Reconnect domains

A connected domain can stop reporting and show as Inactive or Disconnected in the panel. In most cases you can recover it with one click using the Reconnect action, without entering the site’s wp-admin.

When does a domain go inactive?

The panel marks a domain as inactive or disconnected when:

• Heartbeats stop arriving for longer than the configured timeout (26 hours by default). Typical causes: WP-Cron is not running the scheduled heartbeat, or the server is down or unreachable.
• The plugin was deactivated on the WordPress site.
• The plugin was disconnected from its settings. The plugin keeps its credentials precisely so the panel can reconnect it remotely later.
• The sync credentials were invalidated and the plugin needs to be re-linked.

Tip

If the cause is a missed scheduled heartbeat, the panel points you to the WP-Cron guide. See WP-Cron does not run.

Reconnect from the panel (remote reactivation)

In Domain management, open the actions menu of the affected domain and click Reconnect. The action appears for domains that are pending or inactive, or whose heartbeat is critical, disconnected, or has never arrived.

The panel first tries the remote path: it sends a reactivation order to the plugin, which re-enables its local configuration and immediately sends a heartbeat. The pairing credentials stay intact, so nothing needs to be re-entered. On success the panel confirms it — “Domain reactivated. The plugin accepted the reconnection and sent a heartbeat.” — and the domain returns to Active.

If the site is slow to respond, the panel may report the reconnection as pending; give it a moment and refresh the domain list.

Manual alternative

If the plugin is unreachable or lost its credentials on the WordPress side (for example, it was uninstalled and reinstalled), the panel warns you that manual reconnection is required. In that case it generates a new Pairing Code, moves the domain back to pending, and shows a window with the Site ID and the new Pairing Code together with the steps to follow:

1. If the plugin is still installed and linked, disconnect it first from its settings (Settings → Disconnect).
2. Re-pair the plugin from its setup screen using the Site ID and the new Pairing Code. The manual connection flow covers this screen in detail.
3. Wait for the first heartbeat — the domain switches back to Active.

Note

If the plugin is no longer installed, install Vulnity Security from the WordPress plugin directory first, then pair it with the credentials shown.

Next steps

• Domain management — check the status of every connected site.
• Add a single site — the assisted and manual pairing flows.
• WP-Cron does not run — fix the most common cause of missed heartbeats.