Problem when running CRM with php version

Question

Good day. 
 I am experiencing difficulties with SugarCRM CE Version 6.5.7 (Build 8576) when attempting to make it work with PHP 7 or later versions. After changing the PHP version on the CRM site, I am able to log in and navigate the system. However, when accessing records in the detailed view, not all information is displayed, and the related subpanels are not visible to me. 
 Is it possible that the PHP version I am considering is not compatible with SugarCRM CE Version 6.5.7 (Build 8576)? 
 I hope to have your support.

Yeris Nesme · Accepted Answer

Yeris Nesme 
 The issue is almost certainly one of compatibility. Sugar version 6.5 CE is way out of date and support as are all the platform components it requires to be installed upon. For reference these can be found here: https://support.sugarcrm.com/files/5da76182-6bfe-11e7-a575-06a1658893d7.pdf 
 I have had a recent (and ongoing) need to support a customer still using version 6.5 CE and to do this I have had to source and install a virtual machine running Ubuntu 12.04 in order to get the correct platform components. Even then these are the bundled ones as even the mirrors that provided the updates are no longer functioning. 
 I suspect that you will need to follow a path similar to this in order to continue working with this instance. 
 Thanks, 
 JH.

Yeris Nesme · Answer

hi Yeris Nesme 
 Firstly, in case it helps here is the main support page that has an archive of unsupported versions going back to v6.0 
 https://support.sugarcrm.com/documentation/unsupported_versions/ 
 Regarding upgrading to latest version, that would be the way forward but maybe not via the usual upgrade methods jumping through each version upgrade and applying multiple fixes, upgrade code customisations, integrations etc... 
 I suggest treating it as if migrating to a new CRM - which in a way most of the code is - and use an ETL tool that will help with all the data transfer part. There are many around, from the free Talend Open Studio, various paid ETL tools, via SugarCRM professional services Rafael Fernandes , or depending on complexity and data size you could build your own API script. 
 I'm guessing that your v6.5.x licenses have expired, so the process would be to start with a low 5 user license for the new version on SugarCloud as they also provide a sandbox version that you can use for initial testing. Or onsite if that's your preference. 
 Recreate your customisations based on v13 (v14 from next month), then run the initial data migration, and test everything on the staging instance before final data migration on live. 
 That would be my suggestion and I think the 'cleanest' method. 
 Best wishes, 
 Vincent