Title: PHP Error in Settings page
Last modified: April 10, 2025

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# PHP Error in Settings page

 *  Resolved [osti47](https://wordpress.org/support/users/osti47/)
 * (@osti47)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-in-settings-page/)
 * I am getting a PHP Error on the plugins settings page:
 * Fehler-Details
   ==============Ein Fehler vom Typ E_ERROR wurde in der Zeile 445
   der Datei /var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/backwpup/inc/class-cron.php verursacht.
   Fehlermeldung: Uncaught TypeError: BackWPup_Cron::parse_cron_expression(): Argument#
   1 ($cron_expression) must be of type string, null given, called in /var/www/wordpress/
   wp-content/plugins/backwpup/parts/sidebar/frequency-tables.php on line 15 and
   defined in /var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/backwpup/inc/class-cron.php:
   445Stack trace:#0 /var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/backwpup/parts/sidebar/
   frequency-tables.php(15): BackWPup_Cron::parse_cron_expression(NULL)#1 /var/www/
   wordpress/wp-content/plugins/backwpup/components/containers/sidebar.php(29): 
   include(‘/var/www/wordpr…’)#2 /var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/backwpup/
   inc/Utils/BackWPupHelpers.php(40): include(‘/var/www/wordpr…’)#3 /var/www/wordpress/
   wp-content/plugins/backwpup/pages/backups.php(111): BackWPup\Utils\BackWPupHelpers::
   component(‘containers/side…’)#4 /var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/backwpup/
   inc/class-page-backups.php(560): include(‘/var/www/wordpr…’)#5 /var/www/wordpress/
   wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(324): BackWPup_Page_Backups::page(”)#6 /var/www/
   wordpress/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(348): WP_Hook->apply_filters(”, Array)#
   7 /var/www/wordpress/wp-includes/plugin.php(517): WP_Hook->do_action(Array)#8/
   var/www/wordpress/wp-admin/admin.php(259): do_action(‘toplevel_page_b…’)#9 {main}
   thrown

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Plugin Support [WPM Support](https://wordpress.org/support/users/saranshwpm/)
 * (@saranshwpm)
 * [12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-in-settings-page/#post-18421005)
 * Hi,
   Did you try basic troubleshooting by deactivating other plugins and themes
   to see if it resolve the issue?Let me know how it goes.Best Regards,
 *  Thread Starter [osti47](https://wordpress.org/support/users/osti47/)
 * (@osti47)
 * [12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-in-settings-page/#post-18421289)
 * I deactivated BackWPUp and it resolved the issue… Seriously – even without knowing
   your plugin in detail, the stack trace pretty obviously seems to indicate that
   BackWPUp has a problem handling some saved config information (probably from 
   earlier versions).
 * And no, I did not even start to disable 20+ other plugins.
 *  Plugin Support [WPM Support](https://wordpress.org/support/users/saranshwpm/)
 * (@saranshwpm)
 * [12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-in-settings-page/#post-18422424)
 * Hi,
 * I apologize for the inconvenience — we’ve looked into it and were able to replicate
   the issue on our end as well.
 * This is caused when backup jobs were originally created in version 4.x without
   fully saving the **General** tab (for example, jobs set to run via WordPress 
   cron but never actually saved with all required settings). In version 5.x, some
   functions expect complete data (like a cron expression), and when it’s missing
   or null, it triggers a PHP fatal error.
 * The most reliable fix is to **reinstall the plugin**, which should reset the 
   affected configuration. Make sure to reconfigure your backup jobs after reinstalling,
   especially if they were migrated from version 4.x without edits.
 * We’re also tracking and patching this as part of our ongoing improvements.
 * Please let us know if the issue persists after reinstalling, and we’ll gladly
   assist further.
 * Best regards,

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘PHP Error in Settings page’ is closed to new replies.

 * ![](https://ps.w.org/backwpup/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3236141)
 * [BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/backwpup/)
 * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/backwpup/)
 * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/backwpup/active/)
 * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/backwpup/unresolved/)
 * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/backwpup/reviews/)

 * 3 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [WPM Support](https://wordpress.org/support/users/saranshwpm/)
 * Last activity: [12 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-in-settings-page/#post-18422424)
 * Status: resolved