Sorry to hear all this. I tried to reproduce the issue with the following browsers but failed:
Windows Firefox version 100.0 (64-bit)
Windows Chrome version 101.0.4951.54 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Windows Edge version 101.0.1210.39 (Official build) (64-bit)
If you could supply us with steps to reproduce that would be awesome. And, I hear you that the issue randomly occurs and — as a Software Test Engineer — feel your pain so just do the best you can do to let us know what OS, browser version, etcetera you’re typically using when you see the issue. As well as anything else you feel might help us also see what you’re seeing.
Sincerely and thanks in advance,
Randy Sandberg
Hi,
I’m using Mac OS Monterey version 12.3.1, and Safari version 15.4.
The only thing I do to get the error is go directly to my website page and the error is there. I notice the error doesn’t appear on my mobile, and again it only happens periodically but I have no idea why. Right now it is giving me the error when I go to that page. /Users/j.t.reece/Desktop/Screen Shot 2022-05-06 at 10.18.02 AM.png
Are you saying that you do see the benchmark signup form when you go to the page?
https://nonprofit.citygenesis.org/index.php/newsletter/
Hi,
Ah, on a Mac. Okay, I’ll try to reproduce your issue again on my Mac using Safari when I get home from work. And correct, I was able to see your signup form at https://nonprofit.citygenesis.org/index.php/newsletter/ on my Windows 10 PC using the latest Firefox, Chrome, and Edge browsers.
P.S., Do me a favor, when you see the issue again try a different browser such as Firefox and/or Chrome and let us know what you see. Moreover, be sure to completely wipe your cache whenever you try to reproduce the issue.
Sincerely,
Randy Sandberg
Thanks for taking the first look at this report, Randy 🙂
Back in March I had an email exchange with a person named Thavi about what sounded like a similar issue. Maybe related, maybe not. I haven’t heard back from them since that time. I’ll forward that exchange for Randy to reference if it may be of help.
We discussed their site a bit and I provided a code snippet to run a diagnostic. When the trouble was reproducing that diagnostic indicated a missing API key (permanent value) and we connected that to the UI token (4 hour renewing value) failing to renew during its normal cycle. One key difference though is I don’t think it would ever renew in their case until they re-connected to Benchmark.
I was curious about a couple of plugins that were running there, namely the SiteGround Optimizer caching plugin and one called Disable Real MIME Check v1.0.
I’ll check back with Thavi to see if there’s any further updates. Meanwhile, hope the diagnostics can help Randy trace this down a bit. I’ll let you know if any further ideas come to mind as well.
Hi, thank you both.
I pulled up the page on Google Chrome Version 101.0.4951.54 (Official Build) (x86_64) and I initially got the error message but the form then showed up correctly after I refreshed the page.
The form is also now showing up correctly in Safari even though I didn’t do a recent cache clear in the last few hrs. It seems to have a mind of its own as to when it shows the form correctly or the error. I’ve done cache clears in which the page still shows the error after the wipe.
FYI, I have a similar signup form on another website https://citygenesis.org/citygenesis-newsletter/ and it too periodically gives the error message. Right now, it’s showing up correctly on google chrome but on Safari it’s giving me the error. And this is after wiping the cache.
That error comes from the plugin being unable to obtain the signup form from Benchmark’s server using your API key.
Background on that — When the signup form is pulled using that API key it gets cached for 4 hours or whenever you flush unexpired transients in your database. After that time it re-requests the signup form code to display on the site. The error means it was unable to do so.
If you happen to have WooCommerce installed you can enable our debug log setting and use its interface to view the communication and the specific error within. I’ve got a code snippet that can run the test in realtime as well, for when it’s acting up.
I’m also following-up with the other user to see what they ended up with.
The other user got back to me and stated that they continue to see the problem. So we do have two reproducible cases, just so far not on our end. I’d like to get a list of your plugins, theme, and hosting description so I can see if there’s any clear pattern there.
Just a reminder that this seems to be happening only using Safari. On Chrome the form shows up correctly.
For the following https://nonprofit.citygenesis.org/index.php/newsletter/
WP Theme: Twenty Nineteen
Hosting: https://www.hostinger.com
Plugins:
all-in-one-wp-migration
7.59
benchmark-email-lite
3.4
give
2.19.8
jetpack
10.9
litespeed-cache
4.6
real-time-find-and-replace
4.0.2
the-events-calendar
5.14.2.1
ultimate-member
2.3.2
updraftplus
1.22.12
wpforms-lite
1.7.4.1
wp-rss-aggregator
4.20
wordpress-seo
18.8
For the following https://citygenesis.org/citygenesis-newsletter/
WP Theme: Twenty Sixteen
Hosting: https://www.hostinger.com
Plugins:
all-in-one-wp-migration
7.59
benchmark-email-lite
3.4
taxonomy-terms-order
1.6
contextual-related-posts
3.2.3
countdown-timer-ultimate
2.0.7
extendify
0.8.0
jetpack
10.9
litespeed-cache
4.6
maxbuttons
9.2
ml-slider
3.27.3
recent-posts-widget-with-thumbnails
7.1.1
remove-footer-credit
1.0.13
instagram-feed
6.0.5
updraftplus
1.22.12
woocommerce
6.4.1
woocommerce-payments
4.1.0
woocommerce-services
1.25.27
wpforms-lite
1.7.4.1
wp-post-hide
1.0.6
wordpress-seo
18.8
Thanks for those details. I do see a caching plugin, which is one thing that is consistent with the other user reporting a similar problem, though theirs is the SiteGround hosting and caching plugin. I’ve been watching your signup form all day with Safari browser and it loads fine for me. I suspect it’s if you’re authenticated within your Safari browser then caching gets disabled for you (and all authenticated users) and you see a fresher version of the page indicating the error before others will see it.
I’m adding some further diagnostics in a version to be released shortly…
Hi, thanks for helping me to understand what’s going on here. I’m relieved to also know the form is showing up fine outside of the specific error I’m seeing using Safari from my end.
Thanks for continuing the diagnostics to resolve the issue.
I’ve added a couple small diagnostic outputs in the just released v4.0 plugin. After you upgrade I’ll take a look at that URL periodically to see when it shows up.
Fyi, this is the error the page is giving me now using Safari. I believe you did explain this was the issue:
There was an error obtaining the Benchmark signup form. (401) Invalid/Missing AuthToken in request
https://nonprofit.citygenesis.org/index.php/newsletter/
Can you explain “then log into my site to see what’s wrong, it then automatically resolves itself”? I’d like to know the steps taken to surmise which step is fixing it and how.
It sounds like the wp_options row wpbme_key in your database is going empty and if you reconnect to Benchmark it then repopulates it allowing the form to be downloaded again.
wp_options rows aren’t supposed to disappear unless they are transient, which the form itself is so that it can update from the server, but the API key is not transient.
Also, can you send a system report? You can see this under WP Admin > Tools > Site Health > Info > Copy site info to clipboard (button).
I’m considering adding a backup cache of the signup form, so when the 4-hour clear occurs and refresh has an error, it can restore from the last copy. As sign-up forms do change on the Benchmark Email UI and servers, I don’t see that as a long-term fix. However this could help if the problem could be triggered by server object caching misalignment (back end and front end miscommunication) or perhaps a network trouble that clears up later. I could append some note (cached x/y/z hh:mm:ss) to a restored form so we could see how often it occurs. That’s an idea. I’m mulling over some…
FYI I’ve released v4.1 with a new longer-term cache as a backup to the 4-hour signup form cache whenever it fails. Hope this resolves the trouble!
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