Legacy PayPal Module Errors

Problem

This information only applies to self-hosted WHMCS installations. WHMCS Cloud updates WHMCS for you automatically.

The Admin Area returns an HTTP 500 error after you update to WHMCS 9.1 or higher. This affects updates from WHMCS 8.12 or earlier.

Enable error reporting to see an error message like this example:

Only files produced by the PHP 8.2 ionCube Encoder can run on PHP 8.2.
The file /home/username/public_html/whmcs/modules/gateways/paypal.php has been encoded by the ionCube Encoder for PHP 7.1.

Cause

WHMCS 9.1 and later do not include the PayPal Basic (paypal) or PayPal Checkout (paypalcheckout) payment gateway modules. In WHMCS 8.12 and earlier, ionCube Encoder® encoded these module files for PHP 8.1 or earlier. Updating to WHMCS 9.1 or later requires PHP 8.2 or higher.

An update does not delete files that the new version no longer includes. When you extract the WHMCS 9.1 files into an existing installation, the old module files stay in the modules/gateways/ directory. The Admin Area loads every gateway module. It fails when PHP cannot decode a file.

Solution

While the Admin Area returns this error, you cannot deactivate a gateway. For this reason, we recommend removing these modules before you update. For the steps to take before an update, see Updating Through EOL Versions.

The steps to take depend on whether you use the legacy PayPal® gateway modules.

If You Do Not Use These Modules

If you do not currently use the PayPal Basic (paypal) or PayPal Checkout (paypalcheckout) payment gateway modules, delete the module files from your WHMCS installation.

To remove the modules:

  1. Back up your database and your WHMCS files.
  2. Delete the module files:
    • For PayPal Basic, delete the paypal.php file, the paypal/ directory, and the callback/paypal.php file.
    • For PayPal Checkout, delete the paypalcheckout.php file and the paypalcheckout/ directory.
  3. Reload the Admin Area.
After the Admin Area loads, go to Utilities > System > PHP Version Compatibility. Scan your WHMCS installation for other incompatible files.

If You Use These Modules

If you actively use the PayPal Basic (paypal) or PayPal Checkout (paypalcheckout) payment gateway modules, you must delete the old versions of the module files and then restore them from a supported WHMCS release.

To replace the module files with a supported version’s files:

  1. Back up your database and your WHMCS files.
  2. Delete the old pre-PHP 8.2 module files:
    • For PayPal Basic, delete the paypal.php file, the paypal/ directory, and the callback/paypal.php file.
    • For PayPal Checkout, delete the paypalcheckout.php file and the paypalcheckout/ directory.
  3. Download the WHMCS 9.0.x files from the WHMCS Members Area or your license reseller.
  4. Copy the gateway modules that you use and their callback files from the WHMCS 9.0.x files into the modules/gateways/ directory.
  5. Reload the Admin Area.
troubleshooting troubleshooting-article post-update ioncube paypal

Last modified: 2026 October 20