Error #1. User authentication failed.

I’ve just integrated the PRO module and setup a sandbox pro account. Insofar as I can tell I’ve got all the settings right. On my Membership Options Page I’ve got a standard paypal button as well as a PRO form. The standard button works well (so assume that least the basic configuration is ok). However, regardless of what payment options I choose, the PRO form returns: Error #1. User authentication failed.

Inspecting the logfile, I cannot detect anything that appears fundamentally wrong. The USER, PARTNER, VENDOR, PWD values match those set in the sandbox merchant account I set.

'USER' => '8NSU4QDKUO',
'PARTNER' => 'PayPal',
'VENDOR' => 'ZOGT6FTZZ7',
'PWD' => 'YPD0UN0QJJGHGDOK',

The output I’m getting in the logfile:

RESULT=1&RESPMSG=User authentication failed
array (
 	'RESULT' => '1',
 	'RESPMSG' => 'User authentication failed',
  '__error' => 'Error #1. User authentication failed.',

Any assistance would be highly appreciated.
Thanks,
Eran

Hi Eran,

There have been several seemingly random issues related to the PayPal Sandbox. In my experience, the PayPal Sandbox has not been very reliable. I recommend conducting live tests with 1 cent transactions as that currently seems to be the best way to test.

Hi Raam,
Thanks much for the quick response.

I ran additional tests over the past days and the problem seems to arise from the payflow setup. If I leave the payflow fields empty I’m able to use PRO forms with the sandbox and transactions appear to go smoothly. However, when I enter the payflow details (thus making s2member default to the payflow communication protocol), the “user authentication” error recurs.

I’m wondering if the issue is related to something I’m missing (most likely related to the configuration on the paypal side, as the s2member config is short and straightforward). I’d appreciate feedback from anyone who managed to get payflow in the sandbox to work.

Thanks again,
Eran

Hi Eran,

PayFlow is new to PayPal and we only recently added support for it to s2Member. It’s possible PayFlow doesn’t work with the Sandbox yet. I’ll send a message to the lead developer to see if he can shed any light on this. Thank you for your patience.

Hi there. Thanks for the heads up on this request for support.

You are both correct. PayPal’s sandbox system is NOT capable of running test transactions through the sandbox, where the language being spoken, is that of the Payflow API. I find this to be extremely annoying :-)

While it seems that PayPal is making strides in their attempt to merge Payflow into other PayPal services, Payflow still feels more like a sub-division of the PayPal company. Most likely because Payflow I believe, was once owned by Verisign, and purchased by PayPal. It all makes for a VERY confusing developer experience in my opinion.

Anyway… it’s NOT possible (at this time), to run test transactions through the PayPal Sandbox, where those test transactions are speaking the Payflow language. The PayPal sandbox is not capable of this. It is possible however, to setup a Payflow trial account, running in test mode.

Instructions:

1. Setup a test/trial account here:
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_payflow-get-started-outside

2. Configure s2Member to use the Payflow API Credentials from this test/trial account.

3. Put s2Member into Sandbox mode.

4. Run your test transactions.

Is this the same as running Sandbox test transactions. No, not exactly.
Is this the same as running a PayPal Pro account with Payflow edition. No, it’s not.
~ Unfortunately, it’s the only way I’ve found to run test transactions against Payflow.

Thanks much – very helpful…

And, as with other PayPal services, probably the best way to test your transactions is to do real, live transactions for 1 cent, even if you had the Sandbox option. Really, avoiding the extra complications that the PayPal testing environment adds is worth every cent you spend with live 1 cent transactions.