Getting WordPress to recognize updated PHP version

Hi Andrew,

From my experience, I found that php.ini or .htaccess (I can’t remember which now) can control the PHP version. Please go to your website’s root folder and open both files to confirm that none of them are forcing the use of PHP v7.3.33.

If you find any line related to PHP v7.3.33, you can first download the file for backup purposes and then delete the line to use the PHP version set from the server side.

Give it a try, and let me know how that goes! ??

Sometimes it’s worth double checking with your hosting company support that it’s actually happened.

@faisalahammad No luck with that so far. My sysadmin and I both assumed that would work, but alas.

@jamesmarsland The SiteWorx domain panel shows our domain’s PHP version as 8.3.11. Would the host check something different?

The SiteWorx domain panel shows our domain’s PHP version as 8.3.11.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean much. The web server control panel is merely reporting the latest version it has installed, and not what any vhost or script is using.

Run phpinfo() from the folder containing your WordPress to see your exact PHP running config, including the version of PHP running and available to WordPress. That’s what matters.

It’s quite common to have multiple PHP versions installed on a server, with site-specific configuration file pointing to (and loading) an older version of PHP. Sometimes a reload/restart of the web server software may be required to load the newly installed PHP version.

TEST to confirm what’s running, or else you’ll be banging your head against the wall thinking WordPress is misreporting when it may not.

Thanks, @gappiah.phpinfo() is showing 7.3.33. The site was just moved over to a brand-new host running 8.3.11, as our old server couldn’t handle above 7.3.33.

Were all files copied during the move to the new host? Also a php.ini or the .htaccess in the main directory?

If a php.ini exists, take a look at it. If necessary, it may help to delete it (after a backup).

You could also delete the .htaccess as a test and have it recreated via WordPress under Settings > Permalinks by simply saving.

Apart from that: make sure that you are accessing the new server. It is easy to forget that you are still on the old one after a move.

Grr, still no luck. There’s no php.ini present. I deleted .htaccess and recreated it with Settings > Permalinks. My sysadmin “confirmed [we’re using the new server] using the trace route”.

We have a site backup, so his next thought is to do a manual update of WordPress tonight on a shot-in-the-dark theory that that will get it to check the current PHP version. We’re sort of grasping at straws at this point.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by andrew2968.

phpinfo is a native PHP function. It’s totally independent of WordPress.

And if PHP’s own phpinfo is telling you you’re running PHP 7.3.33, you better believe it: looking in WordPress for a solution may be akin to knocking on the wrong door.

My sysadmin “confirmed [we’re using the new server] using the trace route”.

Did you show your “sysadmin” your phpinfo test page?

What do they say about that?

We understand that. But phpinfo‘s report conflicts with what SiteWorx is showing, that our domain is running 8.3.11. So at this point it sounds like it’s not a question for a WP forum unless someone feels like suggesting things to check that technically aren’t on-topic here.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by andrew2968.

SiteWorx is a control panel on top of the OS (and the webserver and PHP and whatnot). Believe what the lower-level PHP engine is telling you.

As I mentioned earlier, you have multiple PHP versions: SiteWorx is merely telling you what it’s configured for the account, but phpinfo is telling you what’s actually running for the account.

This sort of discrepancy is far more common than you may realize. See this other long-winded “WordPress thinks my PHP is older” thread and how it ended: https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/wordpress-thinks-my-php-is-older-version/

If this is a private server, reload/restart your web server software (Apache, Nginx, etc) or even reboot the entire machine (if you’ve not done so already) and let’s see what happens.

If it’s a shared hosting server, pass on the phpinfo test page to your hosting provider. It should be their responsibility to get this sorted.

So at this point it sounds like it’s not a question for a WP forum

Indeed.

Please do share with us how this gets resolved though.

Good luck!