Skip to main content
This page helps you troubleshoot common issues when working with TikTok campaigns in Whathead. Issues are organized by category for quick reference.

​
Connection Issues

Symptoms: Connection fails when trying to authenticate with TikTok Ads Manager.Possible Causes:
  • You don’t have admin access to the TikTok Ads account
  • Your TikTok account is restricted or suspended
  • Browser is blocking the authentication popup
  • TikTok API is experiencing issues
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify you have admin or operator access in TikTok Ads Manager
  2. Check that your TikTok Ads 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 TikTok account shows as disconnected or expired.Possible Causes:
  • Access token expired (TikTok tokens expire periodically)
  • Permissions were revoked in TikTok Ads Manager
  • Account admin removed your access
Resolution Steps:
  1. Navigate to Integrations in Whathead
  2. Click Reconnect on the TikTok card
  3. Follow the authentication flow again
  4. Verify all permissions are granted
  5. If reconnection fails, check your TikTok Ads Manager access
Symptoms: Connected successfully but no ad accounts appear in the dropdown.Possible Causes:
  • You don’t have access to any ad accