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Troubleshoot your ads

You don’t see any ads in your published app? Find out why, and check your ads without risking your AdMob account.

Test without risk

  • In the preview, ads are placeholders: the banner is marked "Ad" ("Ad banner · Bannière de pub"), full-screen ads "Ad · Pub". Perfect to check where they appear, and that the rewarded video really gives its reward.
  • On your phone, with the published app (TestFlight, Google Play testing track or store): first declare your phone as a test device in AdMob. Open Settings, then Test devices, then Add test device, choose the platform and enter your phone’s advertising ID. AdMob explains how to find it on your phone in its guide below.

On a test device, real ads show with a Test Ad label. They earn nothing, but they prove that everything works, from your IDs to consent.

A Google test banner: the Test Ad label and the text “This is a 320x50 test ad”

Source: Google for Developers (CC BY 4.0)

Never tap your own real ads, and never ask friends to do it for you. Google counts it as invalid activity and can close your AdMob account, along with your unpaid earnings.

Why don’t I see any ads?

Go through this list in order:

  1. You are in the preview or in Expo Go. That’s normal: only placeholders show there. Real ads only come in the published app.
  2. Your payment details are missing in AdMob. Without them, your account is not verified and your apps stay Getting ready, with no ads. Fill them in, in the Payments menu.
  3. Consent was refused, or your consent message is not published. In Europe, without a published message, Google may show nothing. See Consent and Apple tracking. Refusing Apple’s tracking alone does not stop ads.
  4. Your ad unit is brand new. Allow up to 1 hour.
  5. Your app is not reviewed, linked or verified yet in AdMob. Until then, Google shows few ads, or none. See Publish an app with ads.
  6. app-ads.txt is not verified yet. Google can take up to 24 hours, sometimes longer.
  7. Google has no ad to show at that moment. It happens, especially with few users, or in some countries. Try again later: this is not a bug in your app.

Official guides: How to test your ads, Set up a test device, Invalid traffic, About app readiness.