URGENT! Update crashed the site

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

Problem:
The client experienced a site crash after manually updating the string translation plugin and attempting to reactivate the WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin, which triggered a fatal error due to duplicate plugin instances.
Solution:
1. We advised the client to ensure all WPML plugins, including the WPML String Translation and WooCommerce Multilingual, are updated to the latest versions.
2. We identified that the client had two instances of the WooCommerce Multilingual plugin installed. We recommended removing the duplicate plugin folder using the file manager located at

wp-content/plugins

.
3. To safeguard translations, we confirmed that all translations are stored in the database and not in the plugin folders, ensuring that updating or removing plugins would not affect the saved translations. We also suggested creating a full site backup before making any changes for added security.

If this solution does not resolve your issue, or if it seems outdated or irrelevant to your case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix,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. If problems persist, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 14 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 4 months, 3 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author	Posts
February 10, 2025 at 6:11 pm #16689153
rasmusN-3	Background of the issue: I updated manually the string translation plugin and my site crashed. Symptoms: The site crashed after updating the string translation plugin. Questions: What caused the site to crash after the update? How can I fix the site crash issue?
February 10, 2025 at 6:36 pm #16689260
rasmusN-3	I manually turned off the WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin and the site started running again. But I need to activate the plugin so please assist with this issue.
February 10, 2025 at 8:11 pm #16689479
Pierre Supporter Languages: English (English ) French (Français ) Portuguese (Brazil) (Português ) Timezone: America/Sao_Paulo (GMT-03:00)	Hi @rasmusN-3, Did you also update WCML to the latest version 5.4.0? Thanks, Pierre
February 10, 2025 at 8:29 pm #16689557
David Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Please update the wpml-string-translation plugin to resolve the issue.
February 11, 2025 at 10:28 am #16690827
rasmusN-3	Hi, there is something strange here. I can see that there are newer updates of your plugins. However when I check the list of active plugins on the website, the regular bar saying that there are updates available is not showing, so I have to manually update the plugins buy downloading them from your site and then upload to mine. Do you think it is safe to upload the updates? Feels like something is wrong here.
February 11, 2025 at 11:41 am #16691309
David Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	It is safe to upload the updates. The problem you are experiencing is caused by having an up to date version of sitepress-multilingual-cms while the version of wpml-string-translation is outdated. Once you upload the updates, the problems should go and you will be able to activate woocommerce-multilingual and update it too.
February 11, 2025 at 12:53 pm #16691660
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hello, My name is Carlos and I will continue working on this ticket Can you confirm that the issue was solved after following the steps described by my colleagues?
February 11, 2025 at 6:57 pm #16693328
rasmusN-3	Hi, I have now updated all WPML plugins. When I try to activate the WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency plugin again, I get this message: Plugin could not be activated because it triggered a fatal error. Fatal error: Cannot redeclare wcml_loader() (previously declared in /home/nyiyzefu/domains/treband.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-multilingual/wpml-woocommerce.php:82) in /home/nyiyzefu/domains/treband.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-multilingual1/wpml-woocommerce.php on line 147
February 11, 2025 at 7:52 pm #16693428
Pierre Supporter Languages: English (English ) French (Français ) Portuguese (Brazil) (Português ) Timezone: America/Sao_Paulo (GMT-03:00)	@rasmusN-3, It seems that you have 2 active instances of the WCML plugin on your site (see the paths in the error message): - woocommerce-multilingual - woocommerce-multilingual1 I suggest removing both instances, and install a brand new one either from the OTGS installer or from the wpml.org downloads page. Thanks, Pierre
February 11, 2025 at 7:59 pm #16693439
rasmusN-3	Hi, how can I do that when I only see one of them in the list with plugins in the backend?
February 11, 2025 at 9:04 pm #16693688
rasmusN-3	Further to that, how can I make sure I dont loose all my settings and translations etc?
February 11, 2025 at 10:45 pm #16693765
rasmusN-3	Alright so I can just remove one of them in the file manager I assume, but how do I know which one?
February 12, 2025 at 10:26 am #16695603
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Using the file manager go to 'wp-content' folder -> 'plugins' folder -> Remove the 'woocommerce-multilingual1' folder
February 12, 2025 at 10:29 am #16695680
rasmusN-3	Are you sure I wont loose all the translations I paid for a few days ago?
February 12, 2025 at 11:04 am #16695865
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	The translations are saved in the Database, not in the plugins folders. So yes, I'm sure you won't lose any translation. If it makes you feel secure, you can create a full site backup before removing the plugin folder.