IAB TCF v2.0 - Error 7.8 | HELP

[CrisDEV]

Hello, today I encountered an error notice in my AdMob account. The specific error is as follows, and I've attached a screenshot for clarity:

I am using Google's "CMP Consent" and have been reviewing the "Troubleshooting TCF v2.0 implementation" documentation. For error 7.8, it states the following:

Firstly, it clarifies that for all errors "7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, and 7.9," it says: "When these issues occur, Google will mitigate the problem itself, when necessary, and proceed with normal TCF handling."

I'm reaching out to see if there's any action I can take as a developer to address an issue I've encountered, or if waiting for a resolution from Google is my only option. I've been doing some digging for more insights and noticed that a number of users have run into the same hiccup with AdMob or AdSense, specifically around the "27th/28th" of February 2024. Furthermore, in the "iab_tcf_errors_(…).csv" file, which Google provides to shed light on these errors, both my case and those of several other users show an "error/request counter" at "20".

I hope to receive help with this as I am worried about not being able to solve it, and sorry for my English!..

Post published in Google Mobile Ads SDK Developer and Google AdMob Help Community..

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for contacting the Mobile Ads SDK Support team.

I will check with our team regarding your query and one of my team members will reach out to you once we have an update on this. Meanwhile, your patience is highly appreciated.

This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02rzdMs:ref"

Thanks,
 

Mobile Ads SDK Team

 

[Selanto Apps]

A few days ago I received the same warning. I want to add a bit of more context since I have 3 apps and all 3 of them with different setupt.

I use the Google UMP SDK solution included in the com.google.firebase:firebase-ads library.

The affected ad units belong to one of my apps which uses the latest com.google.firebase:firebase-ads version, 22.6.0.

My other apps use version 22.3.0 and 22.4.0 and so far they are not affected from this issue.

Hope this help to solve the issue.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Selanto,

You mentioned you are using com.google.firebase:firebase-ads library but the library was removed from the Firebase Bill of Materials back in 2021. To continue using Google AdMob, you need to explicitly add the dependency for the Google Mobile Ads SDK including its version (com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:22.6.0) to your app's build.gradle file.

At this time we don't offer support for com.google.firebase:firebase-ads. We recommend to update our supported technologies before we can troubleshoot further as it's possible this may inherently resolve your issue. 

Thanks,
Justin

ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02rzdMs:ref

[R Solutions]

Hi, I have received the same issue on my Admob IAB-TCF- Error 7.8. Please let us know what we can do to solve this issue.

[Sync Impl]

Hi Justin,

We've had an issue for a week, and it looks like the support team is waiting for the issue to become a problem. But why? Please just start to solve the issue.

I see a red error message on my AdMob account with 7.8 code, as do other users.

There are many forums that lead to this topic:

https://support.google.com/admob/thread/261573017

https://support.google.com/admob/thread/261790910/iab-tcf-v2-0-error-7-8-help

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78076876/what-is-admob-error-tcf-7-8-for-my-android-app

Thank you.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

@all

To resolve the issue, make sure to request for consent information on every app launch. The UMP SDK detects the consent string is invalid attempts to gather new consent. If you are seeing this error, it is possible you are making an ad request prior to requesting for consent information. If you are affected please send over a Charles log of the ad request to confirm.

[Pc _ Games]

welcome
I have the same problem and I don't know how to solve it, but I read your words and understood some things, but I am nervous about the implementation process. Do you mean by what you said that the (GDPR) message for the (UMP)  library must appear to the user before any advertisement appears within the application?
What I mean here is that the approval message must appear, the user must choose, and then continue to browse within the application, watch the content, and see the ads. Is this correct as I understood from your message or am I wrong?
- Technical advice: When the message (GDPR) message for the (UMP) library appears to the user and he agrees to it or rejects it according to his desire and continues to use the application normally. When he returns to the main screen again, do I show him the message again? Meaning that every time he returns to the main screen, he displays the message or this error, and this is the cause of the problem.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

@Pc _ Games

Consent should be gathered before showing ads in your application. And simply put, the UMP SDK handles when to show or not show the consent screen. I strongly recommend to follow our Get Started guide for the UMP SDK as following the guide ensures a proper integration. 

[Pc _ Games]

Thank you for replying
Well, I use a fairly old programming language, so I would have liked you to explain it to me better.
Indeed, the message appears to users at the beginning of the application, and despite this, the error appears in my account, so I am asking whether the message should appear at the beginning of the application, and then the user agrees or rejects it. After that, the application is used normally and advertisements appear. When he returns to the main screen, the same message appears to him, or do I make it appear to him only once? I mean here the message of (UMP).
My applications are directed to children. Should I remove the UMP library or leave it?

[Pc _ Games]

I hope you will respond to my previous message
I have a suggestion and I hope this is a sound solution.
When creating a message (UMP), there is a new option set by Google, which is that it sends the message as an advertisement within the advertisements through it, without using any external libraries or any codes related to (UMP). So, if I do that and put a check mark on my applications and delete the codes (UMP) From my application, will this warning be removed so that the topic is managed through Google?

[Pc _ Games]

I mean this page 

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

@Pc _ Games

Ad Unit deployment for gathering consent will not resolve error 7.8. Please follow the Get Started guide for proper instructions on integrating the UMP SDK. The UMP SDK will request to gather new consent of those users who have an invalid TC string. If you are following the guide and requesting consent on every app launch, you are good to go.

[Pc _ Games]

Thank you for replying
Well, I have a question, so that I can carry out the process correctly and do not make an error happen, because I am using old language and it is not as in the explanation that I sent, so I will explain the matter to you and so that I can do it.
You mean that when you run the application, the UMP message appears first, before anything else, and before advertisements. Then the user uses the application normally. But if the user returns to the home page again, do I have to show him this message (UMP) again??? Or is it enough for the first time only? This is what I am talking about, and is this correct? This is what I am supposed to do, as I have made it clear in composing this message within my applications.

[Pc _ Games]

I hope to answer a question in the last reply so that I can solve the problem

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

@Selanto Apps

If you have followed the UMP SDK integration correctly and are calling requestConsentInfoUpdate() on every app launch you are fine. The error will resolve itself when users re-launch your app and the SDK requests for consent again. 

[Selanto Apps]

Hello,

I did update the libs in all my apps as for your suggestion. I have monitored the situation for over a month. The warning is still there and affecting 2 of 3 apps now. Do you have an explanation for that? What could cause the warning and how we fix it?

Cheers.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

@Selanto Apps

Users could still be on previous versions of your app. This is something that will resolve itself when users upgrade your app to the latest version, given you have integrated the UMP SDK correctly and are calling requestConsentInfoUpdate() on every app launch.