Title: Updating php
Last modified: October 7, 2026

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# Updating php

 *  [philipandegbert](https://wordpress.org/support/users/philipandegbert/)
 * (@philipandegbert)
 * [1 day, 16 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/updating-php-8/)
 * We seem to have a chicken and egg situation. We need to update to WordPress 7.1.3.
   But we can’t do this without updating our php. But when we update our php, our
   wp admin page stops working. Our theme and plugins all appear to be up to date.
   And we’ve eventried deactivating all our plugins, but it makes no difference.
   How do we fix this?
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fupdating-php-8%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  [Jamie Dąbrowiecki](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jdab/)
 * (@jdab)
 * [1 day, 15 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/updating-php-8/#post-19038718)
 * Take a full backup first. Update your PHP version, and then consider [updating WordPress manually](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/updating-wordpress/#manual-update)
   instead of via your Dashboard.
 *  Thread Starter [philipandegbert](https://wordpress.org/support/users/philipandegbert/)
 * (@philipandegbert)
 * [1 day, 14 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/updating-php-8/#post-19038803)
 * Thank you, Jamie. No doubt that might work but for the fact that, as we said,
   the moment we update the php, we can’t access our wp-admin to update wordpress–
   manually or otherwise. The only way to gain access to it again is to revert to
   the older version of php. So we’re just going round in circles.
 *  Moderator [threadi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/threadi/)
 * (@threadi)
 * [1 day, 14 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/updating-php-8/#post-19038816)
 * It looks like you’re currently using WordPress 6.3.13. What PHP version are you
   running, and which one do you want to switch to?
 * I’d also recommend installing all pending updates for your plugins and theme 
   before making any changes. In particular, check to see if you’re using any plugins
   that haven’t been updated in two or more years. There’s a good chance these aren’t
   compatible with the latest PHP version. Remove them or find a suitable replacement.
 * If you receive an error message during an update, check your hosting provider’s
   error log. There you’ll see the cause of the problem. Most often, it’s a plugin
   that you can easily deactivate by renaming its folder in /wp-content/plugins/.
 *  [Jamie Dąbrowiecki](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jdab/)
 * (@jdab)
 * [1 day, 14 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/updating-php-8/#post-19038822)
 * > No doubt that might work but for the fact that, as we said, the moment we update
   > the php, we can’t access our wp-admin to update wordpress – manually or otherwise.
 * Just to clarify, the link I provided has instructions on how to update WordPress
   manually (i.e. not via the WordPress Dashboard, but via your hosting control 
   panel/FTP).
 * But threadi has provided some solid tips above also which I’d suggest investigating
   first.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 4 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [Jamie Dąbrowiecki](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jdab/)
 * Last activity: [1 day, 14 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/updating-php-8/#post-19038822)
 * Status: not resolved

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