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When a security layer blocks MainWP’s connection request, the Dashboard displays a generic “MainWP Child plugin not detected” error because the request never reaches the child site. MainWP captures the actual server response, which often reveals what blocked the connection and how to fix it.

What You’ll Learn

  • Access the raw server response from failed connections
  • Render the response as readable HTML
  • Identify which security layer blocked the request
  • Find the information needed to whitelist your Dashboard

Prerequisites

  • MainWP Dashboard installed and activated
  • A child site that fails to connect
  • Access to an HTML rendering tool (like CodePen)

View the Server Response

1

Trigger the connection error

Attempt to connect a child site. When the connection fails, MainWP displays an error message with a link to view the server response.MainWP error message with link to view server response
2

Open the response modal

Click the link in the error message to open a modal window showing the raw server response.Modal window displaying raw server response code
3

Copy the response

Click the Copy button to copy the raw HTML response to your clipboard.
4

Render the HTML

Paste the response into an HTML rendering tool like CodePen to view it as formatted HTML.Rendered HTML response showing security rule block message
5

Identify the block

The rendered response typically shows:
  • Which security layer blocked the request (ModSecurity, Cloudflare, Imunify360, etc.)
  • The security rule that was triggered
  • The IP address being blocked

Common Information in Responses

InformationWhat It Tells You
Security rule IDThe specific rule that triggered the block
Blocked IPYour Dashboard’s IP address to whitelist
Error codeThe type of security violation detected
Service nameWhich firewall or security layer is blocking

Next Steps

Once you identify the blocking security layer:
  1. ModSecurity - Add an exclusion rule for your Dashboard IP. See ModSecurity troubleshooting.
  2. Imunify360 - Whitelist your Dashboard IP in WHM. See Imunify360 troubleshooting.
  3. Cloudflare - Create a firewall rule to allow your Dashboard IP. See Cloudflare troubleshooting.
  4. Other firewalls - Contact your hosting provider with the response details.

Self-Check Checklist

  • Viewed the raw server response from the connection error
  • Rendered the response as HTML to make it readable
  • Identified the security layer blocking the connection
  • Noted the Dashboard IP address or rule ID to whitelist
  • Applied the appropriate fix for the security layer