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A schedule ran at the wrong time

Check which time zone the schedule uses. It is your Shopify store's time zone, shown after "Times use" in step 3. When, and PopAutomate cannot change it. Every start and end time you pick is in that zone.

What you see​

  • The change started earlier or later than the start time you set.
  • An offer ended earlier than you expected, or the prices went back at 12:00 AM.
  • A weekly schedule started a minute after its time.
  • The schedule did not run at all.

Why it happens​

  • You read the time in a different zone than the schedule uses. The schedule uses your Shopify store's time zone, not your computer's or your phone's. If your store is in New York and you are in London, a schedule for 9:00 AM starts at 9:00 AM in New York.
  • You changed the time zone in Shopify recently. PopAutomate reads your store when you open the app and its last read is more than a day old, so the new zone shows from the next time you open the app after that. Until then, schedules still use the old zone. Then PopAutomate moves the next start of the schedules that are turned on, so a schedule for 9:00 AM still starts at 9:00 AM, now in the new zone.
  • The end time is 12:00 AM. PopAutomate reads 12:00 AM as the very start of the end date, not the end of it. An offer with the end date Friday and the end time 12:00 AM ends at midnight when Thursday turns into Friday, so Friday itself is not covered.
  • A weekly schedule starts when the next check finds it due. PopAutomate checks every minute, so a start can come a minute or so after its time.
  • The schedule is paused, a draft, or blocked. A paused schedule or a draft does not run. A schedule in a store without the Online Store sales channel stops before it changes anything.

Fix​

Check the time zone of the schedule​

  1. Open Schedules, select Edit on the schedule's row, and look at step 3. When. The line "Times use ..." names the zone.
  2. Enter the start and end times in that zone. For example, if the line says Eastern Time, which is New York's zone, and you are in London, 2:00 PM in London is 9:00 AM in New York for most of the year.
  3. Select Save.

The same zone is named in Schedules, in the history and in each run, as "Times in ...". Settings shows the store country and the time zone, with "Schedules run in ... It can't be changed here." To change the zone, change it in your Shopify store settings. PopAutomate follows it as described above. See Settings: language, time zone and regions and Your store's time zone, country and currency.

The end time is 12:00 AM​

  1. If you want the offer to include the whole end date, pick the end date after it and 12:00 AM, or pick 11:45 PM on the last day. Times come in steps of 15 minutes.
  2. Select Save.

If a discount already ended earlier than you wanted, set it up again with the end you want. If a discount did not end or the prices did not go back, see Prices did not go back after the schedule ended.

A weekly schedule​

A weekly schedule starts at its start time on each chosen day and puts the changes back at its end time on the same day, in the store's time zone. The next start is the next chosen day at the same clock time. How to set one up: Make a schedule repeat every week.

  1. If the first day starts on the date you chose, check that the date is one of the chosen days. Otherwise the first start is the next chosen day.
  2. A start can come a minute or so after its time, because PopAutomate checks every minute. That is not a fault.
  3. If the weekly schedule stopped after a failure, see My schedules are paused or missing from Home.

The start was off by more than a few minutes​

  1. Check the zone as above, then the start time in step 3. When on the Edit schedule page.
  2. A one-time schedule whose start has already passed is not started by Activate. Schedules shows This schedule's time has passed with Edit dates: pick a new start, then save with Turn it on under After saving.
  3. After the end time, check in your Shopify admin that a discount has ended. If it has not, follow Prices did not go back after the schedule ended.
  4. If none of the causes above fits, contact PopAutomate support as described in Get help with PopAutomate on Shopify, and send the details listed under Still stuck?.

The schedule did not run​

Still stuck?​

Contact PopAutomate support as described in Get help with PopAutomate on Shopify. Send:

  • the name of the schedule;
  • the start and end time you set, and the zone after "Times use";
  • the time the change really started or ended, and your store's time zone in Shopify.

Next: Start, end and repeat: how schedule timing works

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