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Documentation/Troubleshooting/Session Errors
Troubleshooting

Session Errors

A session_start warning, or an error mentioning session.save_path, means PHP can't
open a session on your server. It's a server configuration problem, not an Oxygen bug —
but Oxygen surfaces it, because it starts a PHP session to count page views and sessions
for two display conditions.

Typical errors look like this:

Warning: session_start(): open(/server/path/to/php/session/file, O_RDWR) failed: No such file or directory (2)...
Warning: session_start(): Failed to read session data...

Step 1: Disable Page & Session Cookies

This stops Oxygen from starting a session at all, which clears the error immediately and
lets you keep working while your host looks into the underlying problem.

In wp-admin, go to
Oxygen → Settings → Privacy
and check Disable Page & Session Cookies, then click Save Changes.

The one thing this turns off is the Page View Count and Session Count display
conditions — they stop working, because the cookies that track those numbers are no longer
set. If you aren't using either condition, there is no other effect. If you are using them,
treat this as a temporary workaround until your host fixes the server.

Step 2: Contact your hosting provider

Tell them you're hitting a PHP error related to
session_start and that PHP is
unable to open a session. The most common causes:

  • The PHP version was changed on the server.
  • There's a PHP version mismatch between the CLI and the web server.
  • session.save_path in the PHP configuration points somewhere that doesn't exist or
    isn't writable.

Only your host can fix any of these.

Step 3: Test the site on a different server

If your host can't find the problem, move a copy of the site somewhere else — if the error
doesn't follow the site, it's confirmed as server configuration.

All-in-One WP Migration and
Migrate Guru both copy a site to another
host. If you don't have a second server, Local runs WordPress on
your own machine, and either of those plugins (or
WP Migrate Lite) will copy your site into
it.

Step 4: Contact support

If the error follows the site to a different server, we want to see it. Submit a ticket
through the support portal and include:

  • A clear description of the problem.
  • Confirmation that you've deactivated your other plugins to rule out a conflict.
  • Confirmation that you've contacted your host and they were unable to resolve it.
  • Confirmation that you've tested the site on a different server or locally.
  • Step-by-step instructions for reproducing the issue.
  • A short video or screenshots showing it.
  • Non-expiring administrative login credentials for the site — not one-time links. See
    How to Provide Temporary Support Access.
  • A download link for your export file, if you made one while testing.