What should I do if my feed is not updating correctly?

If your feed is failing to update, check these common causes and solutions categorized by the exact symptoms you are experiencing.

Matching & "0 Matches / 0 Updated" Issues

• Products missing from store: Update Feeds cannot create new products. If items are completely new, run an Add Feed first to import them into your store.
• Mismatched Product Identifiers: Ensure your unique identifier (SKU or Barcode) matches perfectly between your store and the feed file. If SKUs don't match, try switching the identifier to Product Title. For variant products, each store variant must match the corresponding feed row; if the feed identifies a ring by a base SKU plus a separate size field, remove the size suffix from the store SKU and retain the size in the mapped Variant Size field before updating the mapping. For example, 2235600-50 should become base SKU 2235600 with variant size 50 when the feed uses 2235600 plus size 50. A hyphen-removal rule only works when the resulting identifier exists in the feed; removing the hyphen from 10000710-50 does not match if the feed has no corresponding 1000071050 value.
• Hidden characters in SKUs: Look out for leading zeros, spaces, or hidden prefixes (like an apostrophe '). Use SKU Smart Settings to remove or normalize these so they match your store.
• Wrong column mapping: If the feed returns 0 matches, verify that the mapped columns in Step 2 actually exist in your feed file. If the supplier renamed a column, select the new column from the mapping dropdown and save the mapping. If the file uses hidden BOM characters (e.g., reading SKU instead of SKU), map using the column index number instead of the column name. If the feed displays column names but the NIF file contains no values, check the source file and mapping before rerunning.
• File format or separator mismatch: If the feed cannot read the file or a preview shows no products, confirm that the selected format matches the source (for example, XML) and that the row/column separator matches the file. A tab-delimited file must use a tab separator rather than a comma. For XML, correct the parent node mapping so the item elements are detected.
• Variant option mismatches: If only some variants fail to update, check for mismatched option values (e.g., color codes like BLK vs. the full name Black). The values must match your store exactly.
• Missing option values: Products or variants with blank Title or Option1 Value fields may not be imported or re-imported. Add a filter to exclude rows where these required fields are blank if those rows are not valid products.
• Suspended Shopify products: If updates fail because products are suspended by Shopify, review Shopify’s message for the affected products. Delete the suspended products or exclude their SKUs in the Store Filter.
• Variant option mismatches: If only some variants fail to update, check for mismatched option values (e.g., color codes like BLK vs. the full name Black). The values must match your store exactly.
• Duplicate SKUs and product bundling: If several products share one SKU and you want their quantities to decrease together, this is a product-bundling use case. Product bundling is not currently supported.
• Parent node mapping: For XML feeds that return only a few products or show a file/parent-node error, check the parent node mapping. Enabling automatic parent-node detection and running a preview sync can restore correct row detection.

Filters & Smart Settings Errors

• Active filters: Review your settings in Step 3. Incorrect include/exclude filters or tag-based Store Filters might be accidentally skipping your products.
• Empty Change Log (Before/After Qty): Verify your Inventory Location in Smart Settings. Mapping to the wrong warehouse or location will block stock updates.
• Unexpected quantity numbers: If stock levels increase/decrease incorrectly instead of syncing exactly, check if your Quantity Smart Setting is set to Add/Deduct instead of Overwrite.
• Non-numeric quantities: If your feed contains text in the stock column (e.g., "More than 10"), use Smart Settings to clean the text so the system can read it as a number.
• Thousand separator glitches: If a stock of 1,700 is being read as 1, adjust the quantity delimiter settings to match your supplier’s file format.
• Duplicated feed issues: If you cloned a working feed and the new one fails, double-check that all specific Smart Settings (prefixes, postfixes, and warehouse locations) were updated to match the new data source.

