# Update from old Mautic (2.16.5) using PHP 7.4?

**URL:** https://forum.mautic.org/t/update-from-old-mautic-2-16-5-using-php-7-4/21732
**Category:** Product Support
**Created:** [November 23, 2021, 8:32am UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/update-from-old-mautic-2-16-5-using-php-7-4/21732 "2021-11-23T08:32:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![patricktt](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/patricktt/32/4919_2.png) [@patricktt](https://forum.mautic.org/u/patricktt)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 8:32am UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/update-from-old-mautic-2-16-5-using-php-7-4/21732/1 "2021-11-23T08:32:12Z")

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_My Mautic version is_: 2.16.5  
_My PHP version is_: 7.4.25  
_My problem is_: Can’t Update to Mautic 3 (and further)

_These errors are showing in the log_:  
One or more errors occurred during pre-upgrade checks:

- Mautic does not support PHP version 7.4.25 at this time. To use Mautic, you will need to downgrade to an earlier version.

Is there a way to Update Mautic 2.16 while using PHP 7.4? I can’t downgrade PHP because it’s a shared space with other projects probably relying on 7.4 and (to be fair), my coding / server knowledge Kung-Fu is not strong enough so that I feel safe to do it.

So is there a way to update? Or can I overwrite the files and then update the database? Any other way?

Thank you very much in advance, and please bear with me if I missed mentioning something or didn’t find what’s obvious - Mautic still is sometimes a bit confusing to me.

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### Author: ![joeyk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/joeyk/32/11164_2.png) [@joeyk](https://forum.mautic.org/u/joeyk)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 9:32am UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/update-from-old-mautic-2-16-5-using-php-7-4/21732/2 "2021-11-23T09:32:36Z")

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You will need to update like this:  
2.xx → 3.xx PHP 7.3  
3.xx → 4.xx PHP 7.4

This is a very scary process. Check the Halloween Edition of the Automation Show if you are brave enough:

[![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/mautic/original/2X/4/490d2c89586b2941714ac01d17548f942c621ca5.jpeg "Halloween Edition: the Scary Mautic Upgrade 2.16 to 4.01 (Marketing Automation Show 2x03)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy0jJ09AD5E)

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### Author: ![patricktt](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/patricktt/32/4919_2.png) [@patricktt](https://forum.mautic.org/u/patricktt)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 12:32pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/update-from-old-mautic-2-16-5-using-php-7-4/21732/3 "2021-11-23T12:32:45Z")

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Thank you for your answer!

So without going back to PHP 7.3, it’s not possible?  
Can I overwrite the old files with a new version and try to import the database then?

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### Author: ![joeyk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/joeyk/32/11164_2.png) [@joeyk](https://forum.mautic.org/u/joeyk)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/update-from-old-mautic-2-16-5-using-php-7-4/21732/4 "2021-11-23T17:05:50Z")

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I would suggest to do the right way, but it might be possible. Just make sure your db migrations are fine