Live case: colchoneriasgonzalez.com on PrestaShop 1.7.8.3. Saving or even opening a product with hundreds of combinations hung the back office. Front office could still sell. Staff could not edit the SKU.
Combination-heavy catalogues post a huge form. PHP max_input_vars (and related request limits) silently truncates that POST. PrestaShop then looks “frozen” or saves a partial product.
What to check before rewriting the catalogue
- PHP
max_input_varsversus the combination count. - POST size and timeout on the host.
- Whether the hang is browser-only or the request never finishes on the server.
Raise the limit to a value the form can actually submit, then test the fattest product. A new theme will not fix a truncated POST.