Connection & Source File Failures

• Supplier IP blocking: If your feed URL cannot be accessed, your supplier may be blocking the connection. Ask them to whitelist Stock Sync’s outbound IP address: 52.20.189.51.
• Broken FTP/SFTP details: If the connection fails entirely, verify the hostname, port, and credentials with your supplier. Test the login outside of Stock Sync using a tool like FileZilla.
• Missing or renamed files: If you are using Google Sheets or an FTP server, changing the file or tab name will stop the sync. Update the source filename/sheet name in your feed settings. If your supplier has renamed or replaced the file, confirm the new filename, location, and FTP details, update the feed, and rerun it.
• Multiple feeds sharing one file: If multiple feeds download the exact same source file from an FTP/SFTP server, ensure the "After Process" setting is set to "Do nothing." If the first feed moves or deletes the file, subsequent feeds will fail.
• Email feed issues: If email-based feeds stop updating, ensure the supplier is sending attachments to the correct, unique Stock Sync email address generated for that specific feed. Send a fresh email to force-trigger it. If emails are sent nightly but the feed processes only every two days, review the feed logs and escalate the issue for investigation; a backend processing problem can delay email feed updates even when the emails are received.
• Connection method mismatch: If the credentials are valid and the source file can be downloaded outside Stock Sync, verify that the selected connection method matches the supplier’s requirements. For example, changing a feed from Download URL to REST API restored file reading when the original method was incorrect.
• Halt Threshold triggered: If a feed suddenly tries to set a large percentage of your products to zero stock, Stock Sync will automatically pause the feed as a safety measure. Review the Halt slider in your feed settings to adjust this threshold. In the dashboard, this may appear as a warning that the update was stopped because more than the configured percentage of inventory would be set to zero. Increase the threshold only when the source file is expected to contain those stock values; if quantities are updated incorrectly, they can be reset.
• Auto-disable safety: If a scheduled feed fails repeatedly due to continuous source errors, the system will auto-disable the schedule. Fix the underlying file issue and contact support to re-enable it. If the feed was paused because of insufficient credits, top up credits, re-enable the schedule, and run the feed again. Add feeds require sufficient credits to import products; if the credit balance remains at zero, the feed may be disabled again.
• Shopify variant limits: If the feed says "success" but nothing changes, verify if your store has exceeded Shopify's max variant limits. Stock Sync will skip updates until your variant count drops or your plan is upgraded.

Display Glitches & General Fixes

• Stuck in queue / Processing slowly: Only one feed can process at a time per account. If other feeds are queuing, wait for them to finish. During rare high-traffic periods or temporary backend incidents, feeds may process slower than usual. Large feeds and feeds that update many metafields can take considerably longer; scheduled runs may therefore start later than the nominal time, and a run may appear to be skipped while the previous run is still processing. Avoid repeatedly restarting or manually forcing the feed, since this can add to the backlog. If the process remains stuck or several updates show 0 products updated, contact support for investigation with the feed name and profile details.
• Feed not loading or appears frozen: In rare cases, clearing the cache and reconnecting the feed can resolve a state where the feed does not load or process at all.
• Incorrect row separator errors: If you see errors such as "Incorrect row separator", adjust the row separator to match your source file format; this typically resolves blocked updates.
• Empty error lists: If the interface shows an orange warning or error state but no specific error text appears, it is likely a temporary interface lag. Wait a few minutes and trigger a Force Run.
• Broken image URLs: If product images fail to import because their URLs start with // instead of https://, use Smart Settings to automatically add the https: prefix.

Still stuck? Run a manual sync using the Start Process / Force Run button (this ensures the system pulls the absolute latest file). After the run, open the Change Log under the feed’s Activity Log to see which products were updated; you can download the change log for detailed results. To verify the result in Shopify, check the affected product or collection on the storefront after the feed completes. If the product is not visible, check Shopify’s product list and sales-channel availability; a product can be created successfully but not appear in the expected storefront or sales channel. If the issue persists, contact support with the Feed Name, a sample SKU that exists in both the feed and your store, and a description of the expected change. For feeds using an API, also confirm that the supplier credentials are valid and that the sample SKU is returned by the API.

Additional Edge Case

• Metafield type caching: If you recently added metafields and your feed begins showing errors like "Multiple feeds are running", the issue may be caused by outdated metafield type caching. Remove the metafield mapping and re-add it to refresh the cached type.

Additional Edge Case

• Metafield type caching: If you recently added metafields and your feed begins showing errors like "Multiple feeds are running", the issue may be caused by outdated metafield type caching. Remove the metafield mapping and re-add it to refresh the cached type.
• Preview runs don’t update products: A Preview Sync only shows expected changes without applying them. Run the feed normally to apply updates.
• Unmatched SKUs: If a SKU does not exist in the feed file or in your store, it will not be updated. No action is required unless you want to archive or modify those products.
• Incorrect sheet or file name: For Google Sheets or other file-based feeds, ensure the correct tab or filename is selected. Renaming a sheet will stop updates until adjusted.
• Separate feeds needed: Adding new products and updating existing ones must be done in separate feeds. Use an Add Feed for new items and an Update Feed for stock/price updates.
• Schedule delays: If a feed is not running at the expected scheduled time, it may be due to temporary system delays. Support may escalate for investigation if the issue persists.

Updated on: 06/08/2026