Updating Through EOL Versions
If you currently use a WHMCS version that is past its End of Life (EOL) date, we recommend that you update WHMCS as soon as possible. We always recommend that you update WHMCS regularly and remain on a supported WHMCS version. This ensures that you receive all bug fixes and security updates and allows WHMCS Technical Support to easily assist you with problems.
We currently support the following versions of WHMCS:
| WHMCS Version | Current Tier | Release Notes | Anticipated End-of-Life Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHMCS 8.12 | Release Candidate | 8.12 Release Notes | January 31, 2026 |
| WHMCS 8.11 | General Availability | 8.11 Release Notes | September 30, 2025 |
| WHMCS 8.10 | Long-Term Support | 8.10 Release Notes | April 30, 2025 |
| WHMCS 8.9 | Long-Term Support | 8.9 Release Notes | January 31, 2025 |
These releases are in the Active Development stage of our development cycle. All prior versions have reached End-of-Life (EOL) and we no longer maintain them or release updates for them, regardless of the reason. If you currently use an EOL version of WHMCS, we recommend updating to a supported version as soon as possible.
Preparing to Update from an EOL Version
Whenever you update WHMCS, we recommend that you perform steps first to prepare for a successful update. This includes:
- Ensuring system compatibility.
- Checking compatibility with any customizations or third-party modules that you use
- Backing up your database.
- Performing the update in a testing environment.
EOL Version System Requirements
When you update through multiple versions, make sure that you meet the system requirements for each intermediate version. You may need to stop between versions in order to update for new requirements.
- If you will use the Automatic Updater tool at Utilities > Update WHMCS, make sure that you meet our Automatic Updater requirements.
- We only document selected information from WHMCS 7.10 and earlier, in order to facilitate updating from very old versions. If you do not see requirements for all of the necessary versions for your update or if you need additional information, contact WHMCS Technical Support.
Your system must meet the following requirements:
PHP and ionCube Loader®
Older versions of WHMCS support the following PHP versions and require their corresponding ionCube Loader® versions:
| WHMCS Version | PHP Version | ionCube Loader® Version |
|---|---|---|
| WHMCS 6.3 | PHP 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, or 5.6 | 4.6.1 |
| WHMCS 7.0-7.4 | PHP 5.6 | 5.0.21 |
| PHP 7.0 | 6.0.2 | |
| WHMCS 7.5 | PHP 5.6, 7.0, or 7.1 | 10.1.0 |
| PHP 7.2 | 10.1.0 or 10.2.0 | |
| WHMCS 7.6–7.10 | PHP 5.6, 7.0, or 7.1 | 10.1.0 |
| PHP 7.2 | 10.1.0 or 10.2.0 | |
| PHP 7.3 | 10.3.0 | |
| WHMCS 8.0–8.5 | PHP 7.2 | 10.2.0 |
| PHP 7.3 | 10.3.0 | |
| PHP 7.4 | 10.4.3 | |
| WHMCS 8.6–8.8 | PHP 7.2 | 10.2.0 |
| PHP 7.3 | 10.3.0 | |
| PHP 7.4 | 10.4.3 | |
| PHP 8.1 | 12.0.1 |
- We recommend using the newest PHP version for your version of WHMCS.
- All installations require a minimum PHP memory limit of 64 MB (128 MB recommended).
PHP Extensions
Older versions of WHMCS require the following PHP extensions:
- All default compiled extensions.
- cURL 7.36 or higher with SSL
- GD2 Image Library
- IMAP
- ionCube Loader® (see below)
- JSON
- PDO
- PDO_MySQL
- Reflection
- XML
We also recommend the following additional PHP extensions:
- BC Math
- Fileinfo
- GMP
- iconv
- Intl
- mbstring
- OpenSSL 1.0.1c or higher (with TLS 1.2 or higher)
- SOAP
MySQL®
Older versions of WHMCS require the following MySQL versions:
| MySQL Version | |
|---|---|
| WHMCS 6.3-7.2 | MySQL 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, or 5.6 |
| WHMCS 7.3-7.6 | MySQL 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, or 5.7 |
| WHMCS 7.7 and later | MySQL 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, or 8.0 |
Updating to a Supported Version
After you have ensured compatibility, the update process will resemble any other WHMCS update across multiple versions.
When you are ready to perform the update, you can choose between several update methods:
| Update Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Automatic Updater | Go to Utilities > Update WHMCS to check for and perform updates. This feature downloads, validates, and extracts the new files and updates the database in one process. We strongly recommend this method. |
| Command Line (Manual) | Use the included install.php script to update WHMCS. This requires manually staging the necessary update files before running the PHP script.We only recommend this method for advanced users. |
| Browser (Manual) | Go to example.com/whmcs/install/install.php, where example.com is the domain for your WHMCS installation, and follow the displayed prompts to update WHMCS. This requires manually uploading the files to your WHMCS installation. |
After the update finishes, check to ensure that WHMCS is working properly. We recommend testing all of the important features and functions in WHMCS, like logging in as a client and as an admin, viewing products, submitting support tickets, and placing new orders.
Last modified: December 4, 2024