Sandbox refresh implications
Key Takeaway
Each refresh builds a new org, so the sandbox gets a new org ID and anything that stores the old ID must be updated. A cloned sandbox keeps its source's sandbox license type, and it refreshes from production if its source sandbox was deleted.
A sandbox refresh replaces a sandbox with a new copy of its source org, which is usually production. Customizations and data changes made in production don't show up in existing sandboxes, so sandboxes drift out of date. A refresh brings the sandbox back in line with its source. The cost is that activating the refreshed copy permanently deletes the old sandbox and all data in it. Access changes made only in the sandbox are lost too.
What a refresh copies
A refresh updates the sandbox's metadata from the source org. A refresh also copies data when the sandbox is a clone or uses a sandbox template, which chooses the data to copy.
A Partial Copy sandbox uses a template to choose its data. A Full sandbox can include "All production data" or be "Template-based". User information is included in the refresh for every sandbox type.