Has anyone made progress with this question? Since I am providing a free trial and certain stores have less volume than others, how can I ensure that the App still functions as expected when the trial ends?
Topic summary
Developers are encountering “Subscription charge expired” messages in their Shopify app billing logs, often with multiple entries showing different subscription IDs than the activated one.
Root Cause Identified:
A Shopify support representative (ClementOutis) explained this is expected behavior, not an error. When merchants access the charge approval page but don’t immediately accept, Shopify creates a temporary subscription charge that automatically expires after approximately 2 days. If merchants revisit the page later, a new charge is created, causing multiple expired entries with different IDs.
Key Scenarios:
- Merchant opens charge page → subscription created
- Merchant leaves without accepting → charge expires after ~2 days
- Merchant returns and accepts → new subscription ID activated
- This explains why expired and activated subscription IDs differ
Ongoing Concerns:
Developers offering free trials are asking how to ensure their apps function correctly when trials end, especially given the automatic expiration behavior. One developer shared their billing implementation code seeking guidance on preventing automatic expiration, though the consensus suggests this is standard Shopify behavior rather than a fixable issue.
Status: The technical explanation has been provided, but questions about trial period handling remain partially unresolved.