OnlyTheOnline
Log in
Get Help Now
errorWordfence•errorfatal errorcodePHPerrorerrorinfoWordfence•star_halfUncommon•warningModerate

Wordfence plugin deactivated automatically due to fatal error on activation

Wordfence stops during activation because PHP throws a fatal error. The error stops WordPress from loading the plugin and forces deactivation.

Typical triggers include PHP version mismatch, corrupted files, or conflicts with other plugins. The result is an immediate shutdown of Wordfence and a notice in the admin area.

Symptoms

[dashicons-warning]
Admin notice
WordPress shows a banner that the plugin was deactivated due to an error.
[dashicons-admin-links]
Immediate redirect
Clicking Activate returns you to the Plugins page without loading Wordfence.
[dashicons-no]
Missing menu
Wordfence menu does not appear in the admin sidebar.

Common Causes

PHP version mismatch
Running PHP 8.1 or 8.2 while Wordfence expects 7.4‑8.0 triggers undefined method errors.
Corrupt plugin files
Incomplete update leaves core files missing, causing fatal load errors.
Plugin conflict
Another security plugin overloads Wordfence classes, resulting in class not found errors.
Need this fixed right now?

Don't waste your day debugging. Our experts can Fix your issues in under 2 hours.*

Get this issue fixed

Success Rate

100% Guaranteed

Starting from

$35 /hour
99+

Trusted by Business Owners

“I spent 3 days trying to fix the Elementor loading loop. These guys fixed it in 20 minutes. Lifesavers!”

— Sarah J., Web Designer

Related Issues

contact_mail
Contact Form 7: REST API request failed: 503 Service Unavailable
A 503 Service Unavailable response stops Contact Form 7 from sending data...
apiREST APIerror503descriptioncontact-form-7
contact_mail
Contact Form 7: REST API request failed: 429 Too Many Requests

The form tries to send data through the WordPress REST API. The...

apiREST APIerrorerrorsecurityfirewalldescriptioncontact-form-7settingsserver_configuration
contact_mail
Contact Form 7: REST API request failed: 401 Unauthorized

The form tries to send data via the WordPress REST API. The...

apiREST APIadmin_panel_settingspermissionsdescriptioncontact-form-7lock401
contact_mail
Contact Form 7: File upload error: temporary directory missing

The error appears when Contact Form 7 cannot locate a writable temporary...

codePHPcloud_offupload erroradmin_panel_settingspermissionsdescriptiontemporary filedescriptioncontact-form-7
contact_mail
Contact Form 7: Mail (2) sending failed: PHP mail() function disabled

Contact Form 7 reports a failure for Mail (2) when the PHP...

codePHPerrorerrordescriptioncontact-form-7mailMailsettingsserver_configuration
contact_mail
Contact Form 7: Mail (2) sending failed: SSL certificate verification failed

Contact Form 7 reports a failure when trying to send the secondary...

errorerrorlocksslcodecURLdescriptioncontact-form-7