PHP Warning on Installation

[alpinist867]

Hi everyone, in the process of trying to pull a client's blog comments into a forum format, and I realized I should start from scratch and delete the old Simple Machines forum we'd installed, install a new one and go from there. So I uploaded the files for 2.0.15, and it gave me this warning, which I imagine y'all might be familiar with:

"Warning! You do not appear to have a version of PHP installed on your webserver that meets SMF's minimum installations requirements.
If you are not the host, you will need to ask your host to upgrade, or use a different host - otherwise, please upgrade PHP to a recent version.

If you know for a fact that your PHP version is high enough you may continue, although this is strongly discouraged."

Which is straightforward enough, but my client won't be interested in seeking out a different host right now, and I'm wondering if the most elegant solution for the moment would be to install an older version, and wait until the host upgrades PHP to then update Simple Machines? And in which case I'm curious which version I should be all right to install.
Thanks! 

[alpinist867]

Ahh, also I can see if the client is interested in contacting them about an upgrade, but first I'd just like to know more about what they'd need to communicate to them about it; for instance, which version of PHP is necessary for 2.0.15 (the warning doesn't say)? There was a "PHP Selector" option in cPanel, but it only says native and it's been disabled...

[Arantor]

2.0 supports PHP 5.4 through PHP 7.1.

[Kindred]

https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/SMF2.0:Requirements_and_recommendations

5.6 is recommended as the minimum, but even 7.0 is nearing EoL...

if a host is using even older versions, then they are SERIOUSLY behind and possibly insecure.

[alpinist867]

Thanks for the responses, since the "Change PHP Version" option in cPanel was disabled for me, I couldn't use it to check the version, but I did a search and created (my first  ) .php file with the "phpinfo();" command and uploaded it...

Current PHP version: 5.2.17 

Hosting is through Easyhost, considering what you said about them being seriously behind with this, I'm thinking I'll just recommend the client switch hosting entirely rather than to bother contacting them with a request to update it. There was already an issue with the SSL certificate when I'd go to cPanel, so taken together I'll just warn them someone might hack into their website if they don't make the switch... 

[vbgamer45]

I would contact your host or change host. 5.2 was first released in 2006 and stopped being supported in 2011

[SpacePhoenix]

https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/SMF2.0:Requirements_and_recommendations

5.6 is recommended as the minimum, but even 7.0 is nearing EoL...

if a host is using even older versions, then they are SERIOUSLY behind and possibly insecure.

7.0 went EOL January 10th, just 10 days after 5.6 went EOL. 7.1 will go EOL at the start of December

[alpinist867]

Thanks everyone, it's mindboggling because now I found out they're paying nearly twice as much for hosting through them as they would through someone like Namecheap or whatever... maybe it's like vintage wine, you pay more for vintage php. 

[GigaWatt]

Ahhh... that good old 2011 PHP 5.2... mh, mh, mh...

[a10]

Reliable rumors tells that during digging in the pyramids of Egypt in the early 1900's, they found PHP hieroglyphs. It was version -65887.2, used to run the pharaos' websites and forums.

[Shambles]

.... used to run the pharaos' websites and forums.

... and pyramid selling scams