Update: I am getting some feedback that users from other dev platforms (not Corona) are experiencing the same issue with Admob.
I highly recommend you to write a letter to Admob - I am sure that they can help you with this ads/fill issue for test banners. As I’ve said, we can’t fix Admob’s ad filling, we just giving an access to their SDK with easier integration for Corona users, but how Admob is working out for users is completely under our radars.
Thank you karpovpw! I did not realize that I had left those ID’s in the code submitted as I had intended to remove them - oops!
I will reach out to Admob directly and post back my findings.
Ed
karpovpw,
Quick question - is it possible you could make the apk you built available to me so I could put it on my test device?
Thank you,
Ed
Sure, that’s a good idea.
Thank you karpovpw!
Is the apk tested above with the Admob test ad units? With that build I do receive the Smart Banner with the black background, not the test ad that you show in the images above.
Thank you,
Ed
As I’ve said,
Thank you for the response karpovpw.
If you took the code exactly as I sent it then that would imply there is a difference between the machine that you built the apk on and my machine. The code exactly as I sent to you does not show test ads unless I use the test ad units.
Here is my setup:
Windows 10 - 64 bit
Corona 2017.3184
JDK8u162 (64-bit)
I joined the Google Admob Mobile ads SDK group and they informed me that they don’t support questions on anything other than native Android and iOS apps as well as Unity and Cocos2d.
A quick summary of what I have tried:
Built on Windows 10 - 3184
Built on Mac OS 10.12.6 with 3184 & 3241
Built on Mac OS 10.13.3 with 3184
In all cases JDK8u162 (64-bit) was used.
Conclusion so far: Since the only change I have made to the code since I sent it in as a bug report is add 4 print statements and the code was compiled just fine by you, perhaps there is an issue with my account on the plugin/build server? If there was a problem on the Admob side of this then you should have received the same results as I did, but you did not. The primary differences are the account you used to do the build and the test device you used (and perhaps access to different build process internally?).
Test devices I have used:
Nexus 7 2013 Android 6.0.1
Nexus 9 Android 7.1.1
Nexus 6 Android 7.0
Look forward to your thoughts on this dilemma.
Thank you,
Ed
Hi karpovpw,
I just looked in the zip folder of the code I submitted for the Bug Report. The adUnit id’s that are in there are the Admob test ad unit id, not mine! So the code I submitted to you does not have my id’s.
Would you like to try to build again with my info?
Thank you,
Ed
Yeah, sure. Is this the correct ones?
Ad format Sample ad unit ID
Banner ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/6300978111
Interstitial ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712
Rewarded Video ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/5224354917
Native Advanced ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/2247696110
Those are the sample ad Units from Admob. How do I send you the appId and adUnits?
You can pm it to me personally to stay secure.
Ok, PM sent.
Thank you for all of the efforts!
Ed
Do not mention it.
I’d be glad to help you, we’ll figure out how to solve that mysterious issue.
Here is another update:
I’ve checked two regions profound: US and RU.
For US I’ve got “No Ads Available” for your adUnitId once, every other launch and refresh was giving me test banners:
For RU region I was getting test ads every time app requested it.
Android situation is the same, with the mentioned earlier exception that test ads are coming to device without “Test Ad” overlay, so it might be a little confusing.
From this we can conclude that test ads are tied to your region and you may get a no fill situation on specific adUnitIds.
Do I personally think that this is expected behavior? Of course not.
Why is that happening? Only Admob can answer to that and, hopefully, fix it.
Once again, sorry to say that, but Corona have no control over ads fill. Corona’s Admob plugin gives you an easy-to-integrate access to Admob’s SDK and nothing else. I’ve triple checked everything plugin related through internal testing - all working as expected. Test mode is setting correctly and test ads are coming from Admob - the issue is fill of that test ads.
Earlier you’ve wrote that Admob refuses to work with your case and that’s a complete joke of them - you are an Admob’s user, the only difference between you and a native one is ease of integration to your Corona project. My guess is that you’ve asked for help not where you need to - you should write to their support directly, since you are a user, who is not satisfied with the quality of test ads fill and that is the issue they’ve got to help you with, it’s their job.
If you still consider on asking help not from Admob’s support directly - you can ask for help as a native Admob’s user, not mentioning Corona at all, but I highly recommend to solve that issue directly with Admob’s support team.
With that said, I’ll try to find some way to deal with it on our side, but … for now it looks like a completely impossible task to accomplish. Is there anything else I can help you with?
Thank you karpovpw for the exhaustive effort on your part!
I have finally convinced the Admob SDK support team to take a look at my Ad Units and account. I will post back here if there is anything to report.
Ed
Great news, make sure to notify asap.
Hello,
I am back! After some testing by Admob using their Sample App, they are satisfied that there is nothing wrong with my Ad Units - they successfully pull up Test Ads as expected and without any refresh issues.
karpovpw, is it possible I could send you the apk that I have built so that you could see what I see? I made a modification to my test code that the ad listener, upon failure, automatically tried to load an ad again. Every once in a while it succeeds, mostly it fails.
Please advise.
Thank you,
Ed
Hi!
Apk won’t help. You can send a new sample to reproduce an issue through bug submission, if it’s ok for you.
I’m just not sure for now what results do you expect from this new sample? Like, we’ve figured our, that test ads are working as expected and when Admob is sending them - we are displaying it through plugin just fine. The problem comes when Admob doesn’t send these ads - then, well, we have nothing to display, so we’re not displaying anything.
How Admob’s team commenting the error, that you are getting? {“errorMsg”:“No Ads Available”,“errorCode”:3,“adUnitId”:“ca-app-pub-*****”}
I don’t want you to think that Corona refuses to fix a confirmed issue, but I’m still thinking that everything working correct with test ads inside Corona plugin - something’s wrong with test ads fill. That error mentioned above are sent by Admob and not generated inside a plugin, so Admob’s team is the only one who can answer why are you getting it in the first place. It’s a pity that you have to deal with this issue, but I’d worked with Admob’s team a little more. Like, let them investigate why are you getting a {“errorMsg”:“No Ads Available”,“errorCode”:3,“adUnitId”:“ca-app-pub-*****”} if they’re saying that everything working correctly for them. They can look on their side what’s wrong with your test ads fill, we just can’t. Can you ask them to investigate, why are you getting it in the first place? Like, it’s a test ad, how you can get a “No Ads Available” error?
But I could see if we can somehow bypass improper ads fill, just create a new bug submission with your updated sources - I’ll see what we can do with your code.