--TEST-- Cannot assign by reference to overloaded object, even if __get() returns by-ref --FILE-- x; } } $test = new Test; $y = 5; $test->x =& $y; var_dump($test->x); ?> --EXPECTF-- Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Cannot assign by reference to overloaded object in %s:%d Stack trace: #0 {main} thrown in %s on line %d