One level but some showing Active, some expired

[Marita]

I have a variety of membership levels, expiry dates are 31st August every year. So the current year (2025) expires on 31/8/25, and 2026 level is active from 1/9/2025 to 31/8/2026.
Some of my 2025 members are showing up as Active, and some show as Expired. I can’t see any reason for this. I had someone contact me as their login would not work – I do have it set up so they can log in and pay even if expired so don’t understand that.
I will wait until tomorrow (as it’s currently 1st September here), to see if it sorts itself out, as all the 2025 people should be expired by then, but if they can’t login to pay I’m going to lose a lot of memberships!
How can one level show as two different statuses?

[The Assurer]

Here’s what’s going on and why you’re seeing mixed results:

### Why Some Members Show as Active and Others Expired

1. **Expiry Date Handling (Time of Day Factor)**
The Simple Membership plugin checks expiry dates at the **server’s timezone**, not your local timezone.

* If your server is set to a different timezone (e.g., UTC instead of your local time), some members’ accounts may not be marked expired until later.
* This explains why on September 1st some still show as “Active.”

2. **Member-Specific Expiry Dates**
Even if you set the level to expire on 31/08/2025, members may have slightly different expiry dates depending on how they were registered or renewed (e.g., some might have an expiry of 2025-08-31 23:59:59, others 2025-08-30 or 2025-09-01). A quick check of their profile expiry date in **WP Admin → Simple Membership → Members** will confirm.

3. **Caching**
Sometimes cached pages display old status (especially around login). If you’re using a caching plugin or your host has aggressive server caching, one member might see “Expired” while another still sees “Active” until the cache clears.

—

### Why Expired Members Can’t Log In

You mentioned you have it set so expired members can still log in and pay. There are two relevant settings:

* Go to **WP Admin → Simple Membership → Settings → General Settings**

* ✅ Ensure “Allow Expired Members to Login” is enabled.
* Go to **WP Admin → Simple Membership → Settings → Advanced Settings**

* Check that “Disable Expired Members Login” is not enabled.

If both are correct but some still can’t log in, it’s usually:

* A **caching issue** (login redirect is cached), or
* A **conflict with another plugin** (security, redirection, or caching plugins often cause this).

—

### Immediate Steps You Can Take

1. **Verify expiry dates directly**: Check a couple of members who still show “Active” in **Members → Edit Member**. Confirm what expiry date is stored there.
2. **Check your server timezone**: In **WordPress → Settings → General → Timezone**, make sure it matches your local time.
3. **Clear cache**: If you use a caching plugin (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed, etc.), follow the compatibility guides here:

* [Understanding caching issues](https://simple-membership-plugin.com/understanding-the-impact-of-caching-on-membership-sites/)
* [WP Rocket guide](https://simple-membership-plugin.com/wp-rocket-cache-compatibility-for-simple-membership/)
4. **Test login**: Use a test expired member account and confirm you can log in and see the renewal option.

—

✅ By tomorrow, all accounts *should* show as expired, but if your server timezone is behind yours, there may still be a mismatch until the date rolls over fully.

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