This article will show you what to do when you experience an issue when attempting to run an ad through Phorest Ads Manager.
Below is a list of known issues that can appear when attempting to create an ad through Ads Manager, along with steps on how to resolve them.
Known Issues/Errors
- Unsupported post request. Object with ID ‘act_’ does not exist
- My ad shows an 'Invalid character' error
- You can't use this feature until you verify the email you entered
- Permissions error, type:OAuthException, code 200, subcode 1815694
- Ad Spend Staying At 0
- Instagram Account Not Connected
- "All ads in this ad set have errors"
- Meta's Personal Health and Appearance Advertising Policy
Unsupported post request. Object with ID ‘act_’ does not exist
This error is displayed when a user does not have all the required permissions in Facebook needed to run the ads. To resolve this, go to Marketing > Manage my ads > Click the Facebook Page dropdown, and + Add new Facebook page, then connect to your Facebook page again, using a login that has the necessary Admin permissions.
Once done, you can delete the previous connection if you want to, by going to Manager > Settings > Online > Instagram & Facebook > Click on the previous connection > Disconnect.
If you're not sure how to check for admin permissions, check out this video guide.
My ad shows an 'Invalid character' error
Meta does not allow certain special characters to be used in ads. Review the text in your ad, and remove any characters listed in the error, then continue.
You can't use this feature until you verify the email you entered
This error can appear when you attempt to save your ad and happens when you have yet to verify the email address associated with your Meta Business Manager account.
To verify your email address, go to https://business.facebook.com/settings/info, scroll down to the My Info section, and click on Resend email.
You will receive an email prompting you to verify. Once you have verified, you can attempt to save the ad again in Phorest.
Permissions error, type:OAuthException, code 200, subcode 1815694
This error is shown when there’s an unsettled account status on Facebook, which usually indicates that there’s an issue with the payment method used to run ads.
Go to your Meta Ads Manager account to check account settings and payment method status, check for warning messages and follow the instructions given to resolve the unsettled status.
Ad Spend Staying At 0
If your Ad Spend amount is not increasing even though your ad is active, this usually means that Meta will not promote the ad for unclear reasons, or the ad is unexpectedly remaining in its learning phase within Meta.
If your ad has been active for 3 days and the spend is still at $0, stop the ad by clicking the button.
Once the ad is stopped, check the box beside the ad name and then click Duplicate to recreate the ad and run it again.
Instagram Account Not Connected
This happens if your Instagram account was not connected during the initial setup. To resolve this, go to Marketing > Manage my ads > Click the Facebook Page dropdown, and + Add new Facebook page, then connect to your Facebook page again, and choose to also connect your Instagram account.
Once done, you can delete the previous connection if you want to, by going to Manager > Settings > Online > Instagram & Facebook > Click on the previous connection > Disconnect.
"All ads in this ad set have errors"
This is a generic error in Facebook and could be for a number of reasons. Some examples include:
- Payment Issues
- Ad Policy Violation
- Account Issues
This can potentially be resolved from within Facebook, however, we suggest that you recreate the ad first by clicking the button in Phorest Ads Manager to stop the current ad. Then, once the ad is stopped, check the box beside the ad name and then click Duplicate to recreate the ad and run it again.
If the error happens again, you will need to investigate it on Facebook or contact Facebook support to resolve it.
Meta's Personal Health and Appearance Advertising Policy
Meta's policy does not allow advertisers to run ads for health or appearance-related products that imply or attempt to generate negative self-perception. This includes not allowing before and after images with idealised results.
Failure to adhere to this policy may result in your Facebook or Instagram account being restricted.
For more information, see Meta's article on Personal Health and Appearance.