Fatal error because of WPML

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client was unable to configure WPML after activation due to multiple fatal errors, including a 504 AJAX Error and a PHP Fatal Error indicating that the maximum execution time was exceeded. The issue was suspected to be related to the 'sitepress-multilingual-cms' plugin.
Solution:
We investigated the issue and discovered that it was caused by a corrupted key in the database. After fixing the corrupted database key, we advised the client to continue configuring WPML and to install the WPML String Translation plugin, which is necessary for full functionality.
If this solution does not resolve your issue, or if it seems outdated or irrelevant to your case, we recommend opening a new support ticket. We also highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. For further assistance, please visit our support forum at https://wpml.org/forums/.

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Tagged: Bug

This topic contains 15 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Dražen 1 month ago.

Assisted by: Dražen.

Author	Posts
May 13, 2026 at 10:55 am #18032617
cesarE-4	I am not able to even configure WPML after activating because of many fatal erros: AJAX Error: error [504] URL:hidden link Suspected plugin sitepress-multilingual-cms (v4.9.3) Maximum execution time of 850 seconds exceeded class-debug-backtrace.php:68 PHP Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 850 seconds exceeded in /srv/htdocs/wp-content/plugins/sitepress-multilingual-cms/classes/utilities/class-debug-backtrace.php on line 68
May 13, 2026 at 11:50 am #18032769
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, here is the ticket, once staging is done please share URL and add my email / account there as well if needed, so I can login and check further. Thanks and kind regards, Drazen
May 13, 2026 at 12:03 pm #18032825
cesarE-4	hidden link This is the staging link and I added your email (drazen.d@onthegosystems.com) to the users there, the invitation is sent. Thank you again for your precious support Drazen.
May 13, 2026 at 12:06 pm #18032835
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, thanks, but that does not look like same latest version of production website, I can see from WordPress version and PHP version that I have changed on live. Please deploy or create new staging site from latest live website and I will be glad to check further. Regards, Drazen
May 13, 2026 at 1:03 pm #18033268
cesarE-4	Your staging site, Garderie Éducative Minimi, has been successfully updated with content from the production site. it's done again. WordPress 7.0 (Beta) PHP 8.2 please I think you need to change it on the staging backend.
May 13, 2026 at 4:22 pm #18033943
cesarE-4	If you still need anything from me please let me know.
May 13, 2026 at 4:32 pm #18033984
cesarE-4	Do we still need to anything from our part?
May 14, 2026 at 6:01 am #18034635
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, thanks. I checked this further and also created a local copy of the site for additional testing. Unfortunately, I was not able to identify the root cause yet, so I have escalated the issue to our 2nd tier team for further investigation. I will update you as soon as I have more information, hopefully very soon. Regards, Drazen
May 14, 2026 at 4:28 pm #18036587
cesarE-4	Thank you very much for your precious support. It's strange, we used WPML with this specific theme in more complex RTL language with products and store, and all was good, we used it in different other sites without any problem. Should I try the Boost option of Jetpack to make optimize the performace of the main production site?
May 14, 2026 at 5:15 pm #18036663
Catalin Popescu Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires (GMT-03:00)	Hello, Is it possible to add a new email to the users of the website? My email is: catalin.p@onthegosystems.com I will be happy to look into the situation. Regards, Catalin
May 14, 2026 at 8:17 pm #18036992
cesarE-4	Sure, i sent the invitation. Thanks again.
May 15, 2026 at 5:43 am #18037418
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, I am not sure why you suspect the issue is related to the theme, since I never mentioned that. The issue was happening even without extra plugins or the theme involved. In this case, the problem was caused by a corrupted key in the database, which we have now fixed. Please continue configuring WPML and let me know if you notice any further problems. Do not forget to install also WPML String translation plugin, as it is needed. Regards, Drazen
May 15, 2026 at 10:04 am #18038329
cesarE-4	Hello Drazen, I cam back to the same problem again: the website is crashing. New threads created by Dražen and linked to this one are listed below: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-fatal-error-due-to-utilities-class-debug-backtrace-php/
May 15, 2026 at 10:10 am #18038402
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, thanks for getting back. It seems to be another cause this time coming from /srv/htdocs/wp-content/plugins/sitepress-multilingual-cms/classes/utilities/class-debug-backtrace.php To keep things clear I have opened new ticket and will further check there and get back to you there. - https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-fatal-error-due-to-utilities-class-debug-backtrace-php/ Regards, Drazen
May 15, 2026 at 10:13 am #18038405
cesarE-4	the site is completely down i'm not able to login to hidden link also i'm not able to restore the backup.