Sandbox Login Troubleshooting

Learn how to troubleshoot the most common reasons why users can’t log in to a sandbox.

User Account Issues

Resolve login issues caused by a problem with the user’s account.

Tip A frozen user is a common reason for sandbox login issues. As part of good application lifecycle management governance, be sure to include information about who needs access to your sandboxes in your project documentation. Be sure that sandbox users understand that they’ll be frozen if they don’t log in to the sandbox within the first 60 days that their user was granted access.

Reason	Resolution
The user is frozen because an admin froze the user in the sandbox.	Unfreeze the affected user. To avoid future sandbox login issues, tell users that you plan to remove their sandbox access (freeze them), or inform them after they’re frozen.
The user is frozen because they aren’t part of the public group used to determine access when creating or refreshing the sandbox.	Unfreeze the affected user. Add the relevant users to the public group, so that they're included during the next sandbox refresh. See Determine Who Has Sandbox Access.
The user is frozen due to inactivity because they didn’t log in to the sandbox within 60 days of the sandbox being created, refreshed, or cloned.	Unfreeze the affected user. To avoid future sandbox login issues, make sure to provide sandbox access when users require it and not too far ahead of time. See Inactive User Freezing.
The user is frozen because their account was frozen in the source org before the sandbox was created, cloned, or refreshed. For new or refreshed sandboxes, the source org is production. For cloned sandboxes, the source org is another sandbox.	Unfreeze the affected user. To avoid future sandbox login issues, make sure that the user is active in the source of the sandbox prior to the next refresh or clone.
The user doesn’t exist in the sandbox because they didn’t exist in the source org at the time that the sandbox was created.	Add the user to the sandbox. To avoid future sandbox login issues, make sure that the user exists in the source of the sandbox prior to the next refresh or clone.

Unavailable Sandbox

Resolve login problems caused by an issue with the sandbox.

Reason	Resolution
The sandbox expired after 180 days of inactivity.	Create a new sandbox. To prevent the sandbox from expiring, make sure that at least one user logs in to the sandbox every 180 days.
The sandbox was deleted after its refresh interval.	Create a new sandbox. To avoid future sandbox login issues, make sure to notify users when sandboxes are deleted or refreshed.
The sandbox wasn’t activated after a refresh.	Confirm if the sandbox refresh has been activated and that the sandbox status is Completed.

Login Errors

Resolve errors while logging in to a sandbox.

Reason	Resolution
The incorrect username was entered.	Confirm that the format of the sandbox username is correct. A sandbox username is the production username with the sandbox name appended at the end. For example, if a username for a production org is user1@acme.com, and the sandbox is named “test,” the modified username to log in to the sandbox is user1@acme.com.test. In some cases, the username might be appended with extra characters to make them unique. The Salesforce admin can check usernames from Setup within the sandbox environment.
The incorrect password was entered.	Confirm that the password entered is the same as the user’s password for the source org at the time of the sandbox creation. You can reset your password by following the Forgot Your Password workflow. If you don’t receive the email from this workflow, the Salesforce admin can check the email address associated with the user in the sandbox.
The sandbox is configured with single sign-on (SSO) and logging in with a username and password isn’t permitted.	Enable sandbox login with a username and password, or set up the sandbox with SSO.
The sandbox URL is incorrect.	Confirm that the URL matches the URL in the email sent when the sandbox was created and completed.