Theme Updater & Backups | OOTS
Shopify premium theme updates and online store data backups
Rating
3.8
feedback
307
chart
#1,612
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July 18, 2021
They have terrible customer service and rarely go out of their way to help you fix bugs that their development team caused.
Hello hexaTile Touch Team! Thank you for leaving this feedback, we apologize for the delay on this bug fix. We have released a new version of the Flex theme that resolves the trouble you were having, we encourage you to update your theme to add the fix! All the best, Out of the Sandbox
July 27, 2023
Update 7/27/2023: So I purchased a year of Pro Support and Theme Upgrades with this app in March 2023. I removed the app when I was not using it to make sure it was not slowing my website loading time. I reinstalled the app in July contacted OOTS Support and was told I would have to sign up for another subscription that they can't help me get this theme editor Pro Support (app) set back up under the Year I Already paid for through March 2024. I am very disappointed that Shopify allows this kind of business to be in the app store. I received a free year of premium support with my purchase of FLEX theme (Awesome) and really enjoy the fact that they make a copy before updating anything so if something goes wrong you could revert back or request support. I have update the theme several times since purchasing and when they are done updating it will tell you the lines of code that they could not move to the updated theme. They literally tell you how and where to place them. Thank you for an easy way to update themes. I will be renewing my premium subscription.
Hi Coastal Gifts Inc team! Thank you for your feedback! We are always looking to ways to improve our themes, and update them regularly. We appreciate all feature requests that are sent in to us, and try to address all theme bugs as soon as possible! A member of our support team will be reaching out via email shortly. All the best, Out of the Sandbox
April 9, 2021
I used this app for the first time. I was glad I made a backup of my site because I had to restore it. I had 7 backend pages that could not be updated. I used a comparison app to review the coding that was different and I spent 3 hours updating. I published the site. It did not work at all. I paid a significant amount for the theme and I am very disappointed with this Theme Updater and I will not be purchasing it. Disappointed with Out of the Sandbox for slow or no response.
Hello RiseUpDesk team! We're sorry to hear you've had trouble using our Theme Updater app. Our app never applies an update directly to your theme file. It will always create a copy to be used in the update while the original file remains published. Our support team has followed up on your recent request, we look forward to hearing back from you! All the best, Out of the Sandbox
Nov. 21, 2020
Destroyed our theme twice in a row. Furthermore it places the wrong items in the cart via mobil (happen also twice). No real support, "because of custom design". Well, the custom design is just basic CSS so no real adjustments. That should be able to handle the update but it doesn't. Support is very nice and friendly, but useless. They've created a storetasker ticket for us, but there was no reply by anyone. Great looking themes but be aware of adjusting anything - not even the font (like in our case). (PRO PLAN)
Hello MANUFAKTURWERK® Team, Thank you for leaving this feedback. Our support team has reached out to assist with the issues you've mentioned here. For the mobile cart, we have determined this is caused by some custom modifications. Our team has provided a temporary solution and we are here to help if you have any questions. All the best, Out of the Sandbox
Aug. 18, 2020
Unfortunately I was keen to use this app as it said it preserved theme settings but it doesn't completely. All my fonts, footer settings, apps, uploaded swatches, etc are lost each time. Disappointed.
Aug. 13, 2020
We have been paying for two years for what is a lousy support which does not even respond to customer queries. Shopify should investigate this company
Hello there Intuitive Code team, Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback and sorry to hear you were having issues getting in touch with us. We are dealing with a fairly high volume of support queries so our response time is currently longer than we’d like, so your feedback is certainly understandable. It does look as though you’re using the Pro plan version of our app, so you do have access to priority support. It appears your emails weren’t sent in via the Updater App which is likely why they weren’t received as ‘high priority’. I realize this current method for accessing priority support isn’t ideal, but I’m happy to say we’re working on updating it so that any correspondence you send will be sorted based on your email address. If your email is linked to the Pro plan, it would then automatically come into our high priority queue which would allow us to reply much quicker to any questions you have. I’ve gone ahead and sent along a separate email as well to address any concerns and issues you were having, so please feel free to reply there with any other questions or concerns you may have. Thanks again for your feedback. All the best.
July 31, 2020
The app has a bug. I asked for a refund. They are not very open to this type of requests. Basically I bought a thing. This thing is not as it's supposed to be. So I asked for a refund (also because I never got the ads about the app until a month after the "12 months of free available theme updates"). Basically I bought their theme 13 months ago. I discover that it needed some updates. I bought their app (14$ perr month) a month ago to have my first theme update. The app has a bug, they told me: "we are sorry ad we are working on it". Perfect, with my money. Anyway keep the 14$ and enjoy them!
