A red MLS banner means the plugin sent your credentials to your MLS and did not get a working answer back. Three things cause nearly all of them: a credential field left empty, a data access application that is approved on paper but not switched on, and the wrong credential pasted from a provider that issues several.
Start by reading which banner is red, because the two banners test different things and only one of them is about your MLS.
Before you start
- The account banner is green. You are connected to your MlsImport account! has to be true before the MLS test can run.
- Your MLS is selected and saved on the MLS/RESO Api Options tab.
- You have the credentials your provider issued you, in front of you, from the provider’s own dashboard rather than from an email.
Check every visible field is filled
When you pick your MLS, the screen shows only the credential fields that MLS needs and hides the rest. Whatever you can see is required, all of it.
This matters more than it looks. If one required field is empty, the plugin does not send a failed test, it sends no test at all, and the banner stays red because nothing has been tried. A red banner with an empty field is not a rejection from your MLS.
- Bridge and the boards it serves show one field, MLSImport Token. That is the server token from your Bridge credentials list, not the browser token and not the dataset name.
- CoreLogic Trestle shows a client id and a client secret.
- BrightMLS, Paragon and REALTOR.ca each show their own client id and secret pair. They are not interchangeable, so a Trestle secret pasted into the Paragon field fails.
- Rapattoni shows four fields: client id, secret, username and password. All four.
- ConnectMLS shows a username and a password.
Paste each value fresh rather than retyping it, and check for a trailing space picked up from a PDF or an email.
Saving the settings clears the cached connection result and the cached field list, then the screen re-tests on the next load. So a save is a retest. There is no separate test button to hunt for, and a banner that stays red after a save is a real result rather than a stale one.
Check the approval on the provider’s side
The most common genuine failure is a dataset your board has not finished approving. The credentials are valid, and the provider answers, but it will not release that dataset to you.
- Sign in to your provider’s dashboard and find your datasets or feeds.
- Confirm your MLS shows as approved rather than pending. Pending is a decision your MLS has to make, and only your MLS can move it.
- Confirm the access is not restricted to a single IP address. A locked IP stops the verification from completing before your own domain starts using the feed.
- Confirm the approval covers the data you are trying to import, since some boards approve residential and hold back other property types.
Expected result: the dataset reads as approved and unrestricted. Save the plugin settings again and reload the screen.
What the banner cannot tell you
The MLS banner reports whether the test succeeded. It does not report why it failed, because the provider’s answer to a bad credential and its answer to an unapproved dataset often look the same from outside.
That is why the checks above are ordered the way they are. Fill the fields, then confirm the approval, then come to us. Two of the three you can resolve without waiting for anyone.
Credentials are issued to the brokerage or the agent whose MLS membership the feed belongs to, not to the web developer. If someone else on the project generated them under their own login, the approval sits with their membership and can be withdrawn when they leave. Get them reissued under the account that will still be there next year.
If it does not work
- Both banners are red. Fix the account one first. The MLS test needs an authenticated session before it can run at all.
- The account banner is green and the MLS one is red. Your subscription is fine. This is credentials or approval, nothing else.
- It was green and turned red. Something changed at the provider: a rotated secret, an expired approval, or a membership that lapsed. Check the dashboard before changing anything in WordPress.
- Green banner, but no fields on the field selection screen. The connection works and the metadata has not been read yet. Clear the plugin cached data from the Tools tab and reload.
Frequently asked questions
Can you connect to my MLS with your own credentials to test it?
No. The feed is licensed to you, and we have no access to it. We can read what your site sends and what comes back, which is why a site URL and temporary access resolve this faster than screenshots.
Do I need to whitelist an IP address for MLSImport?
No, and an IP restriction is more likely to break the connection than protect it. Requests reach your MLS from your own site and from our verification service, so a single allowed address blocks one of them.
Can my web host or a security plugin cause the red banner?
Yes. The test is a request your own site sends out. If your host’s firewall or a security plugin blocks outgoing requests from WordPress, the test can’t finish and the banner stays red, which looks just like a bad credential. If your credentials are right and the dataset is approved, ask your host whether your site can make outgoing HTTPS requests, allow them in your security plugin, then save the settings again to retest.
The provider says my credentials are active. Why does the test still fail?
Active credentials and an approved dataset are two separate switches. A working login that has not been granted your board’s data returns an authorisation error, which the test reports as a failure.
How long does approval usually take?
It varies by board, from days to several weeks, and it is not something we can accelerate. Applying early and chasing your board directly is the only lever that moves it.
Can I use my everyday MLS login?
No. The login you use to work in your MLS signs you in to the MLS software. It does not give a website your listings. Ask your MLS for Web API access for your website and name your domain. You will usually get a token, or a client ID and secret. Even the Rapattoni and ConnectMLS username and password are issued for the feed, not your member login. See Rapattoni, Paragon, ConnectMLS and Realcomp credentials.
I have an old RETS username and password. Will that work?
No. MLS Import reads the RESO Web API, not RETS, and boards are switching RETS off. Ask your MLS for Web API credentials. See RESO Web API vs RETS.
Will MLS Import contact my client’s MLS board?
No. The feed is licensed to your client, so your client or their broker contacts the board. We check your site and what the MLS sends back, tell you which side is blocking, and give you the exact question to ask, such as “Is our data access approved and active for this domain?” Send the MLS name, a screenshot of both banners and a screenshot of the feed status in the provider’s dashboard. Tickets are usually answered within one business day. You can also book an onboarding call or open a Support with Installation ticket.
Related
- Verifying your MLS connection
- Bridge Interactive: getting your credentials
- CoreLogic Trestle: getting your credentials
- Rapattoni, Paragon, ConnectMLS and Realcomp credentials
- MLS approval processes that take time
Send us your MLS name, your provider and a screenshot of the dataset status in their dashboard and we will tell you which side the block is on.
