Paypal - session logged out - please sign in again

Hi
I am having problems with Paypal modules.
1. Trying to use Paypal IPN which seems to work okay if you already have an account set up - but if you want to pay by card you get the following error:
"Your session has timed out, please log in again"
Initially I never followed all the instruction and missed out the bit about amending the shop account. Hving done that I still have the same error message and I can not see what is wrong - any ideas?

2. Having got annoyed with PayPal IPN - I tried Paypal express and installed it as per the instructions. This now gets to the very end and says it is unable to completed the transaction. I ran the debug script and as far as I can see this is the fault:

Quote:

---

Request Headers: array (
0 => 'Content-Type: text/namevalue',
1 => 'X-VPS-Timeout: 45',
2 => 'X-VPS-VIT-Client-Type: PHP/cURL',
3 => 'X-VPS-VIT-Integration-Product: PHP::Zen Cart WPP-NVP',
4 => 'X-VPS-VIT-Integration-Version: 0.1',
)
Request Parameters: array (
'ITEMAMT' => '0.01',
'SHIPPINGAMT' => '0.84',
'AMT' => '0.85',
'L_NUMBER0' => '0',
'L_QTY0' => '1',
'L_NAME0' => 'A Widget for Testing',
'L_AMT0' => '0.01',
'L_TAXAMT0' => '0.00',
'SHIPTONAME' => 'John White',
'SHIPTOSTREET' => '16 Mill Hill Close',
'SHIPTOSTREET2' => '',
'SHIPTOCITY' => 'Shoreham by Sea',
'SHIPTOSTATE' => 'West Sussex',
'SHIPTOZIP' => 'BN43 5TP',
'SHIPTOCOUNTRY' => '',
'BUTTONSOURCE' => 'ZenCart-EC_us',
'TOKEN' => 'EC-25U4802********',
'PAYERID' => '5NUH7*********',
'PAYMENTACTION' => 'Sale',
'NOTIFYURL' => 'http://ttlntl.co.uk/shop/ipn_main_handler.php',
'METHOD' => 'DoExpressCheckoutPayment',
'CURRENCYCODE' => 'GBP',
'USER' => 'john_api1.ttlshop.co.uk',
'PWD' => '****************',
'VERSION' => '2.3',
'SIGNATURE' => '****************************************************RmhD',
)
Response: array (
'ACK' => 'Failure',
'L_ERRORCODE0' => '81210',
'L_SHORTMESSAGE0' => 'Invalid Parameter',
'L_LONGMESSAGE0' => 'Country : Invalid Parameter',
'L_SEVERITYCODE0' => 'Error',

---

Which I read as a fault in the country selection but that is correct as UK - anyone got any ideas ?

Failing that is there someone who could have a quick look at it for if I pm all the necessary details?

John

1. I would recommend starting by patching it with the latest updates:
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56216

2. Then for the IPN mode I'd be checking configuration settings:
http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/PayPal

Okay I have updated the cart as suggested above and I have improvement.

1. The Paypal IPN still refuses to play - the order appears to go through, the money is taken, the success email is sent but I do not receive an email with the order on it, nor does the order show up in the database.

So, I removed that mod and focused on the Paypal express.

2. Success, customer can order, can pay, gets notification and I get notification of payment and also order details BUT ....
I also get an email with the following:

Quote:

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IPN FATAL ERROR::Could not establish fsockopen. Host Details = www.paypal.com:80 (0) Failed to parse address ""

---

but everything is working fine.
So, I removed Paypay IPN from the cart, which is where I last saw this message, I unchecked the IPN button within paypal and still I am receiving this message - any ideas??

The express checkout module also triggers incoming IPN notices from PayPal. In many cases these are ignored for express checkout transactions ; however, in the case of delayed transactions such as echecks etc they are important for completing orders.

The IPN payment module itself relies on IPNs exclusively for order completion.

Your problem appears to be related to restrictions in your hosting configuration. I suspect that the error message you reported is caused by one or more of three conditions:
a) your server's SSL configuration isn't complete and thus your fsockopen() function calls are failing; or
b) your server has a block on external communications via fsockopen(); or
c) your server cannot successfully resolve DNS names to IP addresses during fsockopen() function calls.

You'll likely need to have your hosting company deal with this.

Hi
Been in touch with my hosting company and this was the reply - that
A - you do not need an SSL as PayPal handles this.
B - fsockopen is not disabled
C - The server DNS works fine.

Must admit this means nothing to me

Have you any other ideas?

In your Admin->Configuration->My Store settings, do you have CURL PROXY REQUIRED set to true ? If yes, why? What happens if you change it to false?