Hello Concetto è Team! Thank you for your feedback, we had an issue impacting a small number of merchants when using the diff checker feature. We have now corrected it. We appreciate you choosing the Theme Updater app as the easiest and fastest way to update your Out of the Sandbox theme. We do provide free updates for the lifetime of your shop when you purchase one of our themes; the app (not required to update your theme) is only free for the first 12 months from the date of purchase. Thank you again for your feedback and support of Out of the Sandbox themes.
July 21, 2020
Making the theme updater a paid product is very frustrating, given how much the theme costs in the first place, and will be the reason I no longer recommend Out of the Sandbox to other retailers.
Hello Nikki Darling Team, Thank you for your feedback. I wanted to share some details regarding the app to provide some clarification on the paid and free features. The app offers a free trial period with a theme purchase. The Basic Plan features for the app are available for free for one year from the date the theme was purchased. This free year is provided as a window for a new theme user to determine how much value the app provides to their store. After the free year expires, a subscription is required to update the theme while preserving the content and settings configured with the default theme features. The app is a tool that will speed up the process of updating but it is possible to obtain the latest theme files without paying for the app. Our Theme Updater app offers new updated files for free so that you can update in the standard Shopify process by rebuilding the theme with the latest version. The paid subscriptions (Basic and Pro plans) offer a shortcut to the standard Shopify updating process. Rather than rebuilding the theme in a new file, the app is able to preserve the content and settings that have been configured with the default theme features. I hope this clears up some of the details around the subscription plans and the free features that are offered. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team if you have any other questions about the app! Wishing you all the best! Out of the Sandbox
July 14, 2020
We write very rarely reviews but in this case this app has been bothering us a lot. We have bought the first team from Out of the Sandbox many years ago. At that time we didn't need to pay for the theme updater app at all and it was a free of charge which I think is the minimum as themes from Out of the Sandbox are not cheap. But since last year they figured out they want to make more money by charging for this app but in the same time reducing the quality of service. In the past we always got feedback within 24 hours when there was an issue or they needed to resolve something. Now we need to be lucky to get feedback in 3 days and this is called priority service. So for us conclusion is that if we want to buy more themes it will definetley not be an Out of the Sandbox theme. We would even not mind to pay for the theme updater app as it is useful but what they charge is too much 14USD per month for priority support taking too long. And yes we do request it through the theme updater with the priority support and a general email. If you go outside of the priority support you should be happy to hear something in 1 week and sometimes even 2 weeks which is completely ridiculous Update 14-07-2020 According to feedback of out of the sandbox the question has been answered. But this is not the case still waiting for an answer on some changes of the theme they made which changes the design of the header
Hello Omigo! Thank you for sharing these details; we take your input seriously and we’re always looking to improve the updating & support experience. We apologize that we’ve left you with the negative experience that you describe here! It’s great to see that the support requests submitted last week through the Priority Support form within the app were replied to on the same day (on the next business day for weekend submissions), and we apologize for the wait time for the normal support requests; we have been experiencing very high volume. We look forward to offering the Priority Support experience to all incoming support requests from Pro Plan users like yourself, regardless of how you get in touch - we’re working on launching that feature shortly; until then, feel free to submit any new questions through the Priority Support form within the app to have your request jump to the front of the line. Thanks again for your review; always looking to improve! -The Out of the Sandbox Team
June 13, 2020
This whole Theme Updater show is a total rip-off. Out of the Sandbox sells their themes with the promise of providing regular updates for free. Confronted with that they tell you, well, we do but you have to start from scratch and rebuild the whole store if not using Theme Updater, which only comes with an expensive monthly-subscription-scam instead of a one time fee. Out of the Sandbox blames that on Shopify. It looks very much like two companies working hand in hand, trying to suck more money out of their clients who of course depend on them if they want to keep up functionality of their e-commerce businesses. This is absolutely ridiculous!
