How to solve GEO IP error in Burst Pro?

Some users may encounter issues with downloading, accessing, or writing to the GEO IP database within the ‘wp-content/uploads/burst/maxmind’ folder. This database is crucial for gathering country information, a key component for your analytics. In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps to resolve this issue, ensuring your Burst Pro setup properly.

Solution 1: Manually Create the Directory and Make It Writeable

Sometimes, the issue may stem from the absence of the required directory or insufficient permissions. Follow these steps:

1. Connect to your server via FTP or File Manager in your hosting control panel.
2. Navigate to the wp-content/uploads/burst/ directory.
3. Create a new folder named maxmind if it doesn’t already exist.
4. Adjust the folder’s permissions to make it writable. A permission setting of 755 is typically recommended, but this may vary based on your server configuration.

Solution 2: Change open_basedir Restrictions

The open_basedir restriction in your server’s PHP configuration might prevent access to the required directory. To address this:

1. Access your hosting control panel or contact your hosting provider to locate the PHP configuration settings.
2. Modify the open_basedir setting to include the path to the wp-content/uploads/burst/maxmind directory. This may require appending the full path to your existing open_basedir paths.
3. Save the changes and restart your web server, if necessary.

Solution 3: Manually Upload the Maxmind DB

If the GEO IP database cannot be automatically downloaded, a straightforward solution is to manually upload it. Here’s how:

1. Download the Maxmind DB directly from our hosted file.
2. Unzip the GeoLite2-Country.tar.gz file to extract the database file.
3. Upload the extracted database file to the specified directory (wp-content/uploads/burst/maxmind) on your server.

After uploading the file, you might need to update the option that stores the path, by adding as mu-plugin, or in your theme’s functions.php:

add_action('init', function() {
    $path = burst_upload_dir('maxmind');
    update_option('burst_geo_ip_file', $path . 'GeoLite2-Country.mmdb');
    delete_option('burst_geo_ip_import_error');
});

You can remove it after loading the page of your website a few times.

By following the solutions outlined above, you can resolve the GEO IP error and ensure Burst Pro is leveraging the most accurate country information for your analytics needs. Should you encounter any further issues or need assistance, our support team is always here to help.