## **🔍 Overview**

If your website shows a **not connected** error in Search Atlas, your cPanel firewall may be blocking our servers from accessing your site's data. The most common fix is adding the Search Atlas IP addresses (provided by our support team) to the **Remote MySQL** whitelist inside cPanel. This guide walks you through the general steps.

## **⚠️ Before You Begin**

- You need **cPanel access** for your hosting account. Log in through your hosting provider's client area or directly via **yourdomain.com/cpanel**.
- You will need the Search Atlas IP addresses ready. Contact our support team to obtain the current list of IP addresses that need to be whitelisted.
- If your host uses a custom firewall plugin such as CSF (ConfigServer Security & Firewall), the steps may differ slightly — contact your host's support if you are unsure.

## **🛠️ Step-by-Step: Remote MySQL Whitelist in cPanel**

The **Remote MySQL** tool in cPanel controls which external IP addresses are allowed to connect to your databases. Adding Search Atlas IPs here resolves the most common firewall-related connection errors.

1. Log in to your **cPanel** account.
2. In the top search bar, type **Remote MySQL** and click the result, or scroll to the **Databases** section and click **Remote MySQL**.
3. In the **Add Access Host** field, enter each Search Atlas IP address provided by our support team.
4. Click **Add Host** for each IP. The IPs will appear in the list of allowed hosts below.
5. Once all IPs are added, return to Search Atlas and reconnect your website. The **not connected** error should be resolved.

## **✅ Verify the Connection in Search Atlas**

After whitelisting the IPs, return to Search Atlas and check whether the connection status for your website has updated. If the **not connected** error is gone and your site shows as connected, the whitelist is working correctly.

## **🔒 Optional: Whitelist IPs in CSF Firewall (Advanced)**

If your hosting provider uses **CSF (ConfigServer Security & Firewall)** in addition to or instead of the cPanel Remote MySQL tool, you may also need to whitelist the IPs at the firewall level.

- In cPanel, go to **CSF Firewall** (found under the Security section if installed).
- Enter each Search Atlas IP address provided by our support team and save your changes.
- If you are unsure how to do this, contact your hosting provider's support for guidance.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.