How to Increase phpMyAdmin Upload Limits in cPanel Using the MultiPHP INI Editor

Thelma R 07 Aug, 2026 cPanel

Why Database Imports Fail in phpMyAdmin

When attempting to import an .sql or compressed .sql.gz file into phpMyAdmin, you may run into an error stating that the file exceeds the maximum allowed limit.

This restriction is governed by two PHP directives configured on your hosting account:

1. upload_max_filesize: Defines the maximum size of an individual uploaded file.
2. post_max_size: Defines the maximum size of total POST data sent to the server.

If your database backup is 35MB but your PHP limit is set to 16MB, the web browser will refuse the file.

How to Check Your Current Limit in phpMyAdmin

1. Log in to cPanel and open phpMyAdmin.
2. Select your target database from the left sidebar.
3. Click the Import tab at the top.
4. Look next to the file upload box—you will see text displaying: (Max: 16MiB) or similar.

Step-by-Step: Increasing the Limits in cPanel

1. Log in to your cPanel account.
2. Scroll to the Software section and click on MultiPHP INI Editor.
3. Under Basic Mode, select your website domain from the dropdown menu.
4. Locate the following directives and increase their values:
   • upload_max_filesize ➔ Change from 16M to 64M (or higher depending on your file size).
   • post_max_size ➔ Change to match or exceed the upload limit (e.g., 64M).
   • memory_limit ➔ Ensure this value is higher than post_max_size (e.g., 256M).
5. Click Apply at the bottom to save your changes.

⚠️ Important Note: post_max_size must always be equal to or larger than upload_max_filesize.

What to Do If the Limit Does Not Change

On shared or managed servers, global server limits set in WebHost Manager (WHM) may override local account settings. If your phpMyAdmin upload limit does not update after saving these changes, submit a quick ticket to our support team and an engineer will adjust the server-level threshold for you!