Zone INVALID, reason unknown

-- HikaShop version -- : 4.1.0
-- Joomla version -- : 3.9.8
-- PHP version -- : 7.2.19
-- Browser(s) name and version -- : Chrome
-- Error-message(debug-mod must be tuned on) -- : Zone INVALID

I am getting Invalid ZONE in the list of shipping methods. There seem not to be anything wrong however

Hi,

This indicates that the zone selected in the "zone" setting of your shipping method doesn't exist anymore.
So you should remove it and reselect the zone you recreated for it and save again the method.

I did so. Also saved it without a zone. Reselected the zone and the same error stays.

So something else is wrong

I build up the shipping zone from scratch, seems the only way to handle the problem...

But not all the time. I am keeping having a problem with this even if i build it from scratch

What reference is used from the Shipping method to the Shipping zone? It may have to do that the names i am using for the shipping zones are pretty much the same

Hi,

It doesn't use the name but the namekey of the zone which you can't see in the backend. The namekey is geenrated automatically to be unique.
The only reason I could see this would happen with a zone you didn't delete would be if the namekey of the zone starts with a number but that should not be possible because when HikaShop generates the namekey for a new zone, it starts with the type of the zone which is normally a text ( like "shipping", or "country", or "tax", or "state").
So the only reason I could see would be that you imported the zones via your phpmyadmin and filled the namekey with something starting with a number.

Hi Nicolas,

thank you, however i did not import anything into the database ever. So it has been generated by Hikashop itself.

I have deleted the zones that gave the invald zone message, so i am not sure they are still in the database or just logically deleted.

Hi,

So now that you deleted them, please recreate them and reselect these new zones in the shipping methods and it should normally work fine.

Hi,

i did that. In one case however the newly created zone (as default as can be) also gave an invalid zone when attached to the shipping method. I had to do that once again. This suggests that the namekey of shipping zone is not always properly replaced in the shipping method. Maybe depending on how you replace it.

Hi,

I'm not able to reproduce the problem.
So I'm not sure what to say. But well, if it's now working ok, then that's good.
We'll see if others report a similar problem in the future but for now you're the first one.