A customer can't log in to their account on our site. What do we do?

How do I help the customer get back in?

1. Find their account. In WordPress, go to Users and type their email address in the search box at the top right, then select Search users. “No matching users were found!” means there’s no account under that address.
2. No account? Ask whether they used another email, or checked out as a guest. A guest order doesn’t create a login.
3. Has an account? Ask them to open your store’s My account page (or login page), select Lost your password? and enter their email.
4. They set a new password from the link in that email.
   • Expected result: they sign in on the My account page and see their orders.

WooCommerce’s account settings describe the “Lost password” step as the one that “handles the password reset process for customers.” WordPress’s Users screen guide covers searching for users, and its logging in guide describes the Lost your password? link, which emails a reset link to the address on the account. A plugin can change or move that link, so check your own login page.

The short version

• Check they have an account, then send them to Lost password to set a new one themselves.
• If reset emails don’t arrive, fix your site’s email sending. Never handle a customer’s password.

What if they never set a password?

New WooCommerce customers may get a link to set their password instead of a password. While they’re using a temporary password, a notice shows in their Dashboard and Account details. If the setup email is lost or the link has expired, they select Resend there to get a new one. WooCommerce allows one new link per minute, per its My account page guide.

Why doesn’t the reset email arrive?

The reset email comes from your website, not from your mailbox. If it isn’t arriving:

1. Ask them to check spam and junk, and to search for your store’s name.
2. Test it yourself. Use the Lost your password? link with a test customer account and your own email.
3. If your test email doesn’t come either, your site’s email sending needs fixing. See why website form emails go to spam or go missing; the same fix covers order confirmation emails.

What else can block a login?

• Accounts turned off. In WooCommerce, then Settings, then Accounts & Privacy, check whether customers can create accounts (After checkout, During checkout or On “My account” page) and whether Enable log-in during checkout is on.
• A security plugin lockout after too many tries. See why the login page shows a 404 or blocked page.
• A members-only plugin with its own login page. Its settings decide who can sign in.

What should we never do?

• Never ask a customer for their password, and never email one to them. They set their own through the reset link.
• Don’t change their email address on request without checking it’s really them, for example by matching a recent order.

How does E-3 handle this?

If test reset emails don’t arrive, report it through Get support with the time you tried and the address you used. Never include a password. A person at E-3 looks into it. Call 814-399-4655 or email support@e3help.me.

Related questions

• How do I log in to my website if I forgot my password?
• Why aren’t customers getting order confirmation emails?
• Why does my login page show a 404 or blocked page?