Who is your hosting company?

Just had a customer try to use the cart - this is his email

[FONT=Courier New]John[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]I tried buying by Paypal once again tonight, but still get 'session timed [/FONT][FONT=Courier New]out'. I get a screen now showing my PayPal credit card details (with stars [/FONT][FONT=Courier New]aand the last 4 numbers). I thought I would try to 'chnage' the credit card [/FONT][FONT=Courier New]details (just to check it was still correct), and straight away I got [/FONT][FONT=Courier New]'session timed out' again. Went back to basics and went through the buying [/FONT][FONT=Courier New]again and this time clicked on 'buy with credit card' The next screen was[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]'order accepted', order number 00000012 etc. But it didn't give me a chance [/FONT][FONT=Courier New]to enter any crdeit card details![/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]Alan[/FONT]


The order notification came through to me but showed as a cheque/money order purchase.

Does that assist in trying to sort this out?

The hosting company is UKHost4U.com.

The Curl Proxy was enabled - I disabled it and ran a test purchase and it seems okay

I wonder if I could ask you to do a test purchase - there is a test purchase widget for 1p and a flat rate postage for 1p.

Of course I'll refund it back to you via paypal if it works.

site is www.ttlshop.co.uk

THanks
John

If you could indulge this customer (or someone else) to repeat the process again and take screen-shots of all error messages, that would be a help.

It sounds like the timeout errors occurred on the PayPal pages ... which Zen Cart has no control over.

It also sounds like when they returned to your site to try another payment option, they selected "Check/Money Order" for payment; hence the order coming through as such.

I see no timeouts on your Zen Cart site. They must all be on the PayPal end. Screenshots will be a huge help.

PayPal transaction completed without errors or difficulties.

Thanks - those tests went through okay and the notifications and money appeared. I have transferred the 2p back into your account - Thanks

Glad it's working.

Will be building in a test to make sure empty proxy settings are ignored in case someone else flips the same switch by mistake.

THanks - but just had this from the customer -


John
I can't purchse the widget. I tried PayPal .session timed out as soon as I click 'Buy'. I tried to enter my credit card details to see if that is possible, but as soon as I get to the 'Enter Code to Review Order' screen, everytime I enter the correct code it is wrong. If I click the 'Need Help' link, Quicktime reads out a different set of letters/numberes to what is displayed! I can onlt return to the shop and not get any further. Alan


Can't understand what he is doing wrong - I haven't got a "enter code to review order" box that I'm aware of and certainly not a "need help" link with quicktime.

I have asked him to explain but I am beginning to think his problem lies with PayPal

Have I missed something?

Yes, I think this is a PayPal interface problem. When a new customer attempts to pay via PayPal, they are prompted with a number of fields to complete. Some are CC-related. Some are personal information. At the end, there is a captcha screen where letters/numbers are displayed as graphics so as to avoid auto-form-filling by bots.

It seems that while navigating between these pages, the customers session is timing out and information is getting out of sync.

Things that might help narrow down the cause a bit would include:
- what country is he in?
- what currency is he paying with?
- does he have a PayPal account already? If so is he using it in this test (I doubt it)

Step-by-step screenshots would be a lifesaver to show the PayPal tech staff exactly where the problem is occurring in relation to described actions.

sorry about this, but this member still can not purchase from my zencart - still getting session timed out warnings.

In order to check his account I re-opened my OSCommerce shop and asked him to purchase from that - he did so without a hitch.

I appreciate the two carts are different but are you aware of any fundamental differences between the two Paypal interfaces that could cause this problem - I have compared settings and can not see anything obvious.

Needless to say - I really want to move away from the OSCommerce cart as I prefer Zencart but for the sake of customers spending their money I might have to re-consider - please help :down:

I have posted several questions above in order to collect information to find out what could possibly be causing this, as this is the only case I've heard of having the problem you mention. If you care to answer those, I might be able to investigate further.

I,m having this same problem with my site (www.thecomicbookshop.co.uk). It only hapens with some customers and others are able to check out just fine using Paypal. timeout seems to be happening while tey are at the Paypal site. I've tried to replicate the problem myself but it works fine everytime I try it with whichever brower I try so I've been at a complete loss as to what is causing the problem.

Thanks for that - I was beginning to think I was the only one and imagining the fault.

I'm sorry DrByte I did reply to you but have just noticed that it never showed - guess I didn't hit the post button.

