[symanski]

Hi, hope someone can help on this one....

Without warning the PayPal API has stopped functioning. It was working fine, and I've not made any changes to the site but it stopped. PayPal say there's nothing wrong, my host says they haven't changed anything. But it's not working. I'm running Prestashop 1.4.8.3, and PayPal API. I've tried this with an older V2 API and also 3.2.1. and both give the same error:

Error occurred:


Please refer to logs:

• PayPal response:
• ->

This is right at the last stage of the check out just when it should be loading up the PayPal website and the customer then is expected to make the payment. So it's still on my site, but failing to move forward to PayPal. There is no other error message than what you see above.

What I have been able to do is take the entire website and database and put it on a Linux VMWare image and run it, after reconfiguring the parts that need to as it's now on a different server. It works fine this way. I've also had my brother do similar hosting it in Windows. I've even upgraded the site to V 1.5 (which makes the site an absolute mess!) and it still gives the same error message at check-out time.

Given that it's running ok on my own servers, but not my ISP host's server, can anybody suggest what could have caused this error? Until last week it was all running fine! Help!!

What I have figured out is that if we disconnect the internet connection on our test environment it gives the same error. So I believe the host is blocking the PayPal module somehow. What should we get unblocked for the PayPal module to work?

Edited by symanski, 03 October 2012 - 11:12 PM.

[fGaillard]

Hi symanski,

Could you please check that the cURL extension is installed ?

[symanski]

Yes, cURL extension is installed. I think it's a Firewall problem and here's how I know.

I've taken the website and installed on my local PC. It's then able to work perfectly. When I then switch off the router for the intenet but continue to use the local PC (as a server) I get the same error as when it's on my internet host. That is with no internet connection it does exactly the same as what it would if it were getting blocked.

Therefore, what I really need to know is what IP addresses should I get my internet host to open up to allow PayPal communication? I've been trying to find these addresses.

Testing a whole batch of them I've found one that I can get to but the internet host can't. But trying to block that one locally made no difference (although my router might not have done this correctly), so I suspect there's another list that's more authoritive.

Any suggestions anybody?

[djjohnny]

I have exactly the same problem.
I upgraded shop to version 1.4.9 and PayPal v3.2.2 does not work.


Error occurred:


Please refer to logs:
PayPal response:
->

Please solve it
It seems to me that this problem is only with some upgrades
when I install a new shop on my server so everything works fine and theme
my shop is unable to be redirected to PayPal long waiting and then the advantages mentioned error

[digitalcrate]

Getting the same here, Paypal version 3.2.4 and Prestashop version 1.4.7, compatibility issue maybe? How do we resolve?
This is an urgent situation for people as I'm sure you can appreciate. Especially as it affects payment acceptance through one of the worlds biggest portals, via an eCommerce platform....not good really, losing business, losing money

[symanski]

I've had a call from my host. Apparently it's PayPal who are blocking access from my host's servers!

My host asked me to contact PayPal and put me on to their technical team www.paypal.com/mts to see if I can find out why PayPal have decided to block my website / their servers.

Top marks to my host for being able to figure out this part. I've only been able to verify that a connection from my site to PayPal was being blocked by running php scripts which replicate a ping test. I created a scrip from here: http://akensai.com/p...pt-ping-status/

Then ran it on these IP addresses that I did a Who Is on the domain name:

api.paypal.com
173.0.84.66
173.0.88.66
173.0.84.98
173.0.88.98

api-aa.paypal.com
173.0.84.67
173.0.88.67
173.0.84.99
173.0.88.99


api-3t.paypal.com
173.0.84.69
173.0.88.69
173.0.84.101
173.0.88.101

api-aa-3t.paypal.com
173.0.84.68
173.0.88.68
173.0.84.100
173.0.88.100

You can effectively verify a blockage by testing on a different server from where your site is being hosted. I did it on my local PC which was set up as a webserver.

I have to stress much of this is beyond me - I'm just trying my best to figure it all out! If I'm wrong, sorry!

[benjamin utterback]

Getting the same here, Paypal version 3.2.4 and Prestashop version 1.4.7, compatibility issue maybe? How do we resolve?
This is an urgent situation for people as I'm sure you can appreciate. Especially as it affects payment acceptance through one of the worlds biggest portals, via an eCommerce platform....not good really, losing business, losing money

Hello, have you installed the backwards compatibility module?

[djjohnny]

Yes everything is fine.
Today I discovered that when I put a new shop on my server so it carried, but when I put it on another server so everything works well.
Problem is probably in that I have a block of ip in the PayPal system as symanski wrote in the previous post.
I desperately

[benjamin utterback]

Hello djjohnny, did you have to call PayPal and get that sorted out?

[symanski]

Hello djjohnny, did you have to call PayPal and get that sorted out?

I think from what he's saying he's put it on to a different host and then it worked. So same code, different server, works. Which is fairly similar to what I've found. Although we're on a Prestashop forum because that's the cart system we're using, it seems that really it's a PayPal problem.

I say this because we've now got several different people with similar stories, and I'm sure they won't all be with the same host. Therefore, it's PayPal who seemingly are being difficult here.

