If the .htaccess file on your Apache web server is not working as expected, there are several potential causes and solutions that you can try. Here are some common causes and solutions for this problem:
The AllowOverride directive is not set correctly: The AllowOverride directive in the Apache HTTPD configuration file controls which directives in the .htaccess file are allowed to be used. If the AllowOverride directive is set to None, then the .htaccess file will not be used by the server. To resolve this problem, you can set the AllowOverride directive to All or FileInfo to allow the .htaccess file to be used.
The .htaccess file is not in the correct location: The .htaccess file must be placed in the directory that you want the directives in the file to apply to. If the .htaccess file is not in the correct directory, or if it is placed in a directory that is not allowed to use .htaccess files, then the directives in the file will not be applied by the server. To resolve this problem, you can ensure that the .htaccess file is placed in the correct directory and that the directory is allowed to use .htaccess files.
The .htaccess file contains syntax errors.