Running an older version of PHP

Did you upgrade PHP? Or a clean install of 7.3?

I just upgraded using apt

Ok. The same thing happened to me, but with Vagrant/Ubuntu

Check if the previous version is still there. When I upgraded, it just added 7.3 next to 7.1

Hi a2hostingrj…

Yes all the versions seem to still be on the server. In fact it appears to have 7.0 up to 7.4.

Any thoughts on how to make wordpress use the right one?

Thanks

Look in the .htaccess file for your site. It may specify the PHP version. If not there, look for a php.ini file in the site root.

Thanks for the reply Steve.

I have a .htaccess file but nothing related to php in there. I can’t seem to see a php.ini file (i’m looking in the wordpress root folder).

Any thoughts on where else to look?

Thanks

Check your php-fpm configuration files and apache configuration files. Your configs may be pointing to version-specific PHP directories.

Note that this is a Linux sysadmin problem, not a WordPress problem. WordPress only sees what your configurations supply. You should also be asking about this on AWS or Ubuntu support forums.

Thanks Steve

I’m still new to this. It is frustrating that WordPress is telling me what the actual problem is, but doesn’t have an easy way to fix it.

The apache configuration seems to have php7.3-fpm.conf in the conf-enabled folder.

I will maybe sign up to those other forums and see if anyone on there has any ideas.

Thanks

It is frustrating that WordPress is telling me what the actual problem is, but doesn’t have an easy way to fix it.

It is not WordPress, it is your server configuration/setup. I suggest to talk with your hosting tech support

I have a .htaccess file but nothing related to php in there.

Here’s an example on how to set which version of PHP to use:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php71 .php

(It has to be at the top of the .htaccess)

That applies, FWIW, only if you’re using mod_php, not if you’re using PHP-FPM.

Did you restart Apache after upgrading PHP?

Thanks for the infor guys.

@a2hostingrj I tried that but it didn’t make any difference. Must be as @sterndata advised not for this version of PHP.

@diondesigns yes I rebooted the server several times throughout this process!

I managed to find some instructions which worked. Posting below for future reference:

How to switch PHP versions
Example: Applies to ALL versions [PHP 7.1, PHP 7.2, PHP 7.3]
To Switch to php 7.0 from php 7.1:
– Disable FPM Service for PHP 7.1
sudo service php7.1-fpm stop
– Since we want 7.0 as the default, Disable 7.1 FPM Service on Startup
sudo systemctl disable php7.1-fpm
– Double-Check, but these should already be Disabled
sudo a2dismod php7.1
sudo a2dismod php7.0
– Verify Apache Config for 7.0 is Active One
sudo a2disconf php7.1-fpm.conf
sudo service apache2 restart
sudo a2enconf php7.0-fpm.conf
sudo service apache2 restart
– Restart PHP 7.0 FPM Service and Enable on Startup
sudo systemctl enable php7.0-fpm
sudo service php7.0-fpm restart
sudo service apache2 restart
sudo update-alternatives –set php /usr/bin/php7.0
– Verify PHP 7.0 with Opcache
php -version
– Double-Checking Services Running
systemctl status php7.0-fpm
systemctl status apache2