How to Refresh a Sandbox in Salesforce Trailhead

To refresh a sandbox in Salesforce, navigate to Setup, enter Sandboxes in the Quick Find box, and select Sandboxes, then click the Refresh link next to the sandbox you want to refresh, and follow the prompts to complete the refresh process. The refresh process updates the sandbox’s metadata from its source org, and if the sandbox is a clone or uses a sandbox template, it also updates the org’s data.

Understanding Sandbox Refresh

Refreshing a sandbox is an essential task in Salesforce that ensures your testing environment stays up-to-date with the latest changes from your production org. It’s a straightforward process that can be completed in a few steps.

Step-by-Step Guide to Refreshing a Sandbox

1. Log in to your Salesforce production org.
2. Navigate to Setup.
3. In the Quick Find box, enter Sandboxes and select Sandboxes.
4. Locate the sandbox you want to refresh and click the Refresh link next to it.
5. Follow the prompts to complete the refresh process.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why can’t I refresh the sandbox in Salesforce? You can’t refresh a sandbox if it’s not recently created or refreshed, or if the refresh interval has already passed. This could also be due to an expired sandbox license, and you should reach out to Salesforce Support to confirm.

2. How does Salesforce sandbox refresh work? Refreshing a sandbox updates its metadata from the source org. If the sandbox is a clone or uses a sandbox template, the refresh process also updates the org’s data.

3. How often can you refresh a sandbox in Salesforce? You can refresh or delete a Full Copy sandbox 29 days after you last refreshed it, a Partial Copy sandbox 5 days after you last refreshed it, and a Developer or Developer Pro sandbox once per day.

4. What is the refresh cycle for Salesforce sandbox? Salesforce enforces specific refresh frequency limits on different types of sandboxes—Full Copy sandboxes can be refreshed every 29 days, Partial Copy every 5 days, and Developer/Developer Pro sandboxes once per day.

5. How do you refresh a sandbox? In Salesforce, go to Setup > Data Management > Sandboxes. From here, you’ll be able to see a list of your sandboxes and a Refresh link next to them if they’re eligible to be refreshed.

6. How do I activate sandbox refresh in Salesforce? To activate your sandbox immediately after you refresh it, select Auto Activate. In this case, you don’t receive an activation email.

7. How do I clean up my sandbox in Salesforce? Deleting a sandbox will completely delete your sandbox and all its contents. A sandbox can only be deleted if its refresh interval has passed.

8. What happens to users after sandbox refresh? A sandbox refresh deletes and recreates the sandbox as a copy of the production org. This process reverses any manual access changes you made.

9. How can I tell when a sandbox was last refreshed in Salesforce? If you log into your production org and navigate to Setup > Deploy > Sandboxes, you can see the Completed On value for each sandbox in the list view.

10. How do I enable sandbox after refresh? Refreshed sandboxes that haven’t been activated yet show an Activate link next to their name. Click Activate next to the sandbox you want to activate.

11. How do I recover a refreshed sandbox in Salesforce? If the sandbox refresh is on the Activation Pending Confirm stage, simply click the ‘Discard’ option and the older sandbox will be retained.

12. Is sandbox 100% safe? The software or applications that you install inside the Windows sandbox environment remain “sandboxed“, and they all run separately from the host machine. So whatever happens in the sandbox remains there, and your host machine stays 100% safe.

13. How long does Salesforce sandbox last? After 180 days, a final email is sent to notify users that the sandbox has been deleted. Important: After the sandbox has been deleted, it can’t be recovered.

14. Is sandbox risky? In cybersecurity, a sandbox is an isolated environment on a network that mimics end-user operating environments. Sandboxes are used to safely execute suspicious code without risking harm to the host device or network.

15. Can Salesforce revert a sandbox refresh? Salesforce can roll back an activated sandbox refresh if you meet the following criteria: There is a clear business case as to why this needs to happen, and you are within 72 hours of the new sandbox activation.