Anyway the customer is from UK and buying in pounds.
He has an account but has the same problem whether he is using the account, or trying as a non-member with a different email address and credit card.

this problem still exists with that particular customer - is there a solution?
John

Have you applied the latest patch to PayPal?
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56216

What browser is this customer using?
What operating system?
Does the problem continue if attempted from another computer?
What firewall software/hardware is the customer using?

I am having this same problem with PayPal IPN. I don't know if the customers are trying to use a credit card or if they have a PayPal account - I didn't think to ask them that as I have never experienced this problem with my previous shopping cart system. I have had at least 5 customers tell me they are getting a timeout message when trying to pay with PayPal. The only patch I can seem to find is for PayPal Express which I am not using.

The patches posted in the PayPal Patch thread are for "PayPal" ... both IPN and Express Checkout:
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56216

1. When did these customers start complaining? Over what time period have you had these complaints?
2. Do you see the same thing when you do a test transaction? Can you reproduce the problem?
3. Were there any successful transactions between those that encountered the timeout message ?
4. What is PayPal tech support telling you about this when you try to reproduce it with them on the phone ?


Instructions for testing PayPal transactions can be found here:
http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/PayPal

Instructions for enabling debug logging can be found here:
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61199

I installed the patch files but still have the same problem.

1. I have had complaints since I began taking orders last Friday (3/16).
2. My test transactions went through fine both with PayPal account and credit card payment.
3. Yes, I have had several successful transactions.
4. I emailed Paypal and have not heard back from them yet.

I just switched to this format last week, before that I was using another shopping cart system and host, using PayPal for payments and have never had this problem. The people that are experiencing this are return customers and did not have this problem with the previous shopping cart.

Have you seen this error message yourself ? Are you able to reproduce it on-demand ?
I can't .. which is why I'm asking. It's kinda hard to fix something that can't be triggered easily, let alone confirmed that a solution is found, etc. Hmmmm...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DrByte

Have you seen this error message yourself ? Are you able to reproduce it on-demand ?
I can't .. which is why I'm asking. It's kinda hard to fix something that can't be triggered easily, let alone confirmed that a solution is found, etc. Hmmmm...

---

No I have not, I just had someone email me what they received trying to process a payment with their paypal account:

Enter Payment Information

[IMG]aoladp://MA17026817-0001/pixel.gif[/IMG]
Your session has timed out, please log in again.

PayPal is the authorized payment processor for Bo Peep's Wool Shop. To continue, please enter the required information below. Learn more about PayPal.

I have not been able to reproduce this issue, my test payments went through without any problems. I understand it is difficult to figure out a problem without being able to reproduce it but I know this is happening because these are regular customers that are experiencing it.

Where are these customers located?
What are their IP addresses?
Are they all AOL users?
Do they show up in your whos-online tracking (admin->tools->whos online) ? (this list only shows the last 24 minutes).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrByte

Where are these customers located? they are in different places
What are their IP addresses? I don't have that information
Are they all AOL users? I don't know
Do they show up in your whos-online tracking (admin->tools->whos online) ? I haven't checked this (this list only shows the last 24 minutes).

---

..........

To anyone having this problem .... please determine whether or not the customer is accessing your site and/or PayPal via AOL. This may or may not be an AOL issue, but could very well be a proxy issue with various ISPs.

AOL has some odd server/proxy round-robin behaviour, which often causes the address of their "request" to change each time they click a link on a webpage. Thus, if PayPal (or even your store) was expecting them to come from a certain address in order to ensure they were in fact the same person who was logged in at a previous screen ... but they come from a different address (IP address from AOL for example), then PayPal will treat them as logged out and ask them to sign in again.

There's nothing Zen Cart can do about that with respect to PayPal transactions.

I have 3 customer acounts in the database with aol email addresses. Only one of these has made a purchase (using the Paypal IPN). The other two have made no purchases which makes me think that they maybe had a problem with the checkout but did not say anything about it and simply left. of the people who have mentioned a problem, some of them have email addresses with domain names relating to other ISPs. There doesn't seem to be any correl######## there.

I have installed the patch and haven't had any reports of problems since then but its obviously impossible to say whether anything has been solved when I have always been unable to reproduce the problem on any of my computers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thecomicbookshop

... its obviously impossible to say whether anything has been solved when I have always been unable to reproduce the problem on any of my computers.

---

Completely understandable ... same here !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrByte

To anyone having this problem .... please determine whether or not the customer is accessing your site and/or PayPal via AOL.

AOL has some odd server/proxy round-robin behaviour, which often causes the address of their "request" to change each time they click a link on a webpage. Thus, if PayPal (or even your store) was expecting them to come from a certain address in order to ensure they were in fact the same person who was logged in at a previous screen ... but they come from a different address (IP address from AOL for example), then PayPal will treat them as logged out and ask them to sign in again.

