php version in WP differs from server installed version

cliffg1821
(@cliffg1821)

2 years, 1 month ago

I have been getting a warning that the installed php is 7.3.33 and not up to date. In the hosting (TSOhost) server cPanel I have changed the version to 7.4 and this is showing correctly on their pages as the currently installed version, but I am still getting the warning on teh WP dashboard. The start of the .htaccess file reads as follow (this help site has reformatted the text and taken out some presumably unpermitted stuff such as returns and angle brackets) but roughly:

—–

Options +Indexes
IndexIgnoreReset ON
IndexIgnore cgi-bin
IndexOptions SuppressColumnSorting

AddHandler application/x-httpd-alt-php74___lsphp .php

#Block WordPress xmlrpc.php requests

Files xmlrpc.php order deny,allow deny from all /files order deny,allow deny from all
SuPHP_ConfigPath /home/kv03h09vouj7/public_html/php.ini

RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^index.php$ – [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
AddHandler application/x-httpd-alt-php73___lsphp .php

#BEGIN WordPress……

—–

So I have both the old and new php versions have Addhandler lines. Is it the order in which these are loaded? Should there only be the one (74)? Anything else I’m not aware of? Thanks

(and is there any way to get a plain text editor here?!)

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

WP Provider
(@wpprovider)

2 years, 1 month ago
Hi Cliff,

The warning about the PHP version in your WordPress dashboard not being up to date might stem from conflicting directives in your .htaccess file. Consider the following steps:
1. Check the .htaccess File: Remove the PHP 7.3 AddHandler line if you’ve upgraded to PHP 7.4. If you use a controlpanel like Directadmin, Plesk or cPanel you often have the option to use a PHP Selector, this would be enough to change your PHP version so that you don’t have to use the AddHandler in the .htaccess
2. Correct Order of AddHandler: Place the PHP 7.4 AddHandler directive before the PHP 7.3 one to prioritize the newer PHP version. In cPanel you can use the PHP Selector option which will eliminate the need for AddHandler in the .htaccess.

3. Remove Redundant Lines: Review lines related to SuPHP_ConfigPath and php.ini for necessity in your server configuration. Remove or adjust if unnecessary.

4. WordPress Compatibility: Ensure your WordPress version and installed plugins are compatible with PHP 7.4, as older plugins or themes may lack full support for the latest PHP versions.

After changes, clear the WordPress cache to update any cached information reflecting the old PHP version.

Ps. in your profile on the bottom you can switch the editor if you want that.

Good luck!
Thread Starter cliffg1821
(@cliffg1821)

2 years, 1 month ago
Double thanks.

Commenting out the 7.3 .htaccess line worked straight away. The site also worked fine after also commenting out 7.4 line. I’ve left these both commented out for now.

My hoster cPanel does have PHP Selector, which is how I (thought I had) changed the php version. Having found the .htaccess php 73 and 74 lines apparently did nothing, and with your comment that PHP Selector should work without needing an .htaccess entry, I changed the php to 8.0 (using PHP Selector) and the site didn’t work at all. I went back to 7.4 and all ok again. I’m happy to leave at 7.4, but for future reference I wouldn’t mind knowing why PHP Selector seemed to fail to change to 8.0.

[Re the editor, thanks.]
- This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by cliffg1821.
Moderator threadi
(@threadi)

2 years, 1 month ago

Support for PHP 7.4 expired almost a year ago. It would therefore be advisable to upgrade the project to PHP 8.0 or newer.

Your hoster’s error log should tell you why the switch to PHP 8.0 is causing an error. If it is due to a plugin or theme you are using, you will need to update it before the changeover. If the error is due to the hosting, you should contact their support.

WP Provider
(@wpprovider)

2 years, 1 month ago

It is not always possible to change directly to newer PHP versions for example, custom plug-ins are written for an older PHP version or plug-in developers have not yet rewritten their plug-in for the latest PHP version. Therefore a lot of hosters are using HardenedPHP for supporting older versions of PHP without compromising security. This makes it for the end-user easier to solve the issues in the meanwhile on a dev environment for example.

Thread Starter cliffg1821
(@cliffg1821)

2 years, 1 month ago

Thanks both. Aware that 8.0 or even 8.1 would be better.

The chance of getting sense out of my hoster for the subject site re. error logs is nil.

However, I have two very similar sites, one of them on a decent hoster, so I shall try and migrate that to 8.0 first, as their support is excellent (Clook).

Thanks again for all the help

Thread Starter cliffg1821
(@cliffg1821)

2 years, 1 month ago

The other site changed to php 8.0 using MultiPHP Manager with the simple tick of a box (having done the compatibility checks earlier) 🙂

WP Provider
(@wpprovider)

2 years, 1 month ago

Great to hear that it’s solved!

Thread Starter cliffg1821
(@cliffg1821)

2 years, 1 month ago

If only the other hoster could be solved…

WP Provider
(@wpprovider)

2 years, 1 month ago

Unfortunately that is not something we can do for you. My advice would be to get in touch with them to discuss it.

lbdesign
(@lbdesign)

2 years, 1 month ago

Oh gosh @wpprovider. Thank you! I had the same problem, and commenting out the .htaccess PHP 7.3 handler line also fixed it for me.

My PHP was set correctly at 8.0 at the server. But this line in .htaccess was confusing the wordpress installation.