IPN Paypal Payment Notification Warning

I thought we had things working. because we had payments working etc from Paypal for a few weeks. But I started getting this e-mail today from Paypal

Subject: PayPal Instant Payment Notification Warning
From: “service@paypal.com”
Date: Sun, December 16, 2012 11:02 pm
To: Scott Federighi

Hello Scott Federighi,

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

http://www.thecontrariancorner.com/paymentreturn/paypalexpress

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

these are our settings in S2 :
Log into your PayPal® account and navigate to this section:
Account Profile -> Instant Payment Notification Preferences

Edit your IPN settings & turn IPN Notifications: On

You’ll need your IPN URL, which is:
http://thecontrariancorner.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1

I double checked the IPN Paypal section and everything seems enabled:

Notification URL

http://thecontrariancorner.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1

Message delivery

Enabled

I noticed there is an entry in the IPN w/ Proxy Key ( optional, for 3rd-party integrations )
Should I delete this?

Our website hosting service is GoDaddy

Logging is enabled in S2 and
I uploaded the server check php file to my wordpress directory, but not sure what to do next.

We are offering a 14 day free-trial so I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the PayPal notification warning.

• This topic was modified 4 years ago by  Joseph Acevedo.
• This topic was modified 4 years ago by  Joseph Acevedo.
• This topic was modified 4 years ago by  Joseph Acevedo.
• This topic was modified 4 years ago by  Joseph Acevedo.
• This topic was modified 4 years ago by  Joseph Acevedo.

Hi Joseph.

I uploaded the server check php file to my wordpress directory, but not sure what to do next.

After uplaoding the PHP file to the WP directory, open the file in your browser.

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

http://www.thecontrariancorner.com/paymentreturn/paypalexpress

That’d fail, it’s not the IPN URL for s2Member, unless you have another plugin that uses that IPN URL, in which case you should check with the developers of that plugin why it’s not working.

http://thecontrariancorner.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1

This is the right IPN URL for s2Member. It has to be that URL in your PayPal account if you’re using pro-forms, but it’s not required if you’re using PayPal Standard buttons, since s2Member sets the IPN URL on a transaction basis for those. [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› PayPal® Options -› PayPal® IPN Integration -> More Info[/hilite]

I noticed there is an entry in the IPN w/ Proxy Key ( optional, for 3rd-party integrations )
Should I delete this?

You mean here? [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› PayPal® Options -› PayPal® IPN Integration -> IPN w/ Proxy Key[/hilite]. That’s just an example, it’s not a setting.

We are offering a 14 day free-trial so I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the PayPal notification warning.

No, I double it does.

OK After uplaoding the PHP file to the WP directory, open the file in your browser.
http://thecontrariancorner.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1
into my browser get a blank page which i think is supposed to happen.

I do not have another plug-in for anything Paypal or subscription related. So I’m not sure how to solve this issue:
http://www.thecontrariancorner.com/paymentreturn/paypalexpress

We aren’t using PayPal Pro just the standard buttons.

Do I need to create/replace new PayPal buttons would that help?

should i send you the log file?

Should note sometimes everything works swimmingly with new subscibers getting processed & registered automatically and some days it does not.

Should note sometimes everything works swimmingly with new subscibers getting processed & registered automatically and some days it does not.

should i send you the log file?

Yeah, logs would be good. s2Member® » Private Contact Form

Do I need to create/replace new PayPal buttons would that help?

I’m not sure that they it would, but I’d still try it just in case.

I do not have another plug-in for anything Paypal or subscription related. So I’m not sure how to solve this issue:
http://www.thecontrariancorner.com/paymentreturn/paypalexpress

I’d contact PayPal to find out more details regarding this error. Is that the URL you have in your PayPal setting for the IPN? If so, update it to the s2Member one http://thecontrariancorner.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1 If not, you need PayPal to explain where that’s coming from and how you can solve it.

OK After uplaoding the PHP file to the WP directory, open the file in your browser.
http://thecontrariancorner.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1
into my browser get a blank page which i think is supposed to happen.

That’s the IPN URL. The server check tool’s PHP file is s2Member-check-my-server.php. So the URL to it is http://thecontrariancorner.com/s2Member-check-my-server.php and it seems fine, for the most part, just a warning about the memory limit. You can remove the server check tool once you’re done with it.

Should note sometimes everything works swimmingly with new subscibers getting processed & registered automatically and some days it does not.

should i send you the log file?

Just sent you log file with Admin / password stuff to get into the website thecontrariancorner.com

re: this issue
I’d contact PayPal to find out more details regarding this error. Is that the URL you have in your PayPal setting for the IPN? If so, update it to the s2Member one http://thecontrariancorner.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1 If not, you need PayPal to explain where that’s coming from and how you can solve it.

I think I may have found the issue. I re-did the old website which was not working very well at all, everything was replaced/rebuilt on a new server hosted by GoDaddy. THe new site I built uses S2member.

I believe an old customer may have used a “saved” or cached copy of an old paypal button to the old site. So the error message may have stemmed from that. (We notified all our old customers. Converted them to the new site manually and had them all sign up with the new paypal buttons with new pricing plans etc. There is always one – and I think this is was the error that caused this odd message:

I do not have another plug-in for anything Paypal or subscription related. So I’m not sure how to solve this issue:
http://www.thecontrariancorner.com/paymentreturn/paypalexpress

I think I have all the settings correct, but love for you guys to double check. While you have these privledges can I also get your help in setting up the S2 Badge on the Website? I’m down to the last setting that requires me changing some internal WordPress file

Regards,
Joe

I believe an old customer may have used a “saved” or cached copy of an old paypal button to the old site. So the error message may have stemmed from that. (We notified all our old customers. Converted them to the new site manually and had them all sign up with the new paypal buttons with new pricing plans etc. There is always one – and I think this is was the error that caused this odd message:

Ah, I see.

I do not have another plug-in for anything Paypal or subscription related. So I’m not sure how to solve this issue:
http://www.thecontrariancorner.com/paymentreturn/paypalexpress

I’d ask PayPal about it… Maybe it’s not in your IPN setting, but in a specific subscription. You could ask them to help you update that URL to the right one.

While you have these privledges can I also get your help in setting up the S2 Badge on the Website? I’m down to the last setting that requires me changing some internal WordPress file

wp-config.php? Okay, do the edits, make sure you’re not missing any other, and the badge should turn green.

Cristián,

After going through the IPN log files over at Paypal. It does seem that some older quarterly recurring payment profiles (from the old website) that were not cancelled do cause a problem. Basically once there is a “failure” in the IPN log, that failure lingers and prevents the next one or two proper new subscriptions or new PayPal IPN notfications to have errors as well.

It’s Paypal programming logic that generates a number of IPN errors – and this I got by searching the Internet to see if this problem appeared in other areas. It seems from the compaint forum threads. that PayPal does not admit to the issue which compounds the problem. The issue doesn’t crop up much because two things have to happen. You switch payment/subscription offerings AND you are a new server. Rare combo

I also got the S2 Member Security Badge working.

If you could just go through the logfiles that I sent and see if we are properly setup from your viewpoint that would be helpful.

Regards,
Joe

I see. Thanks for the update. It’d be much better if PayPal were more helpful with that…

If you could just go through the logfiles that I sent and see if we are properly setup from your viewpoint that would be helpful.

From the s2member logs? Which log file? What transaction would you like me to see in particular?