Login Context and Impersonation
A sublogin signs in through Magento's normal customer login page. The session keeps the parent customer identity and the current sublogin identity together so checkout, orders and add-ons can apply the correct restrictions.
Direct sublogin sign-in
The email must be unique within Magento's customer account-sharing scope. The account must also be active, unexpired and, when enabled, confirmed by email.
When a sublogin is active, the session can affect:
- address availability;
- payment and shipping methods;
- cart and wishlist ownership;
- order ownership and history;
- permissions contributed by Role and other add-ons;
- budgets, catalogs and approval state.
Stale or invalid sublogin context is cleared rather than carried into an unrelated customer session.
Main-account impersonation
With Allow impersonate sublogin account enabled, the main customer can select Login beside a sublogin. The storefront displays the active sublogin context and a link back to the main account.
Use impersonation to reproduce a buyer's storefront view or help build a cart. It does not reveal or replace the buyer's password.
Before leaving the session, return through the context banner and confirm the main account identity is restored. Shared cart or wishlist changes made during impersonation remain shared when those features are enabled.
Admin access is separate
Magento administrator permissions are controlled by Admin ACL. An administrator managing a Sublogin record is not the same as a main customer impersonating a buyer in the storefront.
The optional Sublogin API manages records under its own Web API ACL resources. It does not turn a customer storefront session into a general integration credential.
Diagnose the wrong context
- Sign out completely and start a fresh browser session.
- Confirm the email belongs to the intended customer website scope.
- Check active, expiry and confirmation state.
- Inspect the visible impersonation banner.
- Confirm the order or quote carries the expected sublogin ID.
Related: Multi-Account Management and Permission Problems.