Troubleshooting: Site Connection
Most site connection problems fall into one of a few categories. Start with the error message in the admin notice — it names the specific failure and, for site verification errors, includes the exact URL Benecaster tried to reach and the HTTP result.
Site Verification Failure
When the connection fails with a site verification failure, Benecaster.com tried to reach your site and couldn’t complete the check. The admin notice shows the URL it probed and either an HTTP response code or a connection error.
The probe URL looks like:
https://yoursite.com/wp-json/benecaster/v1/verify?code=probe&nonce=probe&show_uuid=probe
Three common causes:
1. Your site is not publicly accessible.
Local development installs (localhost, .test, .local), sites behind a VPN, sites in maintenance mode, and sites that require HTTP authentication all fail this check — Benecaster.com cannot reach them from the internet.
Options:
- Use a tunnel tool (ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel) to temporarily expose your local site
- Complete the connection on a staging or production URL instead
- Use the
BENECASTER_LICENSE_URLconstant to point at a local license server (see Connection Technical Reference →)
2. A security plugin or WAF is blocking the request.
Some WordPress security plugins (Wordfence, iThemes Security) and CDN WAF rules block automated probes. Temporarily disable the WAF or add an exception for the path /wp-json/benecaster/v1/verify, then retry.
3. Your SSL certificate is untrusted or expired.
Benecaster.com won’t connect over HTTPS with an invalid certificate. Renew your certificate or verify your certificate chain is complete.
You can test the endpoint manually from an external server:
curl -I "https://yoursite.com/wp-json/benecaster/v1/verify?code=probe&nonce=probe&show_uuid=probe"
Reading the probe result in the notice:
HTTP 200, Xms— reached successfully. If the error still appears, the response content may have been malformed — contact support with the full notice text.HTTP 4xx / 5xx— the request arrived but the server rejected it. Most commonly an overly aggressive WAF rule.cURL error: ...— the connection failed at the network level (DNS, timeout, SSL, TCP refused). The cURL error string names the specific issue.
Site URL Mismatch
This means your WordPress address doesn’t match the URL Benecaster has on record for your account.
Common causes:
- Your WordPress Address was recently changed in Settings → General
- You’re on a staging clone — the site URL changed from the original
- You switched from HTTP to HTTPS
Fix: Confirm your WordPress Address at Settings → General → WordPress Address is correct, then click Connect to Benecaster again. If you’re on a staging site, see Setting Up a Staging Site →.
Reconnect State — Why Did This Happen?
Benecaster enters reconnect state when its daily license check returns two consecutive failures for the same show. Common reasons the connection token becomes invalid:
- You revoked the token from the Licenses panel on your Benecaster account dashboard on benecaster.com
- Benecaster support revoked it (usually as part of an account action)
- A GDPR erasure request removed the token record
- Your license expired or was cancelled
Fix: Click Reconnect to Benecaster in the admin notice, or open the show’s Settings → Subscription tab and click the Reconnect button. Complete the OAuth flow. A successful reconnection clears the reconnect flag automatically.
Still stuck? Contact support with the full text of the error notice — the probe URL, HTTP response code, and elapsed time are what our team needs to diagnose quickly.