Troubleshoot issues found using ad inspector

Ad inspector helps you identify issues with your app. Once the issue is identified, use the following information to learn how to resolve it. 

Understand SDK adapter issues

There are two issues you may see when checking your third-party ad source’s SDK adapter. Review the following to understand the issue and what you can do to fix it. 

Note: If you don’t see your third-party ad source listed in the Adapter tab, this could mean you haven’t added the ad source in your AdMob account. Learn how to set up a waterfall ad source and a bidding ad source. Once you’ve set up the ad source correctly, make sure you’ve added it to a mediation group.

Issue	What it means	What you can do
Adapter not found	Some third-party ad sources require an SDK and its GMA SDK specific adapter to load and display ads from that source.  This error means that the GMA SDK cannot find your third-party adapter or SDK.	Check that you’ve installed the SDK adapter correctly. Learn more for Android and iOS.
Didn't initialize	Each third-party ad source SDK adapter needs to be explicitly initialized in your codebase with the necessary parameters.	Ensure you followed the integration guide correctly. Learn more for Android and iOS. For specific initialization errors, please refer to your third-party ad source’s documentation.

 Understand issues with bidding ad sources

To view bidding details in ad inspector, you must install version 20.2.0+ for Android and version 8.5.0+ for iOS. 

When reviewing the SDK request logs for details about your third-party bidding sources, you may encounter one of the following issues. 

Issue	What it means	What you can do
No SDK signal found	Some ad sources may need an SDK and adapter installed and configured correctly to use bidding.	Make sure you’ve followed the SDK requirements correctly for Android and iOS.
No user consent provided	The ad source may not be eligible for a bid request if the user has not provided the necessary consent. This may be expected behavior.	Learn more about implementing consent tools, such as GDPR, in the AdMob policies and restrictions.
No ad returned	The ad sources may have decided to not bid for the ad request or they may not be eligible to bid for it.  There are several possible reasons for this issue. Here are some examples: The ad source may only bid under certain conditions, such as specific geographic areas.  The ad source may not have an ad for the bid request.  There was an unexpected system error or timeout on the ad source’s end.	Check with your ad source for more details.  Note: If your third-party bidding source is not bidding, there may be an issue with the signal it’s collecting. You can copy and share the buyer generated data with your bidding source.

View third-party bidding parameter issues per ad request

When reviewing the third-party bidding parameter details, you may encounter one of the following errors. Use the table below for what the errors mean and recommended next steps.

Error message	What it means	What you can do
NO_ERROR	There is no error.	No action needed.
ADAPTER_CREATION_FAILURE	The third-party SDK adapter either wasn’t found or didn’t initialize.	Verify that the adapter and third-party SDK are imported correctly (Android, iOS).
SIGNAL_COLLECTION_FAILURE	The third-party SDK adapter returned a failure during signal collection. This could mean the SDK signal wasn’t found or timed out.	Review the error description provided in ad inspector for help identifying the cause of the issue.  Verify that you’ve correctly mapped your ad units in your AdMob account.  Verify that the third-party ad source SDK initialized successfully.  Otherwise, refer to your third-party ad source’s documentation.
SIGNAL_COLLECTION_TIMEOUT	The signal collection for the third-party SDK adapter timed out.	Verify that the third-party ad source’s SDK initialized successfully.     Otherwise, refer to your third-party ad source’s documentation.
UNKNOWN_ERROR	This indicates an unexpected error.	Unknown errors mean we can't determine the exact cause. Here are a few common issues you can check:  Verify that the third-party ad source’s SDK initialized successfully. Verify that you’ve correctly mapped your ad units in your AdMob account.   Otherwise, refer to your third-party ad source’s documentation.
ADAPTER_PROTOCOL_ CONFORMANCE_FAILURE	This means that the third-party SDK adapter is not supported or there is a problem with the adapter’s configuration.	Verify that the adapter and third-party SDK are imported correctly (iOS).  Note that this error appears for iOS only.

Not seeing your ad source listed in third-party bidding parameters? This could mean that your ad source wasn’t configured correctly in your AdMob account. Check the partnership status of your bidding source. It could also mean there is an unknown error.