IPN in paypal sandbox mode is not working

[goldstrikn]

Hello,

I’m running into an issue with IPN notifications using sandbox paypal. On a live store there is no issue, but when it comes to test in sandbox paypal the IPN does not ping the url of the store.

I follow all the instructions per your link showing instructions of sandbox side.

The strange thing is that it used to work fine about 4months ago (sandbox mode), now anything I do in sanbox, it doesnt show. It doesn’t get pinged, the sales count doesn’t go up either. The ipn_handle_debug.log doesn’t show a thing of the transaction, and also when going to paypal sandbox the IPN history is not there, because it is not communicating. The IPN notification is set to on.

So, I would like some help please. I can provide admin access to my site if necessary. I need to go live with a product, but I need to test this well.

Thanks.

[Peter]

Unfortunately there’s nothing much we can do about this because the issue is purely on the PayPal sandbox end.

The same thing happened about a month ago and after a few weeks it started to work again.

So apart from being patient and waiting for Paypal to resolve whatever issue they have, you could possibly talk to their support people or raise a question in their forums.

[goldstrikn]

well, here is the thing. I have another plugin that uses sandbox and that works just fine. So, my conclusion is that the estore plugin is not responsive when it comes to sandbox. I’m not sure what it is but it is not communicating. I have version 6.8.9.

[Michael DeLuca]

I’m running into this problem as well. From the sudden change in the contents of my eStore_post_payment_debug.log, it looks like it started happening on August 13th.

I sure hope they fix it soon–it makes debugging pretty much impossible.

[goldstrikn]

I can confirm that the sandbox does work with my other plugins, no issues, the ipn gets pinged, and I get the normal process from that plugin. But, when it comes to eStore it is dead (sandbox only), no debug, no ping, however payment goes through and it is record and shown in the paypal sandbox side only.

Here is another interesting fact, when I check the purchases made from eStore and I click on payment details on paypal sandbox, it shows error “Sorry your last transaction could not be completed …. message 3004”. But, if go to the purchase test made from my other plugin, I can see its payment details.

Maybe, there is a conflict of settings, or code. To rule another plugin conflict, I tested on a fresh install with no other plugins installed, the problem persists.

Please check for a fix, I can provide admin access if necessary.

[admin]

There are all kinds of different API with PayPal and one of them can be down without any notice (its how sandbox environment works with PayPal). PayPal’s “add to cart” sandbox IPN API is down for maintenance. If you make a sandbox purchase using WP eStore’s “Buy Now” type button or “Subscription” type button you will see that the IPN is working fine (this is most likely the API your other plugin is using which is why it works).

You shouldn’t use PayPal sandbox if you are not prepared for downtime. This is why it is called PayPal sandbox and PayPal already told you that this would happen when you signed up for a sandbox account (you may not have read their sandbox terms and conditions but it is all covered there).

[goldstrikn]

You’re right, I didn’t read all their terms and conditions. Thanks for the admonition and clarification.

[Michael DeLuca]

FYI, it appears that PayPal has revamped their sandbox IPN. I had to re-create my sandbox accounts and reenter the new PDT identity token in the eStore plugin settings, but I’m now again able to complete a test transaction. Hopefully this helps somebody.

[Author]

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