Hello! Thank you for the input on your experience with updating using the Theme Updater app; we apologize that it didn’t meet expectations! We take your input to heart as we continue to improve the app to make updating your theme faster and easier. It is true that updated versions of any Shopify theme you purchased are available for free - however, free updated themes do not possess your past setting configurations nor code customizations. While it is unfortunate that this requires the time-consuming process of reconfiguring the theme to retain your past set-up, you can optionally save this time by using the Theme Updater app, which will 1) obtain the most recent version of your theme, 2) apply your past setting configurations and 3) detect your past code customizations, all in one step, without you needing to do these steps manually. This is a tool we created to help our customers (Out of the Sandbox and Pixel Union theme users) through the complicated updating process; rest assured, your online store functionality can be retained without the Theme Updater app, but the manual updating process will take more time. The main features of the app are available for free for the first year after your Theme purchase, after which time an ongoing subscription begins, ensuring the app’s time-saving and convince benefits are available for the regular subsequent updates. Thanks again for the input, and feel free to get in touch ([email protected]) with any questions you have about updating your theme! All the best. -The Out of the Sandbox Team
May 2, 2020
I just purchased a subscription for Theme Updater to save me the job, However I updated the theme and the app is functionless since it doesn't work at all. The theme I updated is exactly as if I've installed the theme (EMPIRE by Pixel Union) and there are no changes at all, it's all at its defaults. This is so annoying. These are the files which don't have any changes (it's a ridicule amount of files, it doesn't make sense in most of them). Empire (Dec-23-2019) (May-3-2020) has been successfully installed. However, 55 template files contained customizations that could not be automatically applied to the latest version. - Hide template files assets/Account.bundle.js assets/Contact.bundle.js assets/ContainSwatchTooltips.bundle.js assets/DynamicBlogPosts.bundle.js assets/DynamicFeaturedCollection-StaticCollection-StaticProductRecommendations-StaticSearch.bundle.js assets/DynamicFeaturedCollection.bundle.js assets/DynamicMenuList.bundle.js assets/DynamicNewsletter.bundle.js assets/DynamicPromoBlocks.bundle.js assets/DynamicRichText.bundle.js assets/DynamicSearch-StaticHeader.bundle.js assets/DynamicSearch.bundle.js assets/DynamicTwitterFeed.bundle.js assets/DynamicVideo.bundle.js assets/GiftCard.bundle.js assets/instantPage.min.js assets/Page.bundle.js assets/polyfills.js assets/PXSMap.bundle.js assets/StaticAnnouncement.bundle.js assets/StaticArticle.bundle.js assets/StaticBlog.bundle.js assets/StaticCart.bundle.js assets/StaticCollection.bundle.js assets/StaticFooter.bundle.js assets/StaticHeader.bundle.js assets/StaticHighlightsBanners.bundle.js assets/StaticPassword.bundle.js assets/StaticProduct.bundle.js assets/StaticProductRecommendations.bundle.js assets/StaticRecentlyViewed.bundle.js assets/StaticSearch.bundle.js assets/StaticSlideshow.bundle.js assets/theme.scss.liquid assets/vendors-DynamicBlogPosts-DynamicFeaturedCollection-DynamicInstagramFeed-DynamicTwitterFeed-StaticCol-09aa5aa9.bundle.js assets/vendors-DynamicFeaturedCollection-StaticCollection-StaticProduct-StaticProductRecommendations-StaticSearch.bundle.js assets/vendors-DynamicSearch-StaticHeader.bundle.js assets/vendors-main.bundle.js assets/vendors-StaticCart.bundle.js layout/none.liquid layout/theme.liquid sections/dynamic-instagram-feed.liquid sections/static-article.liquid sections/static-cart.liquid sections/static-product-reviews.liquid sections/static-product.liquid snippets/cart-item.liquid snippets/product-form.liquid snippets/product-grid-item.liquid snippets/product-price.liquid snippets/product.liquid snippets/structured-data.liquid templates/404.liquid templates/page.contact.liquid templates/product.liquid The template customizations will need to be manually applied from Empire (Dec-23-2019) to Empire (Dec-23-2019) (May-3-2020) only for these individual files.
Hello Ameyalli, Thank you for sharing these details! We're very sorry for the inconvenience here - the Theme Updater App was experiencing a temporary issue with certain versions, and we believe this version of Empire was impacted. The issue has been addressed, and attempting the update again should result in a more expected outcome. We have followed up on the support request as well, where we can continue the correspond if there's anything amiss with the update - feel free to let us know the version number of the Empire theme you're updating if the issue persists, and we'll get it squared away. All the best!
April 15, 2020
Installed on thegiftedpanda.co.uk when the app was free and only used a couple of times, some bits didn't work due to custom coding, however, it largely did work and only had to do minimal work. So I would have given it 4 stars..............until it changed to a subscription service. Not paying that kind of money for something I will use a couple of times a year. More cost effective for me to do the work manually for half a day.
