My small business WordPress website, hosted by SiteGround, uses a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate that normally auto-renews every 90 days.
This time, the auto-renew failed, and I did not get any warning. I discovered the problem when I was checking a page on my website and got an expired security certificate error.
I logged into my SiteGround account dashboard and it showed the certificate had expired. Manual renewal did not work, with the error message: Failed to renew SSL. No domains can be authorized.
I tried using their AI Assistant tech support, and none of the suggestions worked, such as checking the DNS A and CAA records, manual renew, removing and reinstalling the certificate, using a different browser.
I then contacted live tech support by chat. Their knowledge base did not have the answer either.
Then I searched the Let’s Encrypt website and learned they added some new domain verification testing from foreign countries to increase security. The testing must pass before an SSL certificate will be issued or renewed.
They do domain testing from the USA, and, at the end of March 2024, they added additional testing from Singapore and Sweden as new remote perspectives for domain validation. These are servers in different parts of the world that connect to your site to help confirm that you own domain names for which you are requesting a certificate.
I have a local-based Colorado small business, and do not have customers from foreign countries. Most of the hacker attacks against my website originate from foreign countries, so, I have foreign country blocking enabled. It is a free user-configured security option from SiteGround.
I disabled country blocking for Singapore and Sweden and was able to renew my SSL certificate.
Let’s Encrypt might add more remote perspective testing from other foreign countries in the future.
I went back to the AI Assistant tech support page and gave it a Feedback message with this new information and it ingested the content to add to its knowledge base to help other customers.