Hello,
Thank you for contacting Rank Math and I’m sorry for any inconvenience this issue may have caused you.
The JSON route is sending 403 (Not Found) error when you try to save / update settings or Meta tags. It’s blocked by server firewall https://pocketstop.com/wp-json/rankmath/v1/updateMeta (https://rankmath.com/kb/settings-not-saved/#num-2-check-if-rank-math-rest-route-is-blocked)
To resolve this issue please ask your hosting to whitelist /wp-json/rankmath/v1/updateMeta
You can read more about it here:
https://rankmath.com/kb/meta-data-not-saving/#firewall
Once it’s whitelisted, try switching between Easy to Advanced mode and then check if advance tab is visible now in posts / page.
Let us know how this goes.
Thank You.
Ok, strange. I have never had this problem with WPEngine before (the host).
And I have used RankMath with many domains hosted on WpEngine. You sure it isn’t a plugin conflict?
Note, that I can access the Advanced tab, however when I change the settings for index, they do not get implemented.
Hello,
When I visit https://pocketstop.com/wp-json/rankmath/v1/updateMeta, it gives 404 error. So, I will certainly ask the hosting to look into it.
Once they confirm that there’s no issue with Firewall, then we would go with plugin / theme conflict issue. I tried switching to Easy Mode, but I was not able to switch.
Please confirm once you’ve heard something from hosting and then we can move further with debugging.
Hope this helps.
Thank you
Ok, I have an update, This was WP ENGINES response (the host): I have a senior tech setting the path; typically for this it is an IP address that the API is coming from (that generates the /wp-json/rankmath/v1/updateMeta) so we are trying to whitelist it through the proxy-pass command. OK! It should be whitelisted now
Still not getting it to save. I refreshed WPengine cache, but cannot remove No index from new pages.
Hello,
The API route is now showing a 404 instead of 403 so this is not likely an issue with the firewall anymore.
Please take a backup of your .htaccess file and replace it with the default WordPress .htaccess file. You can get the file here: https://wordpress.org/support/article/htaccess/
You can follow this guide to edit the .htaccess file:
https://rankmath.com/kb/edit-htaccess/
If the issue persists, we might need to take a closer look at the settings. Please edit the first post on this ticket and include your WordPress & FTP logins in the designated Sensitive Data section.
Please do take a complete backup of your website before sharing the information with us.
It is completely secure and only our support staff has access to that section. If you want, you can use the below plugin to generate a temporary login URL to your website and share that with us instead:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/temporary-login-without-password/
You can use the above plugin in conjunction with the WP Security Audit Log to monitor what changes our staff might make on your website (if any):
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/
We really look forward to helping you.
I already included admin access/login to WordPress, give me time as I locate FTP access. Could you start with reviewing WordPress settings first? It would also be possible for me to share the current HTAccess file for your evaluation, but would take me a lot longer to get approval on resetting HTAccess to the WordPress default.
Why wouldn’t it be related to the Robots.txt file?
I get this strange error.
Contents are locked because a robots.txt file is present in the root folder
Hello,
Sure, let us know how this goes.
Also, please share the .htaccess so we can check as well.
Please note that Rank Math does not generate or create a physical robots.txt file in your website files as it is created virtually. In that message, it only means that there’s a static robots.txt file in your website directory and Rank Math cannot be used to edit it.
Looking forward to helping you.
Thank you.
Hello,
I have updated the sensitive data as requested. Can you please check further?
Thank you.
I just added a Google Drive link for you to download the Htaccess file in the sensitive data section. Please let me know what you find. I also have a staging site where we can troubleshoot further and disable plugins if needed.
Hello,
I’ve checked your .htaccess, and it seems that there are no rewrite rules for the route.
However, from the list of your plugins, it seems that you’re using WP Force Lowercase URLs. Could you please test in your staging site if the changes are getting saved when that plugin is deactivated?
Rank Math’s route for saving the data should be: /wp-json/rankmath/v1/updateMeta
You can also share your staging site’s login credentials in the sensitive data section so we can troubleshoot further.
Let us know how this goes.
Thank you.
Thanks, it appears that is the problem.
WP Force Lowercase URLs was causing the conflict. Let me check with our team if it is necessary to have this plugin.
Hello,
Sure, let us know how this goes.
Meanwhile, please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime if you have other questions to assist you further.
Looking forward to helping you.
Thank you.
Hello,
Thank you for the update.
We are glad that you have already managed to resolve this issue.
If you have any other concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime to assist you further.
Looking forward to helping you.
Thank you.
