White Screen When I Change PHP To 8.1

[Phillyman]

I thought this would be simple, not sure if I am missing a step, but I change PHP from 7.4 to 8.1 and then as soon as I do that my site white screens.

 

Results in....

 

 

[Randy Calvert]

Is the version of IPB you’re running now compatible with PHP8?  If not, you’ll need to do a manual upgrade.  
 

1. Disable all 3rd party applications & plugins.
2. Switch to a default non-customized IPS theme.
3. Switch your server to PHP 8.
4. Use the compatibility checker script to confirm you have all of the required PHP modules installed in your PHP8.   
5. Manually upload the files of the new version from your client area to your server.
6. Visit yourdomain.com/admin/upgrade and follow the prompts to do the upgrade.
7. Check if any 3rd party modifications require an update (there's a button to manually check in the applications page). After you apply the updates you can safely re-enable those modifications.
8. Go to your Support Page in ACP and fix any remaining issues listed on the page.
9. If you still have disabled applications and/or plugins after the above steps, re-enable them 1 by 1 to make sure they are compatible with PHP 8.

[Phillyman]

6 minutes ago, Randy Calvert said:

Is the version of IPB you’re running now compatible with PHP8?  If not, you’ll need to do a manual upgrade.  
 

1. Disable all 3rd party applications & plugins.
2. Switch to a default non-customized IPS theme.
3. Switch your server to PHP 8.
4. Use the compatibility checker script to confirm you have all of the required PHP modules installed in your PHP8.   
5. Manually upload the files of the new version from your client area to your server.
6. Visit yourdomain.com/admin/upgrade and follow the prompts to do the upgrade.
7. Check if any 3rd party modifications require an update (there's a button to manually check in the applications page). After you apply the updates you can safely re-enable those modifications.
8. Go to your Support Page in ACP and fix any remaining issues listed on the page.
9. If you still have disabled applications and/or plugins after the above steps, re-enable them 1 by 1 to make sure they are compatible with PHP 8.

I am on the last version before PHP8.....4.7.3

[Randy Calvert]

Ok. 4.7.3 technically supported PHP8.1 (it was added in 4.7.0).  Have you disabled all third party resources/applications and switched to a default theme?  The next most likely thing that a 3rd party resource has an issue in PHP8 that does not exist in PHP7. 

By the way… only run that compatibility checker when on PHP8. That way if PHP8 is missing a module you will know!  (We already know your PHP7 is fine.)

[Phillyman]

4 minutes ago, Randy Calvert said:

Ok. 4.7.3 technically supported PHP8.1 (it was added in 4.7.0).  Have you disabled all third party resources/applications and switched to a default theme?  The next most likely thing that a 3rd party resource has an issue in PHP8 that does not exist in PHP7. 

Ah that makes sense. Disabled all the apps and plugins. Ran it again, still white screen, but now I see this....

 

So hard to troubleshoot this on a production site. My production site is a .com, but I also own the .info domain. I may copy my site over there and do the testing so I can screw around without pissing off my users.

[Randy Calvert]

Sounds like you need to work with your hosting provider to get your PHP8 install fixed!  You are missing some critical things that will absolutely break your site if missing. 🙂

Once it’s fixed and it shows as all green on PHP8, try your site on it then and you can move onto testing/fixing third party resources. Step one is to get the base software running with the required system modules. 

[Phillyman]

44 minutes ago, Randy Calvert said:

Sounds like you need to work with your hosting provider to get your PHP8 install fixed!  You are missing some critical things that will absolutely break your site if missing. 🙂

Once it’s fixed and it shows as all green on PHP8, try your site on it then and you can move onto testing/fixing third party resources. Step one is to get the base software running with the required system modules. 

Yup, had them enable all that, now when I flip it to 8.1 PHP.....rainbows and unicorns shoot out of my website!!!!

[Randy Calvert]

2 minutes ago, Phillyman said:

Yup, had them enable all that, now when I flip it to 8.1 PHP.....rainbows and unicorns shoot out of my website!!!!

I like both rainbows AND unicorns!

[Phillyman]

11 minutes ago, Randy Calvert said:

I like both rainbows AND unicorns!

Ha, thanks for the help. This was less painful then last months task of enabling NGINX and setting up an SSL cert to point to a subdomain with a port number. 15+ years of running a website and I still feel like I know nothing!

[Randy Calvert]

I say the same thing each day I participate here!  I’m always learning from the staff and power users here!  The wealth of knowledge here is unbelievable. 

[Gary]

Hi @Phillyman,

Glad you got this one sorted out and thank you @Randy Calvert for jumping in and helping another client out. Much appreciated.

If you encounter any other issues, please don't hesitate to let us know.

[uA_Y_C_A]

On 2/10/2023 at 7:26 PM, Randy Calvert said:

• Manually upload the files of the new version from your client area to your server.
•  

Thanks a lot

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by uA_Y_C_A