Downgrade PHP8.1 to PHP8.0 or PHP7.4 on Ubuntu 22.04 | by Stavros Kounis | Medium
Ubuntu 22.04 comes with PHP 8.1. This article describes how to change this and install and set as default the version 8.0 or 7.4.
Install PHP Version
Install the required dependencies.
sudo apt install software-properties-common ca-certificates lsb-release apt-transport-http
Add the required PPA
LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
Update the Apt package manager
sudo apt update
Install PHP 8.0 and all the PHP modules.
sudo apt install php8.0
sudo apt install php8.0-mysql php8.0-mbstring php8.0-xml php8.0-curl php8.0-gd
Switch PHP versions and enable PHP 8.0
Set 8.09 as the default PHP version for CLI and Apache.
Command Line PHP:
sudo update-alternatives --config php
Select php8.0 from the list with the available options:
There are 2 choices for the alternative php (providing /usr/bin/php).
Selection Path Priority Status
------------------------------------------------------------
0 /usr/bin/php8.1 81 auto mode
* 1 /usr/bin/php8.0 80 manual mode
2 /usr/bin/php8.1 81 manual mode
Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:
Apache PHP
Disable PHP 8.1
sudo a2dismod php8.1
sudo service apache2 restart
Enable PHP 8.0
sudo a2enmod php8.0
sudo service apache2 restart
Verify PHP Version
php -v
PHP 8.0.18 (cli) (built: May 1 2022 04:42:09) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.0.18, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
with Zend OPcache v8.0.18, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies
For verifying the PHP version Apache uses, specify the configururation .ini file.
php -c /etc/php/apache2/php.ini -v
Depending which version you chose and if the mysql extension is installed or not;
If you see:
"Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress."
apt-get install php7.4-mysql