Clicking sound in iOS. Can it be because of AdMob?

[Vladislav Haralampiev]

Hi!

We are investigating a weird clicking / ticking sound that sometimes appears for our players on iOS. One player described the sound here https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/17z2f08/weird_creepy_shutter_clicking_sound_within_apps/

We are not able to reproduce this on our devices. Also, seems that the issue is very rare. But when it happens, the sound does not disappear and is extremely annoying.

Can this be related to AdMob SDK? Have you heard of such issue on iOS? Our app is completely muted, the only thing that may produce sound is AdMob (but we always request muted ads). One player reported that the sound started after an ad. Also, some people say that the same issue happens on other apps, but not on all apps. This may or may not be related to AdMob, we are still not sure.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for contacting the Mobile Ads SDK Support team.

By reviewing your concern, I understand that you are experiencing a clicking sound on iOS and would like to know if it is due to AdMob.

Please note that we are unable to reproduce the issue using the Sample application.

In order for us to investigate your issue further, we would appreciate it if you could share your sample application with us.

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:

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=5004Q00002r1WzZQAU&entry.80707362=00215157

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.

This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02r1WzZ:ref"

Thanks,
 

Mobile Ads SDK Team

 

[Kerem]

I encountered the same issue yesterday once while testing my app. I also believe it comes from a rogue ad. When I killed and relaunched the app, the issue was gone and I haven’t seen it again, perhaps the same creative was not served to my app again.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Kerem,

Thank you for contacting the Mobile Ads SDK Support team.

By reviewing your concern, I understand that you are facing an issue with clicking sound.

Please provide the below information privately for further investigation. So that we can have full visibility of your implementation.

• Platform being used 

• Sample application

[Vladislav Haralampiev]

I filled out the for you linked.

[Kerem]

The problem comes from an ad for an app called Travel Town - Merge Adventure.

Its link is https://apps.apple.com/tr/app/travel-town-merge-adventure/id1521236603

I have blocked that app from displaying any ads on my app. I suggest you do the same. I am attaching a link to a post I made on X with a video that shows the problem.

https://x.com/kerem_erkan/status/1735295339576320392?s=46

You'll see that the clicking sound comes when the bird at the bottom right hops. Looks like the creative starts to run immediately as it is loaded, even though we don't yet display the ad. So there is definitely an SDK problem here.

[Kerem]

If you would like to investigate a creative for this app, here is a creative ID:

ALHM7GKZBOT+GGd0qCubYAIXzBEK8akRy/g+owo5PLU+MChTUfAeytFb

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to us.

I see that you have already raised this concern on another thread with the subject 'Clicking sound in iOS. Can it be because of AdMob?', and we have already responded there for this issue.

To avoid multiple threads on the same issue, please take a look at that thread and continue the discussion on the same for further updates on the issue.

Please reach out to us, if you need any further assistance.

This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02r1mF0:ref"

Thanks,
 

Mobile Ads SDK Team

 

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for getting back to us.

Please be informed that we were unable to locate the sample application in the attachments you have shared. Would you kindly reshare the sample application (not the apk file) through the link below?

[Vladislav Haralampiev]

Kerem is correct. This is exactly the sound our users report.

It coincides with the jumping bird from the ad creative to

which Kerem pointed. The sound starts after the ad is loaded

(not shown) and does not stop until you kill the app.

I also blocked ads from the app Travel Town - Merge Adventure.

If our users stop reporting this clicking sound then apparently

this ad is responsible for the issue.

Is there a way to instruct AdMob SDK in test mode to load a

specific ad creative given that we know its id? This is how

we can reproduce the issue.

In the google doc I gave a link to our app on AppStore.

Kerem also linked his app. I am not sure what file you

want me to upload? Just taking the AdMob sample app

( https://github.com/googleads/googleads-mobile-ios-examples )

should be enough to reproduce the issue assuming you

are somehow able to force AdMob SDK to load the

ad creative that Kerem pointed.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi, 

Please do note that the Mobile Ads SDK just requests an ad to the ad-server and doesn't have any control on what ad it will receive. With that being said, what we can suggest at this point is to reach out to the Product Support Team.

[Kerem]

I suspect you may not have yet understood the seriousness of this problem. While we understand that there is no control on the received ad, the SDK should not immediately start running a creative as soon as it is received. In my case, the interstitial ad unit receives an ad creative, and even though my app does not display the ad yet, the creative takes over the sound subsystem and starts playing sound. This is unacceptable and we should not need to reach out to anyone again since this is definitely a critical bug in the SDK which lets a creative start running as soon as it is received. I will elevate this with my account manager on Google though.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for getting back to us.

We’ve checked the files which you’ve shared. It looks like you’ve shared android apk files and are not able to see any iOS source code, as per the query it looks like you are facing an issue in iOS.

Since we are unable to replicate the issue in Google sample application. We require your sample project reproducing issue 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=5004Q00002r1WzZQAU&entry.80707362=00215157

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. 

This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02r1WzZ:ref"

Thanks,
 

Mobile Ads SDK Team

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi, 

Kindly share sample project which replicates the issue so we could have full visibility of your implementation.

Please do note that the Mobile Ads SDK just requests an ad to the ad-server and doesn't have any control on what ad it will receive. With that being said, what we can suggest at this point is to reach out to the Product Support Team.