Exercise 3: Launching With Test Mode Still On — Possible Solution ==================================================================== WHAT TEST MODE ACTUALLY DOES ------------------------------ Per this chapter, Test mode swaps a gateway's live API keys for its sandbox environment - the same environment used with dedicated test card numbers (like Stripe's 4242 4242 4242 4242) to simulate a checkout with no real money ever moving. WHAT A REAL CUSTOMER WOULD EXPERIENCE ------------------------------ Per this chapter, if Test mode is left enabled after launch, real customers' checkout attempts silently fail to charge anything - the chapter states directly that in this situation "the store looks broken to a paying customer." A real customer entering their genuine card details would go through the checkout flow, but the transaction would be processed against Stripe's sandbox rather than its live payment network, so no real charge would actually succeed, likely producing an error or a payment that never completes. WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER ------------------------------ It correctly explains that Test mode substitutes sandbox credentials for live ones, and correctly describes the customer-facing symptom this chapter names directly: checkout appears broken, since real payments cannot succeed against a sandbox environment.