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WordPress security

How to Change a WordPress User from Subscriber to Administrator Role

A rare situation, but in those rare instances when your website has been hacked and your WordPress user account has been changed from the role of Administrator to something else entirely, it may be easiest to simply change your WordPress user account back to Administrator using phpMyAdmin.

To change your WordPress user account from Subscriber to Administrator, first log into your cPanel. Then click the “phpMyAdmin” button.

cPanel phpMyadmin

 

You’ll see your list of installed databases at left.

phpMyAdmin List of Databases

 

If you are not sure which database your WordPress installation is using, then use your cPanel -> “File Manger” to “Edit” the contents of your WordPress configuration file, wp-config.php file.

WordPress wp-config.php Databae Name (DB_NAME)

 

Back to phpMyAdmin. Click your database and scroll down until you find the ‘usermeta‘ table.

WordPress Database Usermeta Table

 

My goal here is to change the user lmadmin1 from Subscriber to Administrator.

Wordpress Users List Subscriber example

 

Doing so is fairly easy.
After clicking the ‘usermeta‘ table, all I need to do is scroll down within the table until lmadmin1 appears in the list.

 

Ten or so lines below the user lmadmin1, is the line ‘user_level‘

WordPress Database User Level and Capabilities

 

To switch my lmadmin1 user from the role of Subscriber to Administrator, I have to do two things:

  1. Change the value from 0 to 10 on the ‘user_level‘ line
  2. Replace the ‘capabilities‘ meta_key value text with ‘a:1:{s:13:"administrator";s:1:"1";}‘

 

The moment I type or paste in the text and hit the enter key I should be able to jump back into WordPress and log in with full Administrator privileges.

Changing WordPress Subscriber to Administrator within the database using phpMyadmin

 

It’s really that easy!

Wordpress Users List Administrator example

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Call (619) 479-6637 Tagged With: cPanel, phpMyAdmin, WordPress change user role, WordPress security, WordPress user role

About the HackGuard.com WordPress Updates and Security Service

HackGuard WordPress Security

What Can A Fella Do For $5ish a Month?” (or $12.95 without a bulk discount)

I’m asked this question often enough that I feel the need to write a post I could link back to on the topic of, “What can you do for $5ish a month?”

Well, quite a lot actually:

– Prevent hackers from hacking your website (or fix it quickly if they do).
– Monitor your website and help fix basic errors fast (often within an hour if they occur).
– Update your plugins for you and keep your WordPress installation up to date (checked many times a week).
– Manage daily backups of your website either locally or to a 3rd party service.
– Answer your questions by phone or email pretty much 24/7/365.
– And a great deal more, all for the price of a few cups of coffee per month—seriously!

So what’s the catch?

Well, there is no catch. You may cancel at any time, and we’ll do our best to meet all of your update needs with a smile.

What HackGuard.com does not do?

Well, at 15 to 40ish cents a day we have a few reasonable limits.

We can’t do web design for you at 15 to 40ish cents a day. And for this reason, we will not be able to update your WordPress themes, WooCommerce plugins, other eCommerce-related plugins, or premium plugins like WPBakery Visual Composer, Revolution Slider, or other “paid” plugins (unless you have set up an auto-update option respectively).

Suffice it to say, if there’s a chance we could destroy your website’s appearance or layout–we won’t. Those design level tasks are best managed by an experienced web designer.

Why can’t HackGuard.com update my premium plugins?

Most premium plugins are pay-to-play plugins, meaning that updates often require login access to the plugin developer’s website, and some require payment to update.

That said, we are considering a 2nd tier of service to support premium plugins. For now, we’ll need your help in updating your commercial or premium type plugins as updates become available.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to call anytime, (619) 479-6637

Filed Under: Call (619) 479-6637 Tagged With: hackguard service, WordPress security, wordpress updates

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