# My SQL version "upgrade"

**URL:** <https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [August 15, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579 "2017-08-15T00:29:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kmcgib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@kmcgib](https://community.localwp.com/u/kmcgib)\
**Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579/1 "2017-08-15T00:29:59Z")

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I am unable to use mysql ver 5.5 on local even though it is set in preferences. It “upgrades” to 5.6. I need 5.5 as my host uses 5.5  
When I begin new site with mysql set to 5.5 in preferences it “upgrades” to 5.6 automatically.

Because of this I am unable to move sites from local to my host because of this. Host is on 5.5 and will not update.

Getting this error when importing database into host

Error  
SQL query:

CREATE TABLE `wp_commentmeta` (  
`meta_id` bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO\_INCREMENT,  
`comment_id` bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT ‘0’,  
`meta_key` varchar(255) COLLATE utf8mb4\_unicode\_520\_ci DEFAULT NULL,  
`meta_value` longtext COLLATE utf8mb4\_unicode\_520\_ci,  
PRIMARY KEY (`meta_id`),  
KEY `comment_id` (`comment_id`),  
KEY `meta_key` (`meta_key`(191))  
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4\_unicode\_520\_ci;  
MySQL said: Documentation

#1273 - Unknown collation: ‘utf8mb4\_unicode\_520\_ci’

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**Author:** ![clay](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.localwp.com/clay/32/8248_2.png) [@clay](https://community.localwp.com/u/clay)\
**Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579/2 "2017-08-15T14:12:08Z")

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Hi Ken,

Imports default as MySQL 5.6 to avoid that exact error when importing sites.

To make sure sites are created with MySQL 5.5, you can use the normal Add Site flow in the bottom left and then import the site manually.

Also, if your host is still on 5.5 then I would strongly advise asking them to upgrade MySQL or switching hosts since MySQL 5.5 is 7 years old.

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**Author:** ![kmcgib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@kmcgib](https://community.localwp.com/u/kmcgib)\
**Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579/3 "2017-08-15T18:38:14Z")

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Thanks for reply, wish I could switch hosts but not possible at this time.

Unfortunately, locking me into 5.6 is what is causing the error.

I am creating sites using bottom left + icon. How do I force 5.5? It gives me a message during creating it “upgrading to 5.6”

Cannot get it to use 5.5 and a blueprint.

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**Author:** ![clay](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.localwp.com/clay/32/8248_2.png) [@clay](https://community.localwp.com/u/clay)\
**Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579/4 "2017-08-15T18:56:10Z")

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If you’re using a Blueprint then it uses the MySQL version that the Blueprint was created with. Blueprints not only contain the site files and database, but also the configuration that you created the site with.

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**Author:** ![kmcgib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@kmcgib](https://community.localwp.com/u/kmcgib)\
**Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579/5 "2017-08-15T19:19:44Z")

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Makes sense, is there a way for me to create a blueprint site with 5.5. I just want a certain number of plugins and pages as base to start from to save a little time but unfortunately need 5.5.

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**Author:** ![clay](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.localwp.com/clay/32/8248_2.png) [@clay](https://community.localwp.com/u/clay)\
**Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579/6 "2017-08-15T19:36:03Z")

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Definitely!

Just create a new site using the Custom environment with MySQL 5.5 (it shouldn’t force the upgrade) selected and then you can save the Blueprint.

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**Author:** ![system](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.localwp.com/system/32/1_2.png) [@system](https://community.localwp.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://community.localwp.com/t/my-sql-version-upgrade/2579/7 "2020-08-25T18:32:27Z")

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