Hello The Gifted Panda, Thank you for sharing your review; it's valuable to us to see where our customers are dissatisfied with the app to see how it can be improved. Great to hear the app was helpful with your past updates; as you have experienced, the app saves time by obtaining the most recent version of the theme, carrying over your past settings, and helping with carrying over past code customizations; it sounds like some customizations were flagged as needing special attention, which the app does if automatically re-applying the customization to the updated code template would cause conflicts. While the app is free to use for the first year following a theme purchase (from Out of the Sandbox or Pixel Union), a subscription is required to continue to use the app as an updating tool following that year. While some merchants, like yourself, only update a couple of times a year, theme updates actually occur regularly throughout the year - to keep running the latest and greatest versions (including new features like Shopify's new Product Media capabilities, or upcoming Cross Border features) other merchants update whenever a new version is available. For merchants updating their theme upwards of 10-15 times per year, using the automated process of the Theme Updater App provides a significant time-saving benefit. If you find yourself doing manual updates regularly to grab the newest theme features and fixes, the app may be the better cost-effective choice to save you some time! Thanks again for your input, and best of luck with your online store! -Out of the Sandbox
April 4, 2020
I subscribed to the ProPlan of this app on Wednesday 4/1/2020 and, on the same day, I contacted ProPlan support asking a couple of questions via the correct link inside the app interface. Today is Saturday 4/4/2020 and no reply has been received, even though they promise priority support for ProPlan Subscribers. 72 hours is by no means priority support. Additionally, after I subscribed to the ProPlan, the section on How to Update still says the following: "If any error messages are received when updating your theme to the latest version, all customizations to the mentioned files will need to be carried forward manually. If you need assistance with carrying over your previous customizations, we'd recommend reaching out to some of our recommended experts." Here it is paramount to mention that the ONE AND ONLY point of this ProPlan subscription is to GUARANTEE a fully automatic, hassle-free theme update. The second I have to manually carry forward my customizations, I should be refunded for my subscription. I also asked about this on my support request three days ago, but I have received no response. Please contact me ASAP with full response to my support request, including a clarification about what happens when the app does not work. Do I get refunded for a non-working app?
Hi there Luis, Andrew here from Out of the Sandbox Support. Thanks for taking the time to provide that feedback! It looks as though we received an email from you, however it doesn't appear it was sent in via priority support which would explain the time taken before we got back to you. Priority support can only be accessed directly via the app: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026083613-Accessing-Priority-Theme-Support Sorry for any confusion there - we'll be sending along a separate email shortly to address any outstanding issues, so if you have any questions, please just reply there! Take care.
April 3, 2020
You have to pay to update a theme you've already paid $180 for! I have purchased several themes from Out of the Sandbox and now I have to pay monthly to update them, too. Greedy! Will not continue to use them or buy from them again.
Hello XBODY UK, Thank you for highlighting your experience with the Theme Updater App and your Out of the Sandbox themes. I have some details to share with hopes I can clarify a couple aspects of your remarks for you and other merchants interested in our Themes and updating tool: - On the Shopify platform, updated theme files are free if you have previously purchased a theme. Whether from the Shopify Theme Store or from our site, updated default versions of the theme you purchased are available free of charge upon request (or from revisiting the Theme Store listing for purchases from the Theme Store) - You do not need to pay to update your theme on Shopify; with the normal process of updating (installing the new version, reconfiguring settings, manually carrying over past code customizations), updating a theme has no direct cost involved - however, this process can be time-consuming, and past customizations may need special attention from a developer - The Theme Updater App is totally optional to use; the app provides time-savings and convenience by addressing the steps of a manual update automatically (by automatically obtaining the most recent version of the theme, automatically carrying over past theme settings, and detecting past code customizations while assisting with carrying them over to the new version) - The Theme Updater App's updating feature can be used for free for a year following the purchase of a theme, so you can enjoy the time-saving and convenience benefits while figuring out if you value these benefits to justify an ongoing subscription following the free year Thanks again for the remarks - we understand there's a need to make this point clearer: the Theme Updater App is NOT required to update your theme - the app is a tool to automate parts of the update to make the updating process faster and easier (which requires a subscription to use after the first year of owning the theme). I hope this helps, and clears up similar concerns for other customers! Feel free to reach out to our Support team with any other questions this brings up. :) We wish you all the best with your online store! -Out of the Sandbox
April 3, 2020
We purchased Turbo theme which at the time was your most expensive product and were promised free upgrades via the theme updater. Now you've switched the updater to a monthly subscription? How could you screw over your customers like this? I see from other comments that you can upgrade manually. This was NOT part of the original deal and was never mentioned at the time of purchase but I guess that is what we are left with. Awesome support for your premium product! Also some detail on how to upgrade manually would be handy. To other would-be purchasers - don't buy this product, or anything else from Out Of The Sandbox. What will they switch to subscription-only next?
