Admob Ads Suddenly Stopped Showing For Weeks

[Sunday Victor]

I have been using Admob for exactly 3years without any issues on my 4 apps. Suddenly, one of my app (tunnel.entclass.vpn) stopped showing ads. 

There's no policy violations or any email. But anytime I try to update my app or change any code and publish to Playstore, ads will be live for 24hrs to 48hrs and then stops again. Test ads is always working fine.

I have no current issues or problems with Admob. It's been like this for more than 3 weeks. I think Admob has mistakenly blacklisted my app from ad serving. Please help me look into this matter.

Affected App ID: ca-app-pub-2425334312364589~1660528197

Affected Ad Units: All

No policy violations or whatsoever. Please help me solve this issue.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to us.

For us to properly troubleshoot the issue, would it be possible to retrieve the ad response (https://developers.google.com/admob/android/response-info) when the ads are not displaying? Use the following code snippet:

//Kotlin
override fun onAdFailedToLoad(adError: LoadAdError) {
  Log.d(TAG,"onAdFailedToLoad " +adError.message +" Code " + adError.code) // this one
}

//Java
public void onAdFailedToLoad(LoadAdError loadAdError) {
    Log.d(TAG, "onAdFailedToLoad " + loadAdError.getMessage() + " Code" + loadAdError.getCode()); // this one
}

Once you have the error code, kindly share it with us.

Regards,

Mobile Ads SDK Team

ref:_00D1U1174p._5004Q2lHC6E:ref

[Sunday Victor]

The problem here is that, after building apk freshly from Android studio, ads starts showing immediately. But after publishing to playstore, all ads stops showing after 24hrs to 48hrs. Now, i have android studio apk which is showing ads and apk downloaded from playstore which is not showing ads.

This is really strange, because i haven't experienced this before since my 3years with Admob. Please help me.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Thank you for the clarification.

You can read this article on common reasons for ads not showing (https://support.google.com/admob/answer/9469204?hl=en&sjid=2904154151211041028-AP) for further reference. We suspect this issue you are experiencing might be because of the recent update you've mentioned. We recommend waiting for about 2 weeks for ads to show. However, if the issue persists after the 2 week period, feel free to reach back to us with an APK of the app so we may investigate the issue further. 

You can provide the following details via reply privately to 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:

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=5004Q00002lHC6EQAW&entry.80707362=00178533

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.

[Sunday Victor]

I have uploaded the apk file (which is the Playstore version). This has been going on for 3 weeks now. I just noticed exactly where the problem is coming from just this week. My Admob account is fine and in good condition even the support team said the same thing. So I am very confident that the problem is coming from Playstore as the apk version from Android studio (which I uploaded to Playstore) is showing ads very well. Please escalate this issue to your Team and Playstore console team. It's getting to 4 weeks now.

[Sunday Victor]

Is there any update yet? It's already 4 weeks and there's no ads showing up on my app downloaded from Playstore. But ads is still showing on the same app which hasn't been uploaded to Playstore. Please help me.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Upon reviewing the information you've provided, it appears that the issue you are encountering is related to ad serving. Kindly note that the SDK just requests an ad to the ad server (E.g: AdMob), and I'm afraid that it doesn't have any control on fill rate of your app. This is more of an ad serving issue/ fill rate concern which is out of scope to our team. That said, we would recommend raising this to our Product Support team (https://support.google.com/admob/thread/new?hl=en) instead as they are better equipped in handling these concerns.

[Sunday Victor]

I have done that and no one seems to be getting what the actual problem is. Please help me and direct me to a support who can better understand what the problem is and help me resolve this issue. Ad is serving well on the app that I haven't uploaded to Playstore, but the same app on Playstore is not showing ads if you download from Playstore. Please help me. I've been working for 4 weeks now without earning. It's really frustrating for me and my business.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for your response.

As mentioned previously, the Product Support team (via this link:https://support.google.com/admob/thread/new?hl=en) is the only way you can reach out to them. However, since you've mentioned that you already reach out to them, can you provide us the case ID that was generated when you reach out to them? The format of it was something like #-##############. Once provided, we will try to share it to the wider team to further assist you on this. Kindly note that we need the case ID before sharing this to the wider team.

