Issue Registering WPML - Connection Timeout Error (cURL error 28)

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client is experiencing issues while trying to register and install the WPML plugin on their WordPress site. They encountered a 'Connection error: Unable to get data from service. Detailed error: cURL error 28: Connection timed out after 10000 milliseconds' during registration. Additionally, while attempting to upload and install the plugin, they received an error message stating 'The link you followed has expired.'.
Solution:
1. We recommended checking the WPML > Support > Installer support section to see if there are any red X-ses indicating blocked domains. If so, the client should contact their hosting provider to ensure the following domains are not blocked:
- wpml.org
- cdn.wpml.org
- api.wpml.org
- api.toolset.com
- cloudfront.net
More information on this issue can be found in our documentation here: https://wpml.org/faq/wpml-plugin-cannot-connect-to-wpml-org/.
2. As an alternative to using the OTGS Installer, we suggested manually downloading the plugins from https://wpml.org/account/downloads/ and installing them via the site's backend.
3. For the 'link expired' issue, we directed the client to an existing support ticket that discusses server-side limitations which might be causing this problem: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/when-trying-to-install-plugin-the-link-you-followed-has-expired-error-appears/#post-15196062.
If these steps do not resolve the issues, or if the information provided becomes outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. Should further assistance be needed, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 5 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Mihai Apetrei 1 month, 3 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Mihai Apetrei.

Author	Posts
May 25, 2025 at 1:26 am #17069352
alaaH-8	Background of the issue: I am trying to install and register the WPML plugin on my WordPress site for the first time. I have entered my site key in the registration field and clicked 'Register'. Symptoms: I received an error message: 'Connection error: Unable to get data from service. Detailed error: cURL error 28: Connection timed out after 10000 milliseconds.' Questions: Why am I receiving a connection timeout error when registering WPML? How can I resolve the cURL error 28 during WPML registration?
May 25, 2025 at 9:55 pm #17070595
Mihai Apetrei WPML Supporter since 03/2018 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there. On WPML > Support > Installer support > can you please let us know if you see two green check icons at the top after you click the "check" button? Or are there any red X-ses instead of the green check icons? If there are any red X-ses, can you please get in touch with your hosting provider making sure that these domains are not blocked? – wpml.org – cdn.wpml.org – api.wpml.org – api.toolset.com – cloudfront.net Curl error 28 is also mentioned in our documentation here: https://wpml.org/faq/wpml-plugin-cannot-connect-to-wpml-org/ There might be a block there, and the hosting provider needs to resolve this. Please let us know how things go. Mihai Apetrei
May 26, 2025 at 11:58 pm #17075349
alaaH-8	"Hello Support Team, I would like to inform you that I recently made a call and was guided to download and install some software/updates from a specific page. I successfully completed the download and installation process. However, to my disappointment, I haven't observed any changes or improvements afterward. I am still experiencing the same issue that prompted my initial contact. I've attached a screenshot for your reference, which shows the page from which I performed the installation, or any relevant message that appeared upon completion Could you please assist me in resolving this issue? Thank you for your time and assistance. Alaa Hindi
May 27, 2025 at 2:54 pm #17079341
Mihai Apetrei WPML Supporter since 03/2018 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there and welcome back. From what I can see, you have the OTGS Installer installed, and from my understanding, that's not working. Alternatively, you can manually download the plugins directly from here (https://wpml.org/account/downloads/ - select at the bottom "I want to download manually"). Then, go to your site's backend > Plugins > Add new > Upload, and upload and install the zip files one by one, starting with the main "sitepress-multilingual" zip package. Does that work? What happens when you try that - do you see any error messages? Please let me know. Mihai
May 27, 2025 at 4:57 pm #17079964
alaaH-8	Dear Mihai, I've followed the instructions you sent and successfully downloaded two files: sitepress-multilingual-cms.4.7.5.zip wpml-string-translation.3.3.3.zip I then attempted to upload the sitepress-multilingual-cms.4.7.5.zip file for installation, but after some time, I received the error message: "The link you followed has expired." I'm not sure what the issue is now. Thank you for your continued support. Best regards, Alaa
May 27, 2025 at 8:55 pm #17080731
Mihai Apetrei WPML Supporter since 03/2018 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there, Alaa, and welcome back. It seems that there are issues/limitations coming from the server side. Please take a look at this existing ticket where the user reports the same error message: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/when-trying-to-install-plugin-the-link-you-followed-has-expired-error-appears/#post-15196062 So this is probably why you also are not able to install WPML with the installer. I would reach out to their support so that they can find out what's going on. You can share with them the other error, too (the CURL one). Please let me know if you are able to find anything new from them. I will be waiting for your response.