Paypal error 580029 One of the required parameters for subscription is missing - paypal

Question

When I try to make a preapproval this message comes up instead of showing me the Paypal login screen. Usually it is more specific, but now it just says "One of the required parameters for subscription is missing", so
I would like to know what is the parameter missing?.
Is this related to the APP ID?
It worked fine in Sandbox but when going live I have this error.
Preapproval adaptive-preapproval
Error
PayPal\Types\AP\PreapprovalResponse Object
[responseEnvelope] => PayPal\Types\Common\ResponseEnvelope Object
(
[timestamp] => 2016-01-06T11:02:03.894-08:00
[ack] => Failure
[correlationId] => 4d382b98c6be4
[build] => 17820627
)
[preapprovalKey] =>
[error] => Array
(
[0] => PayPal\Types\Common\ErrorData Object
(
[errorId] => 580029
[domain] => PLATFORM
[subdomain] => Application
[severity] => Error
[category] => Application
[message] => One of the required parameters for subscription is missing
[exceptionId] =>
[parameter] => Array
(
[0] => PayPal\Types\Common\ErrorParameter Object
(
[name] =>
[value] => Subscription
)
)
)
)
Request
PayPal\Types\AP\PreapprovalRequest Object
[requestEnvelope] => PayPal\Types\Common\RequestEnvelope Object
(
[detailLevel] =>
[errorLanguage] => en_US
)
[clientDetails] => PayPal\Types\Common\ClientDetailsType Object
(
[ipAddress] =>
[deviceId] =>
[applicationId] => MY_APP_NAME
[model] =>
[geoLocation] =>
[customerType] =>
[partnerName] =>
[customerId] =>
)
[cancelUrl] => http://localhost/auction/create-auction/?post_new_step=1&projectid=181
[currencyCode] => CAD
[dateOfMonth] =>
[dayOfWeek] =>
[endingDate] => 2016-02-05Z
[maxAmountPerPayment] =>
[maxNumberOfPayments] =>
[maxNumberOfPaymentsPerPeriod] => 1
[maxTotalAmountOfAllPayments] => 1.5
[paymentPeriod] => NO_PERIOD_SPECIFIED
[returnUrl] => http://localhost/auction/?page_id=10&finalize=1&post_new_step=4&projectid=181
[memo] =>
[ipnNotificationUrl] =>
[senderEmail] =>
[startingDate] => 2016-01-06Z
[pinType] =>
[feesPayer] =>
[displayMaxTotalAmount] => 1
[requireInstantFundingSource] =>
[sender] =>

Answer 1

I just experienced the same issue.
I resolved it by filling out all of the "Max*" fields.
In my case, I was missing the "maxNumberOfPaymentsPerPeriod" field.
Successfully created a approval token for a "one-time" payment with the following request:
cancelUrl: "http://localhost:55182/Booking/InitialBookingRequest?StartDate=7/1/2016 1:15:00 AM&EndDate=7/1/2016 2:15:00 AM&ListingId=119295&bookingId=90802" string
clientDetails: null
currencyCode: "USD"
dateOfMonth: null
dayOfWeek: null
displayMaxTotalAmount: null
endingDate: "2016-07-15"
feesPayer: null
ipnNotificationUrl: "http://localhost:55182/home/handler"
maxAmountPerPayment: 5.00
maxNumberOfPayments: 1
maxNumberOfPaymentsPerPeriod: 1
maxTotalAmountOfAllPayments: 5.00
memo: null
paymentPeriod: null
pinType: null
requireInstantFundingSource: null
returnUrl: "http://localhost:55182/booking/Success?StartDate=7/1/2016 1:15:00 AM&EndDate=7/1/2016 2:15:00 AM&ListingId=119295&bookingId=90802" string
sender: null
senderEmail: null
startingDate: "2016-06-30"

Answer 2

We have been battling with this issue too, and it seems it comes up on the internet quite a bit. Unfortunately, the PayPal documentation lists most fields as Optional, when they aren't.
What fields are actually optional depends on the type of Pre-approval you are using (there is Subscription / One-time / On-demand), but none of this seems to be mentioned in the PayPal API documentation.
Looking at your request, I believe the one field you will also need to specify is maxAmountPerPayment, which in your case would be the same as maxTotalAmountOfAllPayments
Although the error is cryptic, it is in fact informing you that for a Subscription type of Pre-approval, you are missing some required fields. Unfortuantely these required fields are not documented. If it turns out maxAmountPerPayment doesn't work, my advice would be to start populating each field and testing until the request passes! Good luck.