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This page helps you troubleshoot common issues when working with Meta campaigns in Whathead. Issues are organized by category for quick reference.

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Connection Issues

Symptoms: Connection fails when trying to authenticate with Facebook Business Manager.Possible Causes:
  • You don’t have admin access to the Business Manager
  • Your Facebook account is restricted
  • You’re in a region where Whathead is not available
  • Browser is blocking the authentication popup
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify you have admin or advertiser access in Facebook Business Manager
  2. Check that your Facebook account is in good standing (not restricted)
  3. Disable popup blockers and try again
  4. Try using a different browser (Chrome or Firefox recommended)
  5. Clear browser cache and cookies, then retry
  6. If still failing, contact Whathead support with the error message
Symptoms: Previously connected Meta account shows as disconnected or expired.Possible Causes:
  • Access token expired (Meta tokens expire after 60 days)
  • Permissions were revoked in Facebook Business Manager
  • Business Manager admin removed your access
Resolution Steps:
  1. Navigate to Integrations in Whathead
  2. Click Reconnect on the Meta card
  3. Follow the authentication flow again
  4. Verify all permissions are granted
  5. If reconnection fails, check your Business Manager access
Symptoms: Connected successfully but no ad accounts appear in the dropdown.Possible Causes:
  • Ad accounts are in a different Business Manager
  • You don’t have access to any ad accounts in the connected Business Manager
  • Ad accounts are disabled or restricted
Resolution Steps:
  1. Log in to Facebook Business Manager and verify which ad accounts you have access to
  2. Check that you connected the correct Business Manager (if you manage multiple)
  3. Verify ad accounts are active and not disabled
  4. If accounts are in a different Business Manager, disconnect and reconnect with the correct one
  5. Ask your Business Manager admin to grant you access to the ad accounts
Symptoms: Cannot connect because Whathead is not available in your region.Possible Causes:
  • Your Facebook account or Business Manager is registered in an unsupported region
  • Regional restrictions on third-party app access
Resolution Steps:
  1. Contact Whathead support to check if your region is supported
  2. Ask when support for your region will be available
  3. If you have access to a Business Manager in a supported region, try connecting with that instead

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Publishing Failures

Symptoms: Publishing fails with error “You don’t have permission to create campaigns in this ad account”.Possible Causes:
  • Your Meta connection doesn’t have the required permissions
  • Ad account access was revoked
  • Ad account is disabled or restricted
Resolution Steps:
  1. Navigate to Integrations and reconnect your Meta account
  2. Ensure you grant all required permissions during authentication
  3. Verify the ad account is active in Facebook Business Manager
  4. Check that you have advertiser or admin access to the ad account
  5. If the account is restricted, resolve the restriction in Meta Ads Manager first
Symptoms: Publishing fails with error about creative not meeting requirements.Possible Causes:
  • Image or video doesn’t meet Meta’s specifications
  • File is corrupted or in an unsupported format
  • File size exceeds limits
Resolution Steps:
  1. Check image requirements: JPG/PNG, under 30 MB, at least 600×600 pixels
  2. Check video requirements: MP4/MOV, under 4 GB, under 241 minutes
  3. Verify the file is not corrupted by opening it locally
  4. If using a video, ensure it has valid codec and container format
  5. Try uploading a different file to isolate the issue
  6. Re-export the creative from your design tool with correct specifications
Symptoms: Validation error “Campaign budget must be at least $1 per day”.Possible Causes:
  • Budget is set below Meta’s $1/day minimum
  • Budget field is empty or zero
Resolution Steps:
  1. Open the campaign or ad set with the budget error
  2. Set the daily budget to at least $1
  3. If using lifetime budget, ensure it’s at least $1 total
  4. Save changes and try publishing again
Symptoms: Error “Cannot connect campaigns with different objectives to the same ad set”.Possible Causes:
  • You’ve connected multiple campaigns with different objectives to one ad set node
  • Ad set is trying to inherit conflicting optimization goals
Resolution Steps:
  1. Review your campaign structure on the canvas
  2. Identify which campaigns are connected to the same ad set
  3. Either:
    • Create separate ad sets for each campaign, OR
    • Ensure all campaigns connected to the ad set have the same objective
  4. Disconnect incompatible campaigns from the ad set
  5. Try publishing again
Symptoms: Partial success — some campaigns published successfully, others failed.Possible Causes:
  • Some campaigns had validation errors, others didn’t
  • Network issues during publishing
  • Meta API rate limiting
Resolution Steps:
  1. Review error messages for failed campaigns
  2. Fix validation errors on failed campaigns
  3. Select only the failed campaigns
  4. Click Publish again — successful campaigns will be skipped automatically
  5. Verify all campaigns appear in Meta Ads Manager
Symptoms: Publishing takes a very long time or fails with timeout error.Possible Causes:
  • Large campaign with many entities
  • Slow internet connection
  • Meta API is experiencing delays
  • Uploading large video files
Resolution Steps:
  1. Check your internet connection speed
  2. Try publishing during off-peak hours (avoid weekday mornings)
  3. If uploading videos, compress them or upload to Meta’s media library first
  4. Break very large campaigns into smaller batches
  5. Be patient — campaigns with 50+ entities can take several minutes
  6. If timeout persists, contact Whathead support

