WordPress “forgets” selected theme, frequently falls back to default.

  • We recently moved our website, with two different WordPress (2.0.6) based blogs, to a different server. Everything went fine, without any obvious problems.
    Except for one: One of the blogs frequently “forgets” the selected theme and after a few hours simply shows the default theme instead.
    This strikes me as very odd and I cannot find any reason for this behavior.
    The custom theme is based on k2 and worked fine on the old server and seems to work fine on the new server, except that after an hour or two, the default theme is shown instead. The admin-panel then shows the default theme as currently selected theme, too. Everything looks normal and the way it is supposed to be, except that it’s just not the theme we wanted.
    The current solution to this problem is to simply rename the default theme and put the custom theme in the default folder. That works fine, but isn’t really elegant and I hope it doesn’t have to be a permanent solution.

    Does anyone else experience this weird behavior and might know what causes it?
    Every other setting, every other part of both blogs (with different databases and settings) works perfectly normal.

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 37 total)

  • But I use “K2”, isn’t that supposed to be some officially sponsored theme or theme creator? I would think it’s using legal functions or whatever.

    It’s just another theme, with some extraneous bloated “fancies”. If it’s any consolation, I know someone who has the problem occasionally with a custom theme.

    As I mentioned earlier in the thread, it happened to me when I was customizing a theme and had some errors, and it did it again this evening again while I was customizing, so try double checking your code, you never know:

    https://validator.w3.org/

    I’m having the same issue with my K2 theme. https://www.hearya.com.

    I’ll go to bed with my new theme and wake up with the default. I deleted all the themes except for the one I want displayed and my site was gone. I logged into WordPress and even that them disappeared. Not sure how it was removed.

    Has anyone figured out if this is a wordpress bug or an issue with the theme itself?

    Out of curiousity, assuming someone reads this, could it have something to do with installing the google xml sitemap plug-in? I installed that right before experiencing this issue. My theme is 3k2 redux klein (https://www.headsetoptions.org/2006/08/06/3k2-redux-klein-theme-released/)

    For me, it doesn’t have anything to do with that plugin because I don’t use it.

    I think the issue with my theme reverting to default was because of what vkaryl mentioned above – having two WP installations, one in a subfolder and one in the root.

    Anyway, so my fix for the time being is to delete every theme except the one I currently wish to use from both installs of WP. That’s my fix until I become un-lazy enough to figure out how to get down to using just the one WP install, heh.

    So far it would seem that there isn’t one common factor that’s causing the theme switching.

    Interesting. I also have one in the sub-folder and one in the root directory, but when I deleted my other two themes, my one theme disappeared and I had a blank page. Bad times…

    So did you delete the wordpress from your subfolder also? Maybe I’ll try that. I haven’t had a problem since deactivating the google plugin so my fingers are crossed.

    I’ve tried to delete all themes except my main theme as well and I also get a blank website and all themes gone from the Admin center. But it should be noted that theme isn’t physically removed, it’s just not in the Admin center anymore until I re-upload the default theme.

    This is SO weird.

    It’s not specifically a wp install in root and one in a subfolder – it’s specifically when you use the SAME DATABASE for more than one wp install (at least in my experience, that is).

    I have numerous wp installs, in fact I’ve got a couple of sites with half a dozen each – one in root each and the rest in subfolders. But both those sites have a database for EACH install.

    The sites where I’ve had trouble this way are sites where I’m doing background tweaking for clients, and the main root install of wp is the “real deal” – so I’ve set up a tweaker install using the same database for convenience. What I note about these is that the root install theme never “fails” – only the subfolder one.

    So your situations may not fall into this black hole at all…. and sorry to be slow about getting back. I’ve had client messes to clear….

    OK here’s my list of things I’ve got going…

    1. I’ve only got one WordPress install.
    2. I’ve only got one DB with one WordPress install.
    3. I can’t delete default, because I get a blank website.
    4. I’m using K2.
    5. No template errors that I know of that would make it change.
    6. I’m getting ready to go back to MT if I can’t get this fixed, which I DON’T want to do.

    I just have a basic single install so it’s obviously an issue with WordPress and not how or what you’ve got installed. Even when I try the classic theme it still does the same thing.

    And what plugins are we running?

    Here’s the list of plugins I use, but before you say it, I’ve already tried disabling them all to see if that fixes it and it does not.

    1. Akismet
    2. Blue-k2 QuickTags
    3. Extended Live Archives
    4. Feedburner Feed Replacement
    5. Quoter
    6. Related Posts (Though I can’t get it to work so I will be removing this one.)
    7. WordPress Database Backup
    8. WordPress Mobile Edition
    9. WP-ContactForm

    8. WordPress Mobile Edition

    Bingo.

    Search here for that one. There’s a known issue directly related to this thread. If the installation directions are not completely followed, your theme will reset to default when mobile users show up…

    [update] here’s one from a quick search: https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/77582?replies=9#post-490045

    Hope that helps!

    Hrm, well like I said I tried disabling them all before with the same result, but I will try disabling it again (because as far as I know I followed the directions) and see if it happens again. Thanks.

    If you look under wp-content/themes do you see the wp-mobile directory? And if so, is it set to the same permissions as the other themes?

    Those appear to be the key to the whole thing. Folks forget to add the wp-mobile theme files or the perms are wrong.

    Best of luck with it.

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 37 total)
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