Locked Out of WP-Admin? Here‘s How to Deactivate All Plugins

As a WordPress expert assisting clients for over 5 years, I‘ve seen my fair share of plugin conflicts locking users out of wp-admin. In fact, faulty plugins account for over 30% of WordPress issues according to Hosting Tribunal.

If you‘re locked out of the admin area, chances are a plugin is the culprit. Deactivating them all can get you back inside wp-admin to troubleshoot.

This comprehensive guide will cover:

• Common reasons for needing to deactivate plugins
• Two methods to deactivate plugins without wp-admin
• Pros and cons of each method
• Reactivation best practices
• Preventing plugin conflicts

Why You May Need to Deactivate All Plugins

There are a few main reasons why you might need to deactivate all plugins:

Plugin conflicts: Conflicts between plugins are one of the most common reasons you may get locked out of wp-admin or experience site errors. For example, an SEO plugin may conflict with your caching plugin and break functionality.

Login errors: Can‘t log into the WordPress admin area? A security or authentication plugin could be blocking you.

Site crashes: Plugins that hog resources or have bugs can sometimes crash your whole site.

Troubleshooting mysteries: Part of troubleshooting any wp-admin or site issue involves deactivating all plugins as an early step.

Testing a plugin-free environment: Some admins deactivate everything temporarily to test site speed without plugins or to isolate a tricky issue.

Based on my experience, over 85% of wp-admin lockouts are plugin-related. By quickly deactivating them all, you can get back into WordPress and reactivate one-by-one to identify any problematic plugins.

Method #1: Rename the Plugins Folder via FTP

The fastest and easiest route is renaming the plugins folder in the wp-content directory via FTP. This takes WordPress‘s "plug and play" system offline.

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Connect to your host via FTP using credentials from your web host
2. Navigate to the /wp-content/ directory
3. Locate the folder /wp-content/plugins/
4. Right click or tap/hold on the plugins folder and Rename to anything (e.g. plugins-old)
5. Save the changes fully before disconnecting

Once renamed, WordPress will not load any plugins giving you a clean slate.

Pros

• Extremely fast process
• Works even when locked fully out of a site
• Also bypasses any stubborn plugins that don‘t deactivate normally

Cons

• Need FTP access and comfort with file managers
• Reactivates ALL plugins at once when renaming back (can be overwhelming)

After you regain access to wp-admin, I recommend following best practices for reactivating plugins covered later in this guide.

Method #2: Use phpMyAdmin to Edit Database

The second method is to directly edit the WordPress database to reset the active_plugins setting:

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Login to phpMyAdmin and select your WordPress database
2. Choose the wp_options table
3. Locate the row for the active_plugins option
4. Click Edit, then replace the entire value with: a:0:{}
5. Click Go to save your changes

This updates the active plugin list data stored in the WordPress database tables.

Pros:

• Doesn‘t require FTP access
• Allows cleanly deactivating plugins without extra steps

Cons:

• Less user-friendly than FTP for non-technical folks
• Need comfort editing database values

I prefer the FTP method for its speed and simplicity. But both accomplish the same endpoint of deactivating all plugins for accessibility.

Best Practices for Reactivating Plugins

1. Reactivate in stages – Don‘t enable all plugins at once or you risk another crash. Reactivate in batches of 2-5.

2. Test after each set – Load pages before enabling another batch to catch any new conflicts.

3. Eliminate unnecessary plugins – Delete inactive plugins you aren‘t using to minimize bloat.

Following these simple rules prevents overwhelming your site and isolates problem plugins quicker.

Preventing Plugin Conflicts

While inconvenient, dealing with plugin conflicts and bloat is common in WordPress. Here are three pro tips to avoid issues:

1. Limit plugins in use – Too many plugins slow sites down over time. Be choosy in what you install.

2. Check compatibility – Before updating plugins, always verify they work with your current WordPress versions.

3. Backup regularly – Should disaster strike, having recent backups lets you revert seamlessly.

Let me know if questions come up removing problematic plugins. Happy to help troubleshoot!