Table of contents

What is WordPress Recovery Mode?When does WordPress enter recovery mode?What happens during recovery mode?How to accessHow to fix errorsHow to exit When to useBest practicesHow to testFAQsNext stepsAdditional resources

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WordPress Guide → Errors → Recovery Mode

WordPress Recovery Mode: How to trigger it and how to use it

When your WordPress site breaks, it can feel like everything’s on fire, especially if you’re locked out of the admin area. Fortunately, WordPress Recovery Mode is built to save the day. It lets you fix fatal errors without digging through code or losing access to your dashboard.

Let’s walk through what Recovery Mode is, how it works, and how you can use it to get your site back online fast.

What is WordPress Recovery Mode?

WordPress Recovery Mode is a core feature introduced in WordPress 5.2. It activates automatically when the platform detects a fatal error caused by themes, plugins, or code changes. Instead of leaving your site completely inaccessible, WordPress creates a temporary safe environment just for administrators.

This mode pauses the malfunctioning code and sends the site admin a special login link. From there, you can access your dashboard, disable or delete the problem plugin or theme, and restore your site—without affecting your frontend visitors or needing FTP right away.

When does WordPress enter recovery mode?

Recovery Mode kicks in only under very specific conditions. Here’s what triggers it:

A plugin or theme throws a fatal PHP error that crashes your site.
WordPress core catches the error using its built-in fatal error handler.
Instead of showing a blank screen or generic error message, it generates a recovery mode login link.
The link is sent to the site admin email address.

This only happens if the crash occurs during a regular page load (not during background tasks or cron jobs). Recovery mode isn’t activated for non-admin users.

What happens during recovery mode?

Once you access the recovery link, WordPress runs in a special mode only visible to you. Here’s what changes:

Faulty themes or plugins are paused just for your session. They remain active for other users and site visitors.
Your admin dashboard loads in a minimal state with the rest of the site still functional.
WordPress displays error details so you can quickly see which plugin or theme caused the crash.
You’re given options to deactivate or remove the problem code.

This gives you time to investigate and fix the issue without completely disabling your entire site.

How to access WordPress Recovery Mode

If you encounter a fatal error and want to use Recovery Mode, here are three ways to get in.

Via the recovery mode email link

This is the standard way WordPress Recovery Mode is triggered:

As soon as a critical error occurs, WordPress emails the admin address.
The email includes a subject like “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue.”
Inside is a secure, time-limited link to enter Recovery Mode.

Clicking that link takes you to the special dashboard where you can safely fix the issue.

Manually trigger recovery mode via URL

If you didn’t get the email, deleted it, or didn’t get it in time, you can try to enter Recovery Mode manually:

Visit your login page: yourdomain.com/wp-login.php
Add this to the end of the URL: ?action=entered_recovery_mode
Example: yourdomain.com/wp-login.php?action=entered_recovery_mode

This only works if WordPress has already registered a fatal error. Otherwise, you’ll just see the normal login screen.

Disable plugins via FTP or File Manager

If you can’t access the site at all or the email never arrives, fall back to your hosting control panel or FTP client:

Open File Manager in cPanel (or connect via FTP).
Navigate to /wp-content/plugins/
Rename the folder of the suspected plugin (or rename the entire /plugins/ folder to plugins-disabled)
Reload your site. WordPress will deactivate the missing plugins automatically.

This forces your site back online so you can access the dashboard.

How to fix errors in recovery mode

Once you’re in Recovery Mode, follow these steps:

Review the error message or the paused plugin list.
Click “Deactivate” or “Delete” next to the plugin or theme causing the issue.
If you’re unsure which item is to blame, deactivate them one at a time and reload your site to test.
Optionally switch to a default theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four) to isolate the problem further.

If you have a recent backup, you can also restore that instead of troubleshooting manually.

How to exit WordPress Recovery Mode

After you’ve resolved the error:

Click the “Exit Recovery Mode” button in the WordPress admin bar.
WordPress will resume loading all plugins and themes as normal.
Check the frontend of your site to confirm everything works as expected.

Once you exit, Recovery Mode ends and won’t reactivate unless a new fatal error occurs.

When to use WordPress Recovery Mode

Recovery Mode is designed for specific high-impact situations:

A plugin update breaks the site.
A newly installed theme causes a white screen or PHP error.
You edited functions.php and triggered a critical error.
Your site shows “There has been a critical error on this website.”

Any of these situations would normally lock you out—but Recovery Mode keeps the door open just long enough to fix it.

Best practices to avoid critical errors

While Recovery Mode is a great safety net, prevention is always better:

Back up regularly. Use a plugin or hosting-level backup before every update.
Test in staging first. Try updates on a staging site before going live.
Only use quality code. Avoid outdated or poorly reviewed plugins and themes.
Enable debug logging. Use WP_DEBUG_LOG to capture PHP errors before they become fatal.
Keep everything updated. Core, plugins, and themes should always run the latest secure version.

How to test Recovery Mode on purpose (for devs and power users)

Want to test how your site handles fatal errors? You can intentionally trigger Recovery Mode like this:

Go to your active theme’s functions.php file or a custom plugin.
Add a line that will cause an error—like calling a function that doesn’t exist:
test_recovery_mode_trigger(); // Function does not exist
Save the file and load your site. It should crash and send the recovery email.
Use the link to test Recovery Mode, then fix the error to return to normal.

This is helpful for developers building plugins or site maintainers who want to test error-handling procedures.

WordPress Recovery Mode FAQs

You can go to recovery mode using a special email link sent by WordPress after a fatal error. It takes you to a safe dashboard to fix the issue.

Click “Exit Recovery Mode” in the admin bar. Your site will resume normal operation with all active plugins and themes.

You can use Recovery Mode to disable faulty plugins or themes. If that doesn’t work, restore a backup or use FTP to manually deactivate the problem files.

You can’t manually boot into it unless WordPress detects a fatal error. If it does, you can try ?action=entered_recovery_mode on your login URL to access it.

Getting started with WordPress Recovery Mode

WordPress Recovery Mode is your built-in emergency kit for critical errors. It’s a fast and beginner-friendly way to recover your site from plugin crashes or bad theme updates.

The next time your site breaks unexpectedly, don’t panic—check your email, open Recovery Mode, and disable the bad code.

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