Frozen Collapsible Banner Ad Popups on iOS

[Philippe Poirier]

I've implemented collapsible banner ads in three of my iOS apps. Some users are reporting the the popup ad that appears cannot be closed even when tapping the close button at the top right of that popup.

I've been able to reproduce the problem only once so far. The entire add was unresponsive.

This does not happen most of the time but it's a major issue.

What could be causing this and are there any solutions?

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Philippe Poirier, 

Thank you for contacting the Mobile Ads SDK support team.

I'm afraid that we'll need detailed debug information from a device where it's observed in order to actually make any progress in diagnosing this. The only way for us to investigate further is by creating a project where the issue is reproducible. However, if the said issue is non-reproducible, kindly provide the list of the dependencies included on your project app instead. Once provided, I'll be raising this to a wider team for further checking and to get their insight as well.

This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02r24j9:ref"

Thanks,
 

Mobile Ads SDK Team

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Philippe,

Thank you for providing additional information. I understand that reproducing the issue is challenging, but let's try to gather more details to narrow down the possible causes. Could you please respond with the following:

• Confirmation of SDK Version
• Device and OS Information
• Steps to Reproduce: Even if you can't reproduce the issue consistently, can you share any specific actions or scenarios where users have reported encountering the problem? This might help in creating a more targeted approach to investigating the problem.
• User Interaction Feedback: Have you received any feedback from users describing their interaction with the collapsible banner ad just before they experienced the issue? Understanding how users interact with the ad might offer insights into potential triggers.
• Any Recent Changes: Have there been any recent updates or changes to the apps, even minor ones? Sometimes seemingly unrelated changes can impact ad interactions.

Once you provide this information, I'll do my best to solve the issue with the details you've given, and we can explore potential solutions or workarounds. 

[philippe.poirier monkeylabs.mobi]

Hi,

There’s no way to reproduce the issue myself. I only saw the issue once. A few users have posted negative reviews saying that the popup ads (from a collapsible banner ad) cannot be closed.

Since I can’t reproduce the problem despite multiple attempts I cannot provide debug information. It might also occur with a third app but I have yet to hear from any users of that third app regarding this issue.

This issue happens with two of my apps. Here are the dependencies for each:

1. Money Converter + 

This is a SwiftUI app with the following dependencies:

AppLovinAdapter 11.11.4.0 

AppLovinQualityService 7.0.3

AppLovinSDK 12.0.0

ASCollectionView 1.7.1

FBAudienceNetwork 

FirebaseAnalytics 10.17.0

GoogleMobileAds 10.14.0

GoogleUserMessagingPlatform 2.1.0

MetaAdapter

nanopb 2.30909.0

Reachability 5.1.0

SwiftBeaver 1.9.6

iOS framework:

AdSupport

AppTrackingTransparency

AVFoundation

CloudKit

CoreGraphics

CoreMedia

CoreTelephony

StoreKit

SystemConfirguration

UIKit

WebKit

libcrypto

libssl

libz

2. Sales Tax Discount Calculator

This is an Objective-C app with the following dependencies:

AppLovinAdapter 11.0.0.0

AppLovinSDK 11.8.2

FBAudienceNetwork 

FirebaseAnalytics 10.19.0

LibFlurry 11.3.0

GoogleMobileAds 10.2.0

GoogleUserMessagingPlatform 2.0.0

MetaAdapter

iOS framework:

Accelerate

AdSupport

AudioToolbox

AVFoundation

CFNetwork

CoreBluetooth

CoreData

CoreFoundation

CoreGraphics

CoreServices

CoreImage

AppTrackingTransparency

CoreLocation

CoreMedia

CoreMotion

CoreTelephony

COreVideo

EventKit

EventKitUI

Foundation

JavascriptCore

MapKit

MediaPlayer

MessageUI

QuartzCore

SafariServices

Security

Social

StoreKit

SystemConfiguration

WebKit

Twitter

UIKit

libssl

libcrytpo

libc++

libsqlite3.0

Libs

Libxml2.2

Thanks,

Philippe

[philippe.poirier monkeylabs.mobi]

Thanks,

Philippe

[philippe.poirier monkeylabs.mobi]

Please see the answers inline below.

On Dec 17, 2023, at 11:30 PM, Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor <mobile...@forumsupport.google> wrote:

Hi Philippe,

Thank you for providing additional information. I understand that reproducing the issue is challenging, but let's try to gather more details to narrow down the possible causes. Could you please respond with the following:

• Confirmation of SDK Version

A: Please see my previous email which provides this information.

