How to Disable WordPress Plugins via phpMyAdmin
When a plugin locks you out of wp-admin entirely, you can disable all plugins directly in the database. This often restores access without losing any data.
Step-by-step
- Back up the database first — Databases → phpMyAdmin → your database → Export → Go.
- Open the wp_options table (prefix may differ, e.g. wpxx_options) and click Browse.
- Find the "active_plugins" row. Use the search if needed — option_name = active_plugins.
- Click Edit on that row.
- Replace the option_value with
a:0:{}— this is an empty list, which deactivates every plugin. - Click Go, then log in to wp-admin. Reactivate plugins one at a time to find the one that caused the problem.
💡 Good to know
- This deactivates plugins without deleting them — your settings remain intact.
- The faster alternative is renaming the wp-content/plugins folder in File Manager — see fixing the white screen.
- Note which plugin caused the lockout before reactivating it.