Wordfence Lockout

Somehow or other, Wordfence locks you out of your admin panel. You can wait until the lockout expires. Or perhaps you have been permanently locked out.

You know the credentials, so you just need a way to get back in. One way is to FTP in to your server and rename the Wordfence plugin so that it is deactivated. But that’s not the best way because as soon as you reactivate it you will be back to square one.

Instead, VPN in to another location, log in and then go here and set these options:

Wordfence/Dashboard/Global Options/General Wordfence Options

Delete Wordfence tables and data on deactivation
Note: This does not include Login Security settings and tables. An option to delete those must be selected separately on the Login Security settings page.

Wordfence/Login Security/Settings

Delete Login Security tables and data on deactivation
If enabled, all settings and 2FA records will be deleted on deactivation. If later reactivated, all users that previously had 2FA active will need to set it up again.