# Upgrading from WISECP 3.x to 5.x https://docs.wisecp.com/nl/upgrading-from-3x-to-5x The 3.x to 5.x upgrade moves a WISECP 3.x installation to WISECP 5 in place, keeping your customers, services, invoices and settings. ## Opening the Screen The upgrade starts in the **3.x** admin panel under **Help → Updates**. It needs 3.x release **3.1.9.8.3** or newer. On an older 3.x the Updates page offers that release first; the 5.0 line appears after you apply it. The card **WISECP 5.0 is ready for this installation** carries the button **Start the 5.0 upgrade wizard**. It opens `upgrade.php` in your installation root with a signed link that expires with the day. Opening the file directly shows **Not available**; return to the Updates page and use the button. ## How the Upgrade Runs The wizard has two parts: a preparation screen that fetches the 5.x package, then five steps that carry out the upgrade. Nothing in your 3.x installation changes before the Upgrade step. Moving to a new server at the same time? Install 5.x there and use [Import Tools](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/import-tools) instead. This wizard upgrades in place. ### Preparation Three rows run on their own. The licence service names the 5.0 build you may install. The package is downloaded to your server and unpacked into `_wisecp_v5_stage` next to your installation. A failed row shows its reason and a **Try again** button. When all three pass, the wizard opens. ### The Five Steps | Step | What happens | What you do | | --- | --- | --- | | Start | Shows the installed version, folder, database, active theme and the staged package. | Accept the licence agreement, then click **Continue**. | | Check | Checks the server, the database, the licence and free disk space. Rehearses the migration without changing anything. | Read the results. Fix anything blocking, click **Check again**, then **Continue**. | | Confirm | Names the folder that will keep your 3.x files. | Tick the database backup confirmation, then click **Start the upgrade**. | | Upgrade | Runs eleven stages, one request each. The site is in maintenance mode until the health check passes. | Keep the page open. Nothing to click. | | Finished | Confirms the site and the panel answer, then removes the wizard. | Click **Open the admin panel** and sign in as before. | ### What Is Carried Over Customers, services, orders, invoices, tickets, uploads and visitor statistics stay where they are. Settings, encryption keys, module settings, notification preferences and the admin folder name are carried into 5.x. Passwords keep working: the Check step verifies that stored passwords open with the carried keys. ### What Is Not Carried Over The Check step lists these for your installation. Nothing on the list is deleted; it stays in the backup folder. - **Website theme**: 3.x themes do not run on the new template engine. The site opens with the default 5.x theme. - **Modules without a 5.x counterpart**: Listed by name in the Check step. Their settings are not migrated. - **Code customisations**: The edits folder and edited core files do not apply to 5.x. - **Notification templates**: Customised templates and email designs are replaced by the 5.x set, which you can edit in the panel. - **.htaccess additions**: Your own rules in the 3.x .htaccess are listed so you can add them again. ## Before You Start - **A full database backup**: Required. The wizard does not take one. Take it from your hosting panel or with mysqldump and check that the file is complete. - **A 5.x ready server**: PHP 8.2 or newer with ionCube Loader, as in [System Requirements](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/system-requirements). The Check step measures both. - **Free disk space**: The 5.x files come up beside the 3.x ones, and every MyISAM table is rebuilt as a copy. Count about twice the size of the site plus the database. - **A licence on record**: The 3.x installation must hold its licence key. Open the 3.x panel once if the Check step reports no key. - **A quiet moment**: The site is unavailable during the Upgrade step, usually a few minutes. ## Tasks ### Run the Upgrade 1. Take the database backup and confirm it restores. 2. In the 3.x panel open **Help → Updates**, apply **3.1.9.8.3** if it is offered, then click **Start the 5.0 upgrade wizard**. 3. Let the preparation finish, accept the agreement and click **Continue**. Wait for **Ready to upgrade** and click **Continue** again. 4. Tick the backup confirmation and click **Start the upgrade**. The stages run through to **Upgrade complete**, with links to the site and the panel. ### After the Upgrade 1. Sign in to the 5.x panel with the same email and password as before. 2. Update the cron job: the 5.x command differs from the 3.x one, and **Settings → Cron Jobs** shows it. 3. Pick and configure a website theme, check the modules that had no 5.x counterpart, and review the notification templates. ### Continue After an Interruption 1. If the connection drops, open the page again: the upgrade resumes where it stopped. 2. If a stage fails, read the log under the stage list, fix the cause and click **Retry**. Finished stages are not repeated. ### Go Back to 3.x 1. Move the 5.x entries out of the root and put the contents of the backup folder back. The folder holds a notes file with the exact steps. 2. Move uploads and visitor statistics back from the 5.x tree. 3. Restore the full database backup you took before the upgrade. The site answers as 3.x again. ## Things to Watch > **Without the database backup there is no way back** > > The migration renames tables, converts every MyISAM table to InnoDB and writes values that 3.x cannot read. The files can be put back in a minute; the database only from your backup. > **Keep the backup folder for 72 hours** > > Keep the 3.x backup folder and the database backup for at least 72 hours. Data created in 5.x after the upgrade cannot be carried back to 3.x. > **Licence warning: Key active on another installation** > > The Check step shows this when the same key is registered to another address. The upgrade still completes; ask support to reissue the licence for this address so verification settles. ## Related Articles - [Choosing Your WISECP Version](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/choosing-your-wisecp-version) - [System Requirements](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/system-requirements) - [Upgrading WISECP](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/upgrading-wisecp) - [Updates](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/updates) - [Backup and Restore](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/backup-and-restore) - [System Health](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/system-health) - [Import Tools](https://docs.wisecp.com/en/import-tools)