There's nothing Zen Cart can do about that with respect to PayPal transactions.

---

I used AOL to do my test transactions - both PayPal and credit card through PayPal and they went through fine so I don't see how this could be the problem.

I understand the ZenCart can't do anything with respect to PayPal transactions but I did not have this problem with the other shopping cart system I was using (with the same customers) so it seems to me that ZenCart has some part in the equation.

slightly different scenerio but with my last webhost I was suddenly made aware that some NTL users were unable to view my complete site. A lot of head scratching and pulling of hair took place until I venture onto a forum called NTLHell.co.uk or similar. I then posed the problem to them and asked that as many as possile tried to gain access to my account - a great response - some could, some couldn't, some did sometimes.

It wasn't until I had a lot of replies I realised it mainly localised in South of England that the users could not see the site. It turned out to be the NTL router/server at Brighton was blocking my site although they wouldn't admit it at least I had a workround wich was to get customers to alter their proxy server to a northern one - problem solved.

The reason for posting this is to possibly explain the some can, some can't problem - I haven't had time to research properly but I googled "AOL problem" and came up with a couple of forums that might help being most members are AOL users - just need to ask for them to do test purchases etc.. - perhaps problem might reveal itself clearer

Just a thought
John

My customer that have been having this problem are in different countries as well as different states here in the US. The ones that have responded to me regarding the AOL issue DO NOT have AOL.

What is your URL ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrByte

What is your URL ?

---

http://www.bopeepswoolshop.com/zencart

Have I been forgetten?

Forgotten? no.

But haven't got enough data nor been able to reproduce the problem consistently enough to have any sort of fix for it.

My shop has been extremely quiet for weeks, then I receive an email stating he has been having the same problem and getting a "session timed out" reply when using Paypal - thought I had resolved it - sadden to realise I hadn't.

Has there been any updates before I re-activate the old OSCommerce site again <sigh> :(

Further to the above - I have applied the latest patch - had my customer check it and it still times out the session.
He is a yahoo customer in uk and has not had this trouble previously

DR.Byte - If I was to check with the customer concerned - and gave you his email address and my store details - would that help in finding out the problem?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TTLNTL

DR.Byte - If I was to check with the customer concerned - and gave you his email address and my store details - would that help in finding out the problem?

---

It's possible that having that information may be helpful. If I could log into your store using his account to do a test, maybe we might get even further. You can PM me with whatever details your customer is comfortable sharing privately. Confidentiality assured of course.

I have contacted him and just awaiting his reply.

Just a thought - I have both Paypal IPN & Paypal Express checkout both installed and active - is it possible that they are "confusing" each other on ocassions?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TTLNTL

Just a thought - I have both Paypal IPN & Paypal Express checkout both installed and active - is it possible that they are "confusing" each other on ocassions?

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Shouldn't matter.

Dr Byte - just sent you a PM with all the details I think you need - good luck!!

any luck yet?

A patch was just released which updates a number of things.
While this timeout issue wasn't specifically addressed, several overall improvements were made, and may help.
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56216

If you can test and post back, it'll give me a better feel for what's left once I can look at it, probably tomorrow.

I have install the update.
I tested the setup myself and there were no problems with either the Paypal express nor the Paypal IPN - both transactions went through smoothly.

I asked my customer Matthew, who is having the problem using my store and this was his reply to me:

When trying with the yellow checkout paypal button it says
This session contains invalid data.
And when using the Paypal IPN number it says the same thing as above.

Sorry it doesnt appear to be working again

Have you tried to email him directly - he has no problem with you contacting him?
John

A brief update ... your site is using URL masking, which is no longer compatible with PayPal's website-payments-standard product. The PayPal IPN interface checks the URL in the browser, and if it's not a paypal address, it blocks the transaction in order to prevent spoofing and fraud.

Turning off URL masking on your site should resolve the matter, at least according to PayPal tech support's suggestion after looking at your site.

Naturally, you could retain your URL masking if you chose to use PayPal Express Checkout instead of PayPal IPN module.

:clap: YES :clap: YES :clap:

I altered the web forwarding on the domain names from framed to un-framed, which had the effect of show the true url on the browser and PROBLEM SOLVED.

It was as stated above, the url shown was not as PayPal expected and their security system prevented the transaction from going further. It was only happening to a few people as most were, by chance, going through using the path that PayPal recognised and not one of the "covered" routes.

Hope this helps other with a similar problem
Thanks to DR Byte - you're good !

John