Hello,
I would like to report an issue we are currently facing with WPML AMS / ATE communication.
We are seeing the following error repeated hundreds of times in our debug.log:
WPML: Failed to send site key to AMS: AMS API returned false
We have verified that all our sites are correctly registered in our WPML account with valid site keys:
The issue has been occurring for a few weeks, and even in the last few minutes, I can see the following messages in the debug.log file:
[02-Feb-2026 14:31:07 UTC] WPML: Failed to send site key to AMS: AMS API returned false
[02-Feb-2026 14:31:07 UTC] WPML: Direct site key sync failed, scheduled background task as fallback
[02-Feb-2026 14:32:20 UTC] WPML: Failed to send site key to AMS: AMS API returned false
Please contact your hosting provider and ask them to whitelist the following domains:
wpml.org
cdn.wpml.org
api.wpml.org
api.toolset.com
cloudfront.net
If that does not help, I would like to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site to test the issue.
(preferably to a test site where the problem has been replicated if possible)
**Before we proceed It is necessary to take FULL BACKUP of your database and your website. Providing us with access, you agree that a backup has been taken **
I often use the Duplicator plugin for this purpose: http://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/
You will find the needed fields for this below the comment area when you log in to leave your next reply.
The information you enter is private which means only you and I have access to it.
NOTE: If access to the live site is not possible and the staging site does not exist please provide me with a duplicator package created with the duplicator plugin.
2026/02/11 9:35:35 pm ATE Server Communication Unable to authenticate 0 0 {"url":"https:\/\/ate.wpml.org\/api\/wpml\/languages\/mappings","requestArgs":{"method":"GET"},"status":"auth_error"
API and Server connections check out OK.
Communication with wpml.org is OK and license is recognized.
However, the site is not connected to the ATE which is why you are getting this message.
Was this site recently migrated? If yes, what is the previous URL? (We will need to manually fix this from our side)
When I search using the user details I can see the following domains listed:
hidden link hidden link hidden link hidden link
The behavior I am observing can sometimes be caused due to a migration and a 3rd party plugin blocking a WPML pop up that facilitates the migration.
The quickest way to resolve this would be testing with a minimal environment (deactivating 3rd party plugins)
Do you currently have a staging site we could perform this test with? If not I can migrate a copy of the site on our cloudways staging environment to further investigate.
The website hidden link is a test website (not production).
We deactivated all plugins and kept only WPML active. The issue was still present.
As you can see in the logs, the error first appeared on 14-Nov-2025 :
[14-Nov-2025 14:37:28 UTC] WPML: Failed to send site key to AMS: AMS API returned false
On that same day, WPML was updated to version 4.8.5.
Important note:
We do not use automatic translation. All translations are done manually.
We just changed the translation editor setting:
WPML → Settings → Translation Editor
We switched from Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) to Classic Translation Editor.
After switching to the Classic Translation Editor, the AMS-related errors disappeared.
We will monitor the log file over the next two days to confirm whether the issue is fully resolved.
Could you please confirm:
- If it is safe for us to permanently disable ATE since we only use manual translation?
- If this AMS error is directly related to ATE activation?
- If there is any recommended cleanup action regarding the site key or AMS connection?
After switching to the Classic Translation Editor, the AMS-related errors disappeared.
That's because you are no longer using AMS.
The Classic Translation Editor and ATE editors do not communicate with each other.
What does that mean? Any work/translation done in the ATE editor will now be lost and vice versa, any work made in CTE editors will not transfer over to ATE.
If the site is just for testing purposes and no translations are needed then that's fine.
The reason this issue is happening is because the staging site (hidden link) has not been registered by our AMS system and then it's also not connected to your main site's AMS.
The content on the site are being pulled by AMS ID 1 and when you access them from the new staging site it essentially says we recognize this content is coming from AMS ID 1 but that ID 1 is not connected to this URL which then results to a block.
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We can resolve this just need you to verify with me the production URL that the staging is coming from and I will update the records manually