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Validation Errors

Symptoms: Cannot publish because campaign name is missing.Resolution:
  1. Open the campaign node
  2. Enter a descriptive name for the campaign
  3. Save and try publishing again
Symptoms: Cannot publish because ad set has no targeting.Resolution:
  1. Open the ad set node
  2. Navigate to the Targeting section
  3. Configure at least one targeting option (age, gender, location, or interests)
  4. Save and try publishing again
Symptoms: Cannot publish because ad has no image or video.Resolution:
  1. Open the ad node
  2. Click Add Creative or Select Image/Video
  3. Choose an asset from your media library or upload a new one
  4. Save and try publishing again
Symptoms: Ad set is not connected to a parent campaign.Resolution:
  1. On the canvas, locate the disconnected ad set node
  2. Drag a connection from a campaign node to the ad set node
  3. Verify the connection is established (line appears between nodes)
  4. Try publishing again
Symptoms: Ad set is missing an optimization goal.Resolution:
  1. Open the ad set node
  2. Navigate to the Optimization section
  3. Select an optimization goal compatible with your campaign objective
  4. Save and try publishing again

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Editing Issues

Symptoms: Objective field is locked on an existing campaign.Explanation: Meta does not allow changing the objective after a campaign is created.Workaround:
  1. Create a new campaign with the desired objective
  2. Copy your ad sets and ads to the new campaign
  3. Publish the new campaign
  4. Pause or archive the old campaign
Symptoms: Conversion location field is locked on an existing ad set.Explanation: Meta does not allow changing conversion location after an ad set is created.Workaround:
  1. Create a new ad set with the correct conversion location
  2. Copy your ads to the new ad set
  3. Publish the new ad set
  4. Pause the old ad set
Symptoms: Made changes in Whathead but they don’t appear in Meta Ads Manager.Possible Causes:
  • Changes weren’t saved before publishing
  • Publishing failed silently
  • Meta Ads Manager cache hasn’t refreshed
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify you clicked Save after making changes
  2. Check the publishing results for any error messages
  3. Refresh Meta Ads Manager (hard refresh with Cmd+Shift+R or Ctrl+Shift+R)
  4. Wait a few minutes for Meta’s cache to update
  5. If changes still don’t appear, try republishing from Whathead
Symptoms: Bulk edit only updated some of the selected entities.Possible Causes:
  • Some entities don’t support the field you’re editing
  • Some entities are locked (e.g., archived campaigns)
  • Validation failed for some entities
Resolution Steps:
  1. Check which entities were updated and which weren’t
  2. Verify all selected entities support the field you’re editing
  3. Check for validation errors on entities that didn’t update
  4. Edit incompatible entities individually

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Asset and Creative Issues

Symptoms: Image upload fails or shows error.Possible Causes:
  • Image doesn’t meet Meta’s requirements
  • File is corrupted
  • Network connection issue
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify image is JPG or PNG format
  2. Check file size is under 30 MB
  3. Ensure resolution is at least 600×600 pixels
  4. Try opening the image locally to verify it’s not corrupted
  5. Try uploading a different image to isolate the issue
  6. Check your internet connection
Symptoms: Video upload fails or takes very long.Possible Causes:
  • Video doesn’t meet Meta’s requirements
  • File size is too large
  • Slow internet connection
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify video is MP4 or MOV format
  2. Check file size is under 4 GB
  3. Ensure duration is under 241 minutes
  4. Compress the video if it’s very large
  5. Try uploading during off-peak hours
  6. Use a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi for large files
Symptoms: Can see asset in media library but cannot use it in ads.Possible Causes:
  • Asset is in a different ad account
  • Asset failed Meta’s review
  • Asset is archived or deleted
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify you’re viewing the correct ad account’s media library
  2. Check the asset’s status in Meta Ads Manager
  3. If asset failed review, check Meta’s policy violation notice
  4. Try uploading the asset again if it’s unavailable

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Performance and Learning Phase

Symptoms: Ad set shows “Learning” status for many days.Explanation: Meta’s algorithm needs about 50 conversions per week to exit learning phase.What to do:
  • Be patient — learning can take 7-14 days for new ad sets
  • Avoid making changes during learning (resets the phase)
  • Ensure budget is sufficient to generate conversions
  • If learning persists beyond 2 weeks, consider increasing budget or broadening targeting
Symptoms: Campaign performance decreased after making changes.Possible Causes:
  • Changes reset the learning phase
  • New targeting is less effective
  • Budget change disrupted delivery
What to do:
  • Wait 3-7 days for performance to stabilize
  • Check if ad set re-entered learning phase
  • Review what changed and consider reverting if performance doesn’t recover
  • Make smaller, incremental changes in the future

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Getting More Help

If you’ve tried the troubleshooting steps above and still have issues:
  1. Check Meta’s Status: Visit Meta for Developers Status to see if there are platform-wide issues
  2. Review Meta’s Documentation: Check Meta’s Business Help Center for platform-specific guidance
  3. Contact Whathead Support: Reach out with:
    • Description of the issue
    • Error messages (screenshots helpful)
    • Steps you’ve already tried
    • Campaign or ad account ID if relevant
When contacting support, include screenshots of error messages and describe what you were trying to do when the issue occurred. This helps support resolve your issue faster.

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Next Steps

Publishing Workflow

Learn about the publishing process

FAQ

Common questions about Meta campaigns

Connection Setup

Review connection requirements

Validation Rules

Understand validation requirements