Unable to Update PHP and Plugins

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  ccclight3 · Member · Jul 3, 2025 at 12:32 am

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  Recently, I discovered the following notification from my WordPress dashboard:

  “Your site is running on an outdated version of PHP (7.3.1p1), which does not receive security updates and soon will not be supported by WordPress.”

  I understand the importance of updating PHP to a newer version. However, I have encountered the following major problems:

  1. I am unable to update the PHP version through my hosting environment.

  2. I am also unable to update plugins(Akismet Anti-Spam, NinjaFirewall(WP Edition), Two Factor, WP Login Form, WPForce Logout).

  3. Image uploads through the Media Library are failing, and can’t even upload images by copy and paste.

  I am unsure whether these issues are related to server permissions, PHP limitations, or something else entirely.

  Could you please advise:

  1. What might be causing this inability to update PHP and plugins?

  2. Are there recommended steps to resolve functional issues and restore full functionality?

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  perfectly69239a98cd · Member · Jul 11, 2025 at 11:33 am

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  I had the same issue recently. The PHP upgrade needs to be done from your hosting panel (like cPanel → “Select PHP Version”) or ask your host to do it. For plugins and media upload errors, check folder permissions (wp-content/uploads should be 755) and add this to wp-config.php:
  define(‘FS_METHOD’, ‘direct’);
  
  Also, try deactivating security plugins temporarily during updates. This fixed everything for me.