March 26, 2020
just wasted a years subscription. deleted, not cool. ...............................................
March 9, 2020
The app doesn't work if you have minimal customization on your page. The company and its shady practices are even worse!
Dec. 13, 2019
1 star not only for the app - but the shady practices of this company. We have all paid hundreds of dollars for your themes and now you expect us to subscribe to an app to update - these updates should be free and easy - they are mostly to fix bugs - I don't see why we should foot the bill for bugs that NEED fixing.
Hey there Spellhound team, We just wanted to follow-up here to hopefully clear up any sort of confusion and also to lend a hand if there was anything else we could help with. First and foremost, it’s worth noting that you do not need the app to update your theme. We will continue to offer free lifetime support and updates, however, there is a caveat to the updating process should you choose to do so via the app itself. You have one year included for free with the Theme Updater App, however, after that, you'd need to subscribe to a Basic or Pro plan (which ranges from $9/month for Basic and $14/month for the Pro plan) in order to use the app. This doesn't mean that you can't update your theme however! You can still update the theme by downloading the latest theme file from your order and uploading the file that way, and then manually reconfiguring the theme - this is how all other Shopify themes are updated currently. The app itself is an optional method to updating your theme which can speed up the process, and the Pro plan also provides you with additional features such as priority support! Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion, and please feel free to send us an email should anything come up! Sincerely, The Out of the Sandbox team.
Dec. 11, 2019
This company is by far one of the shadiest companies in the app store. Beware. The Basic Plan of this app was originally offered as FREE FOR LIFE - Everyone who purchased a theme based on this Free For Life Updates plan is now out of luck. You are forced to pay. If you purchased one of their themes based on the fact that you'd be easily able to update your themes as Shopify makes changes, then guess what, now you suddenly have to pay for that service. The crass emails from support who claim that they can reserve the right to change prices adds more insult to injury. How can you justify selling themes for 300+ dollars, then charge monthly to keep those themes functional? Avoid this company like the plague. Out of the sandbox and directly into to the litter box.
Hi there Eighty Sixed team, Thanks for taking the time to reply and providing that feedback. While we can definitely understand the frustration with the changes made to the subscription model for the Theme Updater App, it’s important to note that we will still be providing free lifetime updates on all of our themes. If you choose not to use the Theme Updater app, you can still update your theme the free method following Shopify’s normal updating process, where the new version is added to your ‘Themes’ panel and reconfigured manually. This is how all themes are updated across Shopify as the Updater App is an exclusive feature/offering for our themes. You can find instructions here on how to access those files, depending on where you bought your theme: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115007099548-How-to-Update-Your-Theme#alternative-method Ultimately we will continue to offer free updates regardless of whether or not you choose to use the app. Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion, and please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have other questions regarding that or anything else! Take care. Sincerely, The Out of the Sandbox team
Dec. 10, 2019
I agree with the others - I purchased and always recommended outofthesandbox because of their vast knowledgebase and continual updates - but now along with paying for the themes we have to pay for the privilege to easily update - you're turning against your own loyal customers and moving goalposts - not cool
Hello The Architectural Forum, Thank you for taking the time to review our app. We understand your frustration, but we wanted to follow up on this review to clarify a point regarding the update process. Purchasing a theme comes with free updates for life. These free updates come in the form of brand new files of the latest version of the theme. The new version of the theme does need to be rebuilt, as is the standard process for updating any Shopify themes. Our Theme Updater app was developed to provide a shortcut for updating. The app can update a copy of your theme while preserving your home page sections and theme editor settings. We have recently implemented a subscription fee for the app, but all new theme purchases come with a free year of the app’s Basic Plan. The free year begins from the date the new theme file is registered in the app, a process which is necessary to unlock the updating feature. So in short, any purchase of our themes comes with the guarantee of free updates for life following the normal Shopify procedure for updating. The app is also free for the first year with the theme, after which, a subscription is required to continue using the Theme Updater app. We’d be happy to answer any additional questions you have regarding updating the themes, or any shop-specific questions you might have. You can reach out to our Help Centre here: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. All the best, The Out of the Sandbox Team