Why it happens
The token expired. Meta suggests tokens that expire after 60 days when you make one through a system user. Such a token works for two months and then Meta refuses every request. Nothing changes on your store on that day, so the gap in purchases is easy to miss for weeks. A token made with the expiry set to Never does not end this way.
The token was revoked or its owner lost access. A token belongs to a person or a system user in your Meta business. If that person leaves the business, loses access to the pixel, changes their password or is removed, the token can stop working. Removing an app from your business settings under Integrations has the same effect for the token that app was given.
The token is for another pixel, or it is incomplete. A token made in one pixel's settings does not work for another pixel. A token copied only in part is refused as well. This shows up right after you connect, not weeks later, but it looks the same in a log: Meta refuses, and no purchases arrive.
Meta does not send you a message when a token ends. Your store keeps taking orders and the pixel shows fewer purchases than before. The browser pixel keeps counting what it can, so the drop is smaller than the real gap.
Check it yourself
- 1In Meta Events Manager, open Data sources, choose the pixel your ads use and open Overview. Look at the Purchase event and filter by source. If the Server line stops on one day and the Browser line goes on, the server connection ended that day.
- 2Open Events Manager > Data sources > your pixel > Diagnostics. Meta lists problems it found with events it received. A missing server source can show here.
- 3Open Events Manager > Data sources > your pixel > Test events. Send one test purchase from your server with the test event code shown on that screen. If your tool shows an error that mentions the access token, the token is the cause.
- 4Open Events Manager > Data sources > your pixel > Settings and find Conversions API. Click Generate access token and copy the whole token. It is long.
- 5If Meta then asks you to select datasets, untick every pixel except this store's. A pixel left ticked is linked and Meta cannot undo it.
- 6Paste the new token into the tool that sends your purchases, then send a test purchase again and watch Test events.
- 7If you make the token as a system user in Business settings, choose Never as the expiry.
- 8Meta accepts events that are at most 7 days old. Purchases from the gap that are older than that cannot be sent afterwards. Note the date the Server line stopped, so you know which days are lost.
The other ways to keep purchases flowing to Meta are in Meta's Conversions API options for Shopify.
FAQ
How do I know if my Conversions API token expired?
The Server line of the Purchase event stops on one day while the Browser line goes on, and a test request returns an error about the access token.
Can I get the missing purchases back?
Only those that are at most 7 days old, because Meta accepts no older events. Older purchases stay missing from Meta's count.
Does a new token change my pixel or my ads?
No. A new token replaces the old key. The pixel, its history and your campaigns stay as they are.
Who should own the token?
A system user with full access to the pixel, with the expiry set to Never, does not end when a person leaves the business.