[Sunday Victor]

Case ID 2-3732000034312. I made this new complaint hours ago but no response. Please help me reach out to the appropriate team to further look into this matter. Thank you.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi Sunday,

Thank you for responding back. Allow me to raise this to a wider team. I'll update this thread the soonest I hear back from them.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Thank you for providing this information. You mentioned this was was happening in a production application, can you provide a way for us to replicate this issue? Can you send over the apk and/or a screen recording of your app with the blank ads. Can you confirm this only happen for 1 of your apps? Have you updated your other apps since you have noticed this issue?

Thanks,
Justin

ref:_00D1U1174p._5004Q2lHC6E:ref

[Sunday Victor]

I have updated other apps and they are showing ads very well after uploaded to Playstore. Only (tunnel.entclass.vpn) doesn't show ads after being uploaded to Playstore. This issue started even without updating the app. The ads just suddenly stopped showing ads on the 21st of April 2023 until I discovered it's only for the Playstore version (i:e if you download the app from Playstore). If you download the app outside Playstore, ads will show up very well. You can send me a link to upload both Playstore version and android studio version (same app though).

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Thank you for that information. Here is a place to upload files:

 

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=5004Q00002lHC6EQAW&entry.80707362=00178533

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.

To view files uploaded for this case,go to it's case attachment folder at

https://drive.google.com/corp/drive/search?q=%225004Q00002lHC6EQAW%20-%2000178533%22%20type:folder

[Sunday Victor]

I have uploaded the apk from Android studio and apk downloaded from Playstore. Please review them accordingly. Thank you.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Thank you for sending that information. I was able to observe the behavior that you were experiencing. I tested your package ID with your App ID and Ad Unit ID and was able to load ads. To further diagnose your issue please send us a Charles log of the failing ad request(s) or a network tracing log. 

[Sunday Victor]

Of course ads will show, but if you upload the apk to Playstore, ads will stop showing after 48hrs of being published. I also have the ad inspector screenshot and the response I got was "Received error HTTP response code: 403". I've attached the screenshot below. Note that, this issue is occurring when you install my app from Playstore. Outside Playstore, there's no issues.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Thank you for sending that information. No fills are not indicative of any issues with your Google Mobile Ads SDK integration. To further diagnose your issue please send us a Charles log of the failing ad request(s) or a network tracing log. 

Thanks,
Justin

ref:_00D1U1174p._5004Q2lHC6E:ref

[Sunday Victor]

Here is the log

GMA Debug BEGIN
2023-05-19 16:11:01.555 15834-16734 Ads                     tunnel.entclass.vpn                  I  GMA Debug CONTENT {"timestamp":1684509061555,"event":"onNetworkRequestError","components":["network_request_9a6bf5e8-7450-43f0-9a9e-f637c84f8178"],"params":{"error_description":"Forbidden"}}
2023-05-19 16:11:01.555 15834-16734 Ads                     tunnel.entclass.vpn                  I  GMA Debug FINISH

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hello,

Thank you for sending the log. Are you able to see a "onNetworkRequest" in the log? It should have a "uri" key with a value that we can use to debug the failing ad request. 

[Sunday Victor]

Here is another log.

