Cannot Load ionCube PHP Loader

IonCube Loader is a PHP extension used for decoding and executing encoded PHP files. IonCube Loader works by encoding PHP files into a proprietary format that is only executable with the loader installed on the server. When a PHP file encoded with ionCube Loader is accessed, the loader decodes and executes the code, ensuring that the original source remains secure.

Sometimes ionCube will not load the correct version and will cause errors on the site. This can usually be resolved by renaming the .ini files. This is a common error with transferred WHMCS installs.

The error message may appear as one of the following.

Cannot load the ionCube PHP Loader - it was built with configuration API220090626,NTS, whereas running engine is API220100525,NTS,

Whoops\Exception\ErrorException: The file /home/userna5/public_html/... encoded as type [1/74] cannot be decoded by this version of the ionCube Loader.

The exact WHMCS ionCube missing error is as follows:

Site error: the ionCube PHP Loader needs to be installed. This is a widely used PHP extension for running ionCube protected PHP code, website security and malware blocking. Please visit get-loader.ioncube.com for install assistance.

Fix ionCube Loader Issue

1. Log into the cPanel
2. Navigate to the MultiPHP Manager, located in the Software section
3. Confirm the site is running a PHP version with ionCube installed
   IMPORTANT: ionCube does not support versions of PHP x.0, such as PHP 7.0 and 8.0.
   
4. If not, switch the PHP version to one with ionCube installed
   NOTE: At this time, ionCube is available up to PHP 8.1.
5. If the error persists, rename the php.ini and .user.ini file on the affected domain
   
   1. Navigate to the File Manager, located in the Files section
   2. Navigate to the document root for the site
   3. Rename any php.ini and .user.ini files
      EXAMPLE: To deactivate the php.ini file, you might rename php.ini to php.ini.old.
6. If the site continues to show an error, reinstall the CMS (content management system) files from the vendor
   EXAMPLE: For WHMCS, you may need to reinstall the site using Softaculous or using the original WHMCS install files.
   TIP: If the incompatible ionCube version is on a plugin (for WordPress) or a module (for WHMCS), the plugin or module may need to be updated or reinstalled instead.  For WordPress, deactivating the problematic plugin can also help.