Updating
Update Service: Have our team update your installation.
We always recommend staying up-to-date with WHMCS in order to benefit from the latest development and improvements. You can do this by having us perform the update for you or by updating using one of our supported methods.
Our support team is always available to answer any questions or concerns you might have when performing updates. Open a ticket and a member of our team will assist you.
Contents
Preparing for Updates
Preparation helps to ensure a seamless updating experience. For more information, see Get WHMCS Download Information and our recommendations for preparation, testing, and execution of WHMCS updates.
Database Privileges
Updating requires that the database user have access to the following privileges:
- ALTER
- CREATE
- DROP
- INDEX
Additionally, make certain that the database user has access to all of the privileges on the Further Security Steps page.
Customisations
If you have customised templates, make sure to follow the recommended method for creating a custom template folder to ensure your changes aren't overwritten during updates.
For language file customisations, make sure that you use the Language Overrides feature instead of editing the language files directly.
Updating in the Admin Area
WHMCS 7.0 and later includes a way to update WHMCS from within the Admin Area.
To do this, go to Utilities > Update WHMCS. For more information, see Automatic Updater.
Updating Manually
You can also update your WHMCS installation manually using one of two methods:
- You can use your hosting control panel's file management system to manage the necessary files. For more information, see Updating WHMCS Manually.
- If you are comfortable running commands on the server that hosts your WHMCS installation, you can make the necessary changes on the command line. For more information, see Install On The Command Line.
Distributions
We distribute WHMCS in Full Release and Patch Set distributions. You can identify the distribution type by examining the distribution's .zip file and the contents of the included README.txt file:
| Distribution Type | .zip Filename Contains | README.txt File Contains | Files Included | Use For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Release | _full | Distro Type: Full Version | All files for an installation. | New installations or updates to an existing installation (regardless of previous version). |
| Patch Set | _patch | Distro Type: Patch Set | Only files changed since the immediate previous version. | Updates to an existing installation that has stayed up-to-date with the latest WHMCS releases. |
For example, we would recommend using a Full Release distribution to move from an End-of-Life version to the newest release. You could only use a Patch Set distribution if you were moving from the immediately previous release to the newest release.
For more information on our release and distribution types, see Releases.
Troubleshooting
You may encounter the following issues during an update:
Bad Formatting
If, when you first log in, you see a mixed or unclear formatting, your browser may not have updated. Try clearing your browser cache or performing a hard refresh (typically Ctrl + F5) and delete the contents of the template cache directory (templates_c by default) to ensure that you see the new templates and styling.
Down for Maintenance or Update in Progress
If, after uploading the files from a Patch Set, you see a "Down for Maintenance" or "update in progress..." warning message, then this indicates that the patch set files you attempted to apply are not compatible with the version of WHMCS you were previously running.
To complete the update you will need to download the latest Full Release version and update using the regular update process above.