How can I downgrade or use PHP 7.2 without uninstalling PHP 7.4? Is it possible to use PHP 7.2 as default instead of the latest version?

Question

I am using linux Ubuntu 18.04 And I wanna revert back to the previous version of PHP.

I've seen tutorials that requires me to uninstall the latest version, now I am asking if there is a workaround in this problem such that I can easily switch from using 7.2 or 7.4.

`update-alternatives --list php` – mario Jan 17 '20 at 06:23 — mario, Jan 17 '20 at 06:23

Hadisur Rahman · Answer 1 · 2020-08-15T11:28:54.620

47

I have faced the same problem and Here is the solution:

sudo update-alternatives --config php

Now select which version U want on right now, thanks

edited Aug 15 '20 at 11:28

answered Aug 15 '20 at 11:23

Hadisur Rahman

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I use Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS, I don't know why but PHP was updated to version 8 for the CLI. This obviously broke all my websites. Using this command restored PHP 7.4 instantly. Note, that the PHP8 mod for Apache was also installed, but it wasn't activated. – COil Jan 30 '21 at 08:04
1

Brilliant! My website was broken because of being dragged up to version 8 without me realising. – DavidHyogo Feb 15 '21 at 09:25

score 8 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 02 '20 at 11:10

8

Yes, you can.

1- To stop running PHP 7.4, run the commands below to disable it for Apache2:

sudo a2dismod php7.4

2- Then run the commands below to enable PHP 7.2 for Apache2 to use:

sudo a2enmod php7.2

3- Restart Apache2 for the changes to apply by running the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

edited Jun 02 '20 at 11:10

Saeed

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answered Feb 02 '20 at 12:59

Bishoy Zaki

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2

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 02 '20 at 12:09

Downgrade from 7.4 to 7.2

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install php7.2

sudo apt-get install php7.2-cli php7.2-common php7.2-json php7.2-opcache php7.2-mysql php7.2-mbstring  php7.2-zip php7.2-fpm php7.2-intl php7.2-simplexml

   

sudo a2dismod php7.4

sudo a2enmod php7.2

sudo service apache2 restart

sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php7.2

sudo update-alternatives --set phar /usr/bin/phar7.2

sudo update-alternatives --set phar.phar /usr/bin/phar.phar7.2

sudo update-alternatives --set phpize /usr/bin/phpize7.2

sudo update-alternatives --set php-config /usr/bin/php-config7.2

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 02 '20 at 09:21

0

You can install multiple php version in ubuntu and can disable the version you don't need e.g:

sudo a2dismod php7.4

sudo a2enmod php7.2

edited Jun 02 '20 at 09:21

Saeed

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answered Jan 17 '20 at 07:04

SauravBora

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 25 '21 at 09:32

If you nginx user. first install php 7.4 all necessary item.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt -y install software-properties-common

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install php7.4-cli php7.4-json php7.4-common php7.4-mysql php7.4-zip php7.4-gd php7.4-mbstring php7.4-curl php7.4-xml php7.4-bcmath php7.4-fpm -y

systemctl status php7.2-fpm.service #get previous version id 
kill -9 873 #id will be replace with your php.7.2-fpm
service php7.4-fpm restart
systemctl status php7.4-fpm.service #check php status

Done, All okay

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 11 '23 at 06:20

We downgrade or upgrade the PHP version using the following steps. Let me show how to downgrade (from 7.2 >> 7.0 )

step1: sudo a2dismod php7.2

step2: sudo a2enmod php7.0

step3: sudo systemctl restart apache2

step4: sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php7.0

That's it, version changed to 7.2 as you can see below.

How can I downgrade or use PHP 7.2 without uninstalling PHP 7.4? Is it possible to use PHP 7.2 as default instead of the latest version?

6 Answers6