MySQL version problem when migrating

[AliceParticipant]

Tried to use Migrator to move my WordPress site from hosting account to another and was unable to complete due to this message…

Error: The database backup uses MySQL features not available in the old MySQL version (5.1.55) that this site is running on. You must upgrade MySQL to be able to use this database.

I can’t upgrade MySQL. It’s currently not an option. My web hosting service tech support suggested that the differences in the versions is likely to be just char sets and need to find another way to export the data.

Please help me get over this huge road block to my site migration. I’ve used the UpdraftPlus Migrator successfully many times before without this issue and want it to still be my go-to plugin.

[udadminKeymaster]

Hi Alice,

There isn’t a nice way around this; it’s not particular an UpdraftPlus limitation – the WordPress core developers decided that if you create a site on a MySQL 5.5+ database server, then it would use features that are simply not present on MySQL 5.1, with no backwards-compatibility option. MySQL 5.1 was end-of-lifed in 2013, and doesn’t receive security updates even for critical problems since then. You’re asking for a lot of pain by using it…

However, if you really must, you can decompress the database backup (use 7-zip), replace utf8mb4 with utf8 wherever it occurs, and then use that. But, if you’ve actually used any of the MySQL 5.5-only characters in your database, then it’ll not work.
Or, you can try using phpMyAdmin on the source site and exporting in its MySQL 4.0-compatibility mode, and importing that backup into UpdraftPlus. That will just drop incompatible data (because it can’t do anything else – the incompatibility is real, it’s not just something being awkward).

The other solution is to develop your sites on MySQL 5.1, if you’re wanting to eventually deploy them on MySQL 5.1. That way, your WordPress source site won’t use its incompatible-with-MySQL-5.1 features.

David

[AliceParticipant]

Thanks for the explanation and workaround suggestions, David. I will give those a try, though because my site is in multiple languages I may indeed have a problem. Your timely response is much appreciated!

[john63Participant]

I’m developing site on mySQL ver 5.5.42-37.1.

So when I check my clients platform before starting development what is the minimum version value that I am looking for in order to avoid this issue.

thanks for the explaination,
JOhn

[udadminKeymaster]

Hi John,

The WP core team, with WP 4.2, decided to use a MySQL feature that’s only available after 5.1, if the current MySQL version is greater than 5.1. The result of that is that a site which begins life on a later version than 5.1 can’t be moved later on to MySQL 5.1, because it uses features which don’t exist on 5.1.

By MySQL 5.1, I mean that series – i.e. any MySQL 5.1.x. And by later, I mean any later series.

Best wishes,
David

[john63Participant]

So, from this I gather that my sites developed on 5.5.42-37.1. can be moved back to:
mySQL ver 5.2.x and later.
thanks for the clarification,
john

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