You change a setting, the screen reloads, and the old value is back. GTM Kit now tells you why in most cases. Here is what each message means.
GTM Kit rejected the value
If a value is one GTM Kit cannot accept, the screen names the setting and the reason, and nothing is written. Correct the named field and save again. Before version 2.19 a rejected save reported success and showed your previous settings back, so the change appeared to vanish rather than to fail.
The save did not stick
GTM Kit reads back what it wrote. If the two differ, it tells you rather than reporting success.
On a site with a persistent object cache, that cache is the most likely cause: the new value was written, and a stale copy is what gets read. Flush the object cache from your caching plugin or your host’s control panel, then save again. Redis, Memcached and their WordPress plugins all behave this way when the cache is not invalidated on write.
Without a persistent object cache, the database most likely did not keep the change. Ask your host to check the database error log, then save again.
The settings screen cannot reach your site
The settings screen saves through your site’s REST API. A browser extension, an ad blocker, a VPN, or a firewall or security service in front of your site can block those requests from your browser while the site itself works fine.
From version 2.23 GTM Kit checks this each time the settings screen opens, and shows a notice at the top of the screen when something is wrong:
- Your site has not answered yet. An amber notice after 10 seconds without an answer. It goes away if the site then answers normally.
- Your browser could not reach the settings API. The request was blocked, or no answer came within 30 seconds. Saving settings and activating your licence will not work from this browser.
- Your site answered with an error. The notice shows the HTTP status code. Security plugins and firewalls often answer blocked requests with HTTP 403.
- WordPress did not accept your login. GTM Kit has already retried with a fresh security token, so this is not just an expired page. Reload the page and log in again if WordPress asks you to. If the notice comes back after you have logged in, a cache or proxy in front of your site may be removing cookies from requests to the WordPress REST API.
- WordPress refused the request for your account. Your account does not have permission to change GTM Kit settings on this site. On a multisite network, ask a network administrator. If you are an administrator of the site, a proxy in front of it may be removing the request headers WordPress uses to recognise your login.
All but the amber notice are red. Every notice has Check again. The red notices also have Copy details for support, which copies what the check saw: the result, the HTTP status, the error code and message, how long it took, your REST URL, when it ran, the GTM Kit version and your browser’s user agent. It never includes your login cookie or security token.
If you see a red notice, open the settings screen in a private window with extensions turned off, or from another network. If that works, an extension or your network was blocking the request. The setup wizard does not run this check.
Tools → Site Health runs a related check from your server to itself, and shows the error it received when GTM Kit’s settings interface does not answer. A critical result there means something on the site’s side is blocking or holding those requests: a security plugin, a firewall rule, a reverse proxy, or authentication in front of the site. A pass there with a notice on the settings screen points at something between your browser and the site.
A value you did not type
Browsers and password managers sometimes fill fields on the settings screen. From version 2.19 GTM Kit tells them not to. On earlier versions a filled-in value could be saved without you typing it and reappear after you removed it.
Still stuck
When you have an open support ticket, share your system data from the Support page in GTM Kit. It records whether your site uses a persistent object cache, which is the first thing worth knowing here. With GTM Kit Premium, if sending fails, you can copy or download the system data and email it instead. If the settings screen shows a red notice, paste its copied details into the ticket as well.