• Device and OS Information

A: The single time I saw this issue on my iPhone the iOS version was 17.1.2

• Steps to Reproduce: Even if you can't reproduce the issue consistently, can you share any specific actions or scenarios where users have reported encountering the problem? This might help in creating a more targeted approach to investigating the problem.

A: Unfortunately I have no particular insight here.

• User Interaction Feedback: Have you received any feedback from users describing their interaction with the collapsible banner ad just before they experienced the issue? Understanding how users interact with the ad might offer insights into potential triggers.

A: Here are some of the messages I have received from users:

Money Converter + app:

- Do something ! After the latest update it cannot be used, due to that damned advertisement which cannot be removed.

Sales Tax Discount Calculator app:

- When ads pop up there is no way to close them when they are finished so the whole screen is blocked and you can’t see what you’re working on 

Sales Tax Canada app:

- It’s ok, after about a few calculations the popup ad goes to the app center, not allowing you to go back to your app to finish what you started, you have to delete the entire app and download it again,

• Any Recent Changes: Have there been any recent updates or changes to the apps, even minor ones? Sometimes seemingly unrelated changes can impact ad interactions.

A: No other changes to report.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Philippe, 

Thank you for getting back to us.

We are unable to replicate this issue in our sample project, as we’ve requested to provide your Sample Project. But we did not receive it yet. We require something related to your issue like screen recording or Sample Project for further investigation. 

If the file(s) you are looking to share are less than 25mb in total you can attach them to this case on your next reply. If you are having trouble attaching your file to this case or if your file(s) are larger than 25mb, kindly provide requested information to us via reply privately to author option or using the steps below:

1. Navigate to

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkAiXMeYP-fw1W3Z-tT9uwmATEKO5X6S-th0gR2ezdKaaqfg/viewform?usp=pp_url&entry.400550049=Mobile+Ads+SDK&entry.460850823=5004Q00002r24j9QAA&entry.80707362=00215585

2. Fill out all fields, and attach your file(s).

3. Please reply back on this thread when you have uploaded your file(s). Please do not share this link.  

[H Kucukcayir]

Hello, 

I also encountered the same frozen ads issue and, couple of users wrote negative comments about my app. I am able to reproduce it, I have attached a screen record. The issue occurs randomly. So, there is no certain way to reproduce it. While first couple of ads loaded fine, suddenly next one might be frozen in the same app session.

1- Imported the SDK version 10.14.0 via Swift Package Manager tested with an iPhone 7 running iOS 15.8. I was able to reproduce the issue.

2- Imported the SDK also via Cocoapods and reproduced the issue on the same device again.

I hope this information helps to identify the issue.

Kind regards,

Hasan Kucukcayir.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Hasan Kucukcayir,

Thank you for contacting the Mobile Ads SDK support team.

Looking at your concern I understand that your app is facing a frozen collapsible ads issue in iOS SDK version 10.14.0.

I have run the Google Banner Sample application and the frozen issue that you have mentioned is not reproducible. I have tested in iOS SDK version 10.14.0 and in the iPhone 7 running OS 15.6. It is very important to follow AdMob Policies, as well as Implementation Guidelines to avoid any issues and load the ads as expected. You may refer to the collapsible banner guide and the Banner Implementation Guidelines, as well as the Recommended and Disallowed implementation guidance for further reference. Also, Can you confirm whether you were able to replicate the mentioned issue in our Google Sample applications? If yes, Kindly provide the below information for further investigation privately:

• Video recording for better illustration of the issue 
• Sample project reproducing the issue

You can provide the following details via reply privately to the author option or directly provide it to the link below.

If the file(s) you are looking to share are less than 25mb in total you can attach them to this case on your next reply. If you are having trouble attaching your file to this case or if your file(s) are larger than 25mb, you can share your files with me by performing the following steps:

[Philippe Poirier]

FYI: I'm still getting reports from some users that this freezing collapsible banner popup issue occurs on their device.

I'm not able to reproduce the issue on demand but have come across it a couple of times by change.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Philippe,

Thank you for getting back to us.

Unfortunately, as the issue cannot be replicated on our end, it will be necessary for us to obtain detailed debugging data from a sample project in which the issue has been observed in order to make any meaningful progress in diagnosing the problem. The only way for us to investigate further is by creating a project where the issue is reproducible.

If the file(s) you are looking to share are less than 25mb in total you can attach them to this case on your next reply. If you are having trouble attaching your file to this case or if your file(s) are larger than 25mb, kindly provide requested information to us via reply to author option or using the steps below: