NetSuite Sandbox FAQ

See the following for answers to common questions about NetSuite sandboxes.

I do not see my new sandbox when I log in. Why not?

When you are notified that your new sandbox has been provisioned, the initial account status of the sandbox is Offline and the refresh status is Pending Copy to Sandbox. Your company’s NetSuite account administrator must log in to your production account, go to the Sandbox Accounts page, and click the Copy Data to Sandbox button. Clicking the button initiates the copy of production data to the sandbox. When the data copy is complete, on the Sandbox Accounts page, the sandbox account status displays a green check (√) indicating the sandbox is online and available.

For more information, see Using the Sandbox Accounts Page.

How can I tell if I am in my sandbox?

As always, a sandbox logo is shown in the header.
There is also an Account Type column on the My Roles page so you can distinguish between your production and sandbox accounts. Sandbox accounts have the account type SANDBOX.
From the Change Roles list it is indicated by an SB logo beside any sandbox accounts.

How can I differentiate between my production and sandbox accounts?

To help differentiate between account types, administrators can change the name of each account to include the type by going to Setup > Company > Company Information and changing the Company Name. Users can go to the Set Preferences page and color code their accounts by changing the Color Theme under Appearance.

Can I access my production and sandbox accounts simultaneously?

Yes. For details, see Simultaneous Access to More than One NetSuite Account Type.

What is the difference between a sandbox account and a development account?

Sandboxes are intended for full end-to-end testing, using your production data. Development accounts are intended for unit testing, and should only contain test data.

For more information, see NetSuite Development Accounts, Understanding NetSuite Account Types, and NetSuite Sandbox.

For information about working in these different types of accounts with SuiteApps, see SuiteApps and Sandbox Accounts and SuiteApp Development Process with SuiteBundler.

What features can I test in a sandbox?

Many NetSuite features can be tested in sandbox accounts. For more information, see Features Available for Testing in a Sandbox. The Testing Notes column in the Testing Features in a Sandbox table contains details about differences that might affect how you test the feature.

Can I test secure domains in my sandbox account?

Yes. For more details on what can be tested, see Features Available for Testing in a Sandbox.

I do not see all my production data in my sandbox. Why not?

For various reasons, not all data from your production account is copied to your sandbox account. See Data That is Not Copied from Production to Sandbox for more information.

My account has more than one sandbox. How do I switch between sandboxes?

If multiple sandbox accounts are associated with a single production account, users and their assigned roles are duplicated across these accounts.

Each user has a separate role for each sandbox account on the My Roles page and in the Change Roles list. Sandboxes are identified by the SB icon in the Change Roles list and by the label SANDBOX in the Account Type column on the My Roles page.

Note:

To help distinguish between multiple accounts, you can change the name of each account by going to Setup > Company > Company Information and changing the Company Name. Users could also color code accounts by changing the Color Theme under Settings > Set Preferences > Appearance. These measures will need to be reset after each refresh.

Will Two-Factor Authentication work?

Yes. Two-factor authentication using your phone or an Authenticator app is shared between your production and sandbox accounts. For details, see 2FA in the NetSuite Application.

Will all users who have access to my production account see a sandbox role when they log in to the production account?

As the administrator, you decide who has access to the sandbox account. Go to the Sandbox Accounts page and under the Access After Sandbox Refresh preference, select either administrators only or all users. If the administrators only option is selected, only the administrator role is copied to the sandbox account.

How do I add (or remove) individual user access to a sandbox?

After a sandbox has been refreshed, account administrators can grant individual users access to this sandbox. See Granting Access to Your Sandbox Account for information about adding and removing access for individual users to your sandbox account.

Important:

Customer Center and Partner Center roles are never allowed access to sandbox accounts.

About Sandbox Refreshes

The following questions and answers are specific to refreshing your sandbox.

What determines the Snapshot Date?

The Snapshot Date field on the Sandbox Accounts page displays the date and time of the snapshot taken of the account that was used for the most recent refresh. This date is not necessarily the same as the date the refresh was requested. It depends on the date when your refresh request starts processing.

It is not possible to guarantee a specific date or time to be used for the snapshot.

Why is the Refresh Sandbox button missing from the Sandbox Accounts page?

You will not see the Refresh Sandbox button or the Copy Data to Sandbox button on the Sandbox Accounts page in the following circumstances:

When a refresh request is already in progress.
When the sandbox has been taken offline for a NetSuite version upgrade.
During NetSuite version upgrades, except in cases where the sandbox account and its associated production account are running the same version of NetSuite.

Note:
When they are not running the same version, the Refresh Status field will display a popup with a version mismatch error message.

How long does it take for my sandbox to be refreshed?

Various factors determine how long it takes to refresh your sandbox, including the size of your production account (the amount of data), the number of integrations in your production account, and the number of customers requesting a sandbox refresh during the same time period as your request was submitted.

Can I cancel my sandbox refresh request?

It is not possible to cancel a refresh request.

A refresh completely replaces the content of the sandbox account with the content of the production account. After your sandbox account has been refreshed from production, it cannot be restored to its prior state. Before submitting a request to refresh a sandbox account, please ensure that your company is fully notified and ready for the refresh from production. Your refresh request cannot be canceled or otherwise modified in any way after it has been accepted.

I have a question about the number of sandbox refreshes used. Who should I contact?

For questions about the Refreshes Used/Refreshes Total field, please contact NetSuite Customer Support.

I have some important data I want to keep in my sandbox. Can my data be saved during the next refresh?

A sandbox is not intended for storage of data. A refresh completely replaces the content of the sandbox account with the content of the production account snapshot. Any data that exists in a sandbox before a refresh is requested is overwritten by the refresh.

What happens to my sandbox during a NetSuite version upgrade?

All sandbox accounts are taken offline for upgrade at the same time the production account is taken offline for upgrade. For more information, see Scheduled Version Upgrade Dates and Refresh Requests.

My NetSuite version upgrade date is near, should I refresh my sandbox?

Do not request a sandbox refresh when the upgrade date is near. A sandbox refresh request will fail if it does not complete before your scheduled version upgrade begins.

Use your best judgment to decide when to request a sandbox refresh during the version upgrade period for a NetSuite release. For guidelines, see Scheduled Version Upgrade Dates and Refresh Requests.

What does the refresh status Delayed mean?

On the Sandbox Accounts page, when the refresh status field displays Delayed, it indicates the refresh progress has stalled for some reason. When a sandbox refresh status is changed to Delayed, the Estimated Refresh Time field is blank. When the refresh resumes, the estimated refresh time is recalculated, and the new value is displayed in the Estimated Refresh Time field.