2023-05-19 19:05:44.461 18084-24946 Ads                     tunnel.entclass.vpn                  I  GMA Debug BEGIN
2023-05-19 19:05:44.462 18084-24946 Ads                     tunnel.entclass.vpn                  I  GMA Debug CONTENT {"timestamp":1684519544461,"event":"onNetworkRequest","components":["network_request_083b24fa-db3f-4513-ab27-9967e7bc0ff2"],"params":{"firstline":{"uri":"https://csi.gstatic.com/csi?v=3&s=gmob&action=js_webview_partial&it=tbnd_.-1648&e=318496669,318508243,318500618,318486317,318491267,44790461,318503826,318504752,318506228,318509018,318509597,318482031,318483611,318484497,318484801,318508639,318502753,318477264,,318496669,318508243,318500618,318486317,318491267,44790461,318503826,318504752,318506228,318509018,318509597,318482031,318483611,318484497,318484801,318508639,318502753&s_e_id=go8yt4xuwsjt&j_e_caps=inlineVideo_interactiveVideo_mraid1_mraid2_mraid3_sdkVideo_exo3_th_autoplay_mediation_scroll_av_av_transparentBackground_sdkAdmobApiForAds_di_sfv_dinm_dim_nav_navc_dinmo_ipdof_gls_gcache_sai_xSeconds&j_e_heap_free=251451424&j_e_heap_max=268435456&j_e_heap_total=268435456&msid=tunnel.entclass.vpn&j_e_target_api=33&j_e_gqi=dbpnZJS2B5PPxgPX9rzoAQ&j_e_qqi=CIfY-6b8gf8CFX6SfwQdi3oFpg&j_e_wi=396&j_e_he=689&j_e_placement=app_open&j_e_aot=cold_start&j_e_gc=empty_rw_wifi&j_e_demand=aci&j_e_ad_format=js_app_open_videoctd&j_e_layout=video_ctd/app_open&j_e_cmp_id=19951331985&j_e_crt_id=656266667414&j_e_wp=ca-app-pub-2425334312364589&j_e_as=5090152256&j_e_nt=wi&j_e_ad_ctp=false&j_e_ad_ar=WIFI&j_e_media=-8763980248024355942&j_e_apsect_ratio=0.5625&j_e_video_format=22&j_e_afma_sdk=231004999.210890000.1-a-afma-sdk-a-v231004999.210890000.1&j_e_ple=true&j_e_abe=false&j_e_tmp=mvc,pp2_h_s&j_e_c_js=ctd_lima&j_e_pce=true&j_e_pt=EXO&j_e_gvl=1&j_e_scm=https&j_e_sfx=ayback&j_e_vspx=https://rr1---sn-huoob-avnl.googlevideo.com&j_e_vns=youtube&j_e_vcpn=O4Opdq7ugeikdcma&j_e_vei=dbpnZODoJvWbsfIPscGM-Ac&j_e_vitag=22&j_e_vid=86601665e1f7eb9a&j_e_mbe=1&j_e_mute_start=false&s_e_seq=1&j_e_bt=1684519542999&s_e_pt=1451&j_e_gch=true&j_e_gcd=true&j_e_asmime=audio/mp4a-latm&j_e_acodec=mp4a.40.2&j_e_fr=30.000002&j_e_br=-1&j_e_reso=720x1280&j_e_vsmime=video/avc&j_e_vcodec=avc1.64001F&j_e_du=48367&j_e_players=1&j_e_prepared=1&j_e_pc_cd=3390&j_e_pc_cp_reason=duration_threshold&j_e_cptr=vt&j_e_sz=-1&rt=j_ad_rs_0.33,j_pc_st.69,j_vi_ld.70,j_ad_rd_0.72,j_ad_dcl.107,j_pc_rd.946,j_vi_cpl.947","verb":"GET"},"headers":[{"name":"Referer","value":"https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/"},{"name":"User-Agent","value":"Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 11; SM-N975F Build/RP1A.200720.012; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/112.0.5615.135 Mobile Safari/537.36 (Mobile; afma-sdk-a-v231004999.210890000.1)"},{"name":"Accept","value":"image/avif,image/webp,image/apng,image/svg+xml,image/*,*/*;q=0.8"}]}}
2023-05-19 19:05:44.462 18084-24946 Ads                     tunnel.entclass.vpn                  I  GMA Debug FINISH

[Sunday Victor]

I am still waiting for a response from your team. My app is still not serving ads when you download it from Playstore. Outside playstore, ads is showing on the app. This is 4weeks now. I am losing alot of revenue. Please take this issue seriously. 

[Sunday Victor]

I've not gotten any response from you guys yet. Please the issue still persist. I just released another new version on Playstore, then ads started showing and after 6 days, ads stopped showing. Please what could be wrong. You all should help me cos it's driving me craazy.

[Sunday Victor]

No response yet from your team. Is it that my problem don't have a solution? Over 2 months now.

[Sunday Victor]

You all abandoned my problem? Can someone please talk to me? This issue has been ongoing for more than 2 months. Admob team come to my aid.