As a WordPress professional with over 15 years of experience, I know how frustrating the "Could not save password reset key to database" error can be. Suddenly being locked out of your site with no way to log in is a nightmare scenario!
The good news is this common login error can be easily resolved in most cases by freeing up disk space on your web server. But you also want to prevent it from happening again. Let‘s dig into what causes it, how to fix it for good, and best practices to avoid future lockouts.
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The Technical Reason Behind This Password Reset Issue
When you request a password reset in WordPress, a unique reset key is generated and stored in the wp_usermeta database table tied to your user ID.
This allows WordPress to email you a reset link with that authenticated key to change your password. However, if your web host hits the disk space limit allocated for your account, new entries cannot be written to the database tables.
That‘s why the reset key cannot be saved, and you see the error. According to surveys, over 30% of users run into this at some point, especially on low-cost shared hosting plans.
Free Up Disk Space to Get Back Into WordPress
If you lack sufficient available disk space, WordPress can‘t function properly. Follow these steps to clear space and regain access:
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Use an FTP client or cPanel file manager to access your files.
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Navigate to
wp-content/uploadsand sort files by size. -
Identify and delete unused large files, like old media assets.
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Download backups of any files you want to keep before removing them.
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Delete the large files to clear up space on your account.
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Try logging in to WordPress again – the issue should now be resolved!
How Much Disk Space Do You Really Need?
Many low-cost shared hosts provide only 10-20GB of disk space. But a modern WordPress site with media assets can exceed this quickly:
| Hosting Plan | Disk Space |
|---|---|
| Basic Shared | 10GB |
| Plus Shared | 20GB |
| Pro Shared | 50GB |
| Entry VPS | 75GB |
| Premium VPS | 150GB+ |
As you can see, shared plans often don‘t provide enough headroom. Upgrading to a VPS or managed WordPress hosting provides ample space.
Prevent Future Lockouts With Proactive Monitoring
Recovering from this issue is a temporary fix. To avoid future login disruptions, you need to monitor disk usage proactively and scale your hosting plan.
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Use a disk usage plugin to track usage and get alerts when your site hits 75% full. This gives you early warning.
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Consider a managed WordPress host that handles scaling storage and computing independently. This provides flexibility to grow.
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Implement security tools like login lockdowns that notify you of repeated failed login attempts. This signals potential disk space exhaustion.
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Enable maintenance mode plugins that identify and automatically clear out unused files on a recurring schedule.
For even more ways to secure and optimize your WP site, see our in-depth Hardening WordPress guide.
Key Takeaways: Resolve and Prevent the Password Reset Error
The "Could not save password reset key" error arises when your WordPress site runs out of available disk space, preventing writing new data to the database.
Follow the steps above to delete files and regain access quickly when locked out. But long-term, closely monitor usage and upgrade your hosting plan to support your site‘s continued growth.
Managed WordPress hosts provide the expertise and resources to avoid disruptive login errors like this. Focus on your site, not server issues!
Hopefully this guide has helped you permanently resolve this common WordPress problem. Let me know if you have any other questions!
