list and click on the 'Force sync' option next to it.
  3. Allow the process to complete and then check if the missing user or update has appeared.

3. Check for Plugin Conflicts

A conflict with another plugin, especially those that manage user registration or profiles (like BuddyPress, WooCommerce, or ProfileGrid), can interrupt the sync process. To test for this:

  1. Temporarily deactivate all other plugins except MailPoet.
  2. Create a new test user account in WordPress.
  3. Check if the test user is successfully added to the MailPoet 'WordPress Users' list.
  4. If the sync works, reactivate your plugins one by one, testing after each, to identify the conflicting plugin.

4. Manually Add or Confirm Subscribers

If automatic sync is failing for new users, you may need to add them manually or resend confirmation emails after a manual sync.

  • To manually confirm a subscriber: In MailPoet > Subscribers, edit the individual subscriber and change their status from 'Unconfirmed' to 'Subscribed'.
  • To resend a confirmation email: Edit the subscriber and use the option to resend the confirmation email, which is necessary for them to be officially subscribed.

Important Considerations

  • Confirmation Emails: By default, users added to a list via sync will often have an 'Unconfirmed' status and must confirm their subscription, even if they are already a registered user of your site. This is a standard anti-spam measure.
  • No Reverse Sync: Importing email addresses into the 'WordPress Users' list will not create new user accounts on your WordPress site. That list only collects existing users for email marketing purposes.
  • Custom Code: For advanced needs, such as updating custom subscriber fields programmatically, you would need to use the MailPoet API or custom development, as there is no built-in hook for every field update scenario.

If these steps do not resolve your issue, the problem may be specific to your site's configuration. Reviewing error logs or seeking help from a developer familiar with WordPress and MailPoet may be the next best step.

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