I would suggest that anybody having this problem contact PayPal through the link (http://www.paypal.com/mts) I've posted.

[benjamin utterback]

Hello symanski, thank you for this valuable information. When you say "similar stories" do you mean receiving the PayPal Error with no error code?

[symanski]

Hello symanski, thank you for this valuable information. When you say "similar stories" do you mean receiving the PayPal Error with no error code?

Yes, just as I posted above.

One of the clues that it's being blocked is the lack of error information from PayPal. If it had indeed made contact and produced an error the response from PayPal would have included an error code. With no code it's more likely that there was no contact. Hence the first test I did after copying the website to my own PC hosted server (VMware running Ubuntu with LAMPP) was to go through the shopping check out but without a connection to the wider web. And I got the exact same error as posted above. This gives you a high degree of confidence that you're on the right track. That being blocked access.

Next stage has been to prove this. And that's been to create a PHP script which then tests a bunch of IP addresses which should have access to PayPal. I found a bunch that I could get from my local machine, but the internet host couldn't. I went to my internet host asking them to clear these, but they've also been doing their own investigative work and figured it's PayPal who are blocking. I should add that my internet host (for over 12 years now) said they allow PayPal to pass through their network, but I thought perhaps PayPal had updated system which my host hadn't accounted for. Hence why I was incorrectly targeting them (sorry!).

I've also seen it reported in a few other places how PayPal has without warning stopped working. This isn't for a new site, or one that's being updated, but for one in active use. It seems not isolated to Prestashop either, which was also part of the diagnosis. So between all the threads of information we now have it's very much pointing to a PayPal problem where they're for reasons unknown blocking access.

I can assure you that in the last week I've done just about everything that I possibly can do to diagnose and correct this fault! From test hosting the site locally, to upgrading to V 1.5 of Prestashop (a disaster, which thankfully I was able to delete), to calling in favours. Next week I'd like to do some of the work I was supposed to be working...

[digitalcrate]

Hello, have you installed the backwards compatibility module?

Yep, nothings changed, same issue, same error. All pointing at Paypal now i think.

[symanski]

Yep, nothings changed, same issue, same error. All pointing at Paypal now i think.

I'd gone through the same. When you've got two identical sites (other than the settings you need to change to make it local, which shouldn't have any impact) and one works and the other doesn't helps you determine that the Prestashop system is working!

One of the first things I did was to upgrade everything that I could to see if something has become out of date. Putting V 1.5 on top of V 1.4.8.3 wasn't such a good idea as much of the site got broken. One-Click update failed, and the manual update seemed to go fine but the resulting site was a mess. Plus it screwed up the database so much that swapping the old site back in wouldn't work either. So I had to recover that from a back up too.

Forgive me if I'm not fully converse in Prestashop and database management as I'm more of an electronics engineer than web designer.

[digitalcrate]

I'd gone through the same. When you've got two identical sites (other than the settings you need to change to make it local, which shouldn't have any impact) and one works and the other doesn't helps you determine that the Prestashop system is working!

One of the first things I did was to upgrade everything that I could to see if something has become out of date. Putting V 1.5 on top of V 1.4.8.3 wasn't such a good idea as much of the site got broken. One-Click update failed, and the manual update seemed to go fine but the resulting site was a mess. Plus it screwed up the database so much that swapping the old site back in wouldn't work either. So I had to recover that from a back up too.

Forgive me if I'm not fully converse in Prestashop and database management as I'm more of an electronics engineer than web designer.

Yeah Ive heard some horror stories with one click upgrades to be honest, also just upgrades to v1.5 Always good to take a back up
No need to apologise, its great that you get involved in the community, its where a great deal of knowledge is gained
I've logged a "complaint" with Paypal so i will see where that leads. If i get any feedback i will let you know.

[djjohnny]

No one came to any solution?
I also wrote to PayPal and while no response.

[symanski]

No one came to any solution?
I also wrote to PayPal and while no response.

My hosts have written to them, and I've written to them yesterday too. As yet no reply.

This is after firstly contacting the regular service via email twice. Then phoning them. Before benig told to ask the MTS Technical Team. It's a bit of a run-around PayPal have been giving me!

[sayitonsticks]

Hi, I am having the same issue. Can I ask who your hosting provider is?

Dave

[symanski]

Hi, I am having the same issue. Can I ask who your hosting provider is?

I've sent you a memo as I don't think it's fair to say who it is publicly as it doesn't seem to be their fault. I asked another person who's having similar trouble and they're on a completely different provider too. And I've tried to see if I could use one of the free hosting services but they're blocked too.

It all points to PayPal especially when I've had it hosted on two different local machines via different ISP and different systems but both are able to connect to PayPal.

I've not had any reply from the MTS team at PayPal. I raised a complaint with PayPal today and got a useless reply later asking for the details (AGAIN!) which were already in the original complaint I raised. Getting the run-around with PayPal and I'm not in the slightest bit impressed. I'll be taking this higher with the FSA next.

[sayitonsticks]

Thanks for your PM. Fair point about not naming and shaming, especially if it's not the hosting providers fault. When did you guys notice this fault?