XF 2.1 Account upgrades not working after users make PayPal payments!

[tourmeister]

Howdy,

In the last few months, I have been having users that have been making recurring monthly payments via PayPal contact me to let me know their upgrades have expired even though their payments were processed via PayPal. I have had users try canceling their current subscriptions and start a new subscription, the idea being that perhaps something had just gone wonky with their current subscription. This is not working. I am at a loss to figure out why this is happening as it had been working just fine since January 2019 when I first switched over to XF2.0. Everything had been running smoothly so I did not made any changes on the PayPal end or to XF, not have I since this started.

My forum is completely supported by user donations, so this is a BIG deal for me. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mr Lucky]

On PayPal you can check the ipn history to see if there are issues there. Go to ipn settings and click on view history. The interface is abit odd. By default it only checks the last day but you can choose a date range.

 

[tourmeister]

Go to ipn settings and click on view history.

I have been looking for this on PayPal and cannot find it anywhere. I get here,



and if I click the link at the bottom, I get this

 

[Mr Lucky]

Well, that looks like you haven't even got notification URL there!

I would ring paytpal and ask how it got removed.

 

[tourmeister]

That is interesting. I had similar issues some months back and found where I had posted about it here in a different thread. I then added the correct URL and things were working fine until recently. I have no idea how or why the IPN notifications were disabled and the URL removed!? I just put the correct URL back in there and re-enabled notifications again. NOW I can see the history page, but the search feature isn't working!! PayPal gives me an error message saying that it cannot do the search because of technical problems... GAHH!

I hate that it seems like every time I get something fixed, they change something that makes it stop working...

 

[Mr Lucky]

I hate that it seems like every time I get something fixed, they change something that makes it stop working...

Well, as I said contact Paypal and find out what is going on.

 

[tourmeister]

So I just got this email from PayPal,

Please check your server that handles PayPal Instant Payment Notifications (IPN). IPNs sent to the following URL(s) are failing:

http://www.twtex.com/forums/payment_gateway.php?method=paypal

If you do not recognize this URL, you may be using a service provider that is using IPN on your behalf. Please contact your service provider with the above information. If this problem continues, IPNs may be disabled for your account.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this issue.

Thanks,

PayPal

Note the "http:" instead of "https:"

But when I go to PayPal and check my settings, this is what is showing,



It is a totally different URL than what they are sending the notifications to! I am wondering if this is why notifications got disabled previously?!

 

[Paul B]

That is the vbulletin callback URL.

Those members will need to cancel any existing recurring payments set up under vbulletin and resubscribe in XF.

 

[tourmeister]

That is the vbulletin callback URL.

Those members will need to cancel any existing recurring payments set up under vbulletin and resubscribe in XF.

I had no clue that the callback URL is set at the time the subscription is made. Thanks for clearing that up!

Will the subscriptions made in XF use the callback URL I put in for the Notification URL at PayPal or do I need to leave that blank?

 

[Mr Lucky]

I'm very confused now. You set the callback URL, so presumably you would have done that when you switched from vbulletin. Your post seems to imply that the URL is set by the subscription, that makes no sense. ????

 

[tourmeister]

I'll be honest. I don't remember EVER having to mess with IPN settings in the 14 or so years my forum was running on VB. The first time I recall messing with it was after upgrading to XF from vB (and it is DEFINITELY an upgrade!!). I did that back in December of 2018. I thought I got this sorted back then and entered the callback URL for XF at that time. Then in the last 6-8 weeks, I started getting users letting me know their account upgrades weren't renewing even though PayPal was making the payments.

I an not an IT guy or programmer. So trying to stay on top of changes in software can get frustrating at times. I will say that the support for XF from both staff and other users here has been much better than what I was used to with vB.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Then in the last 6-8 weeks, I started getting users letting me know their account upgrades weren't renewing even though PayPal was making the payments.

I can only repeat, ask Paypal (ie speak to them on the phone) what is going on. Also ask xenforo (via a ticket).

 

[Paul B]

Will the subscriptions made in XF use the callback URL I put in for the Notification URL at PayPal or do I need to leave that blank?

XF includes the callback URL in the transaction, so it's not necessary to enter it in PayPal, but we would recommend you do so anyway.

 

[tourmeister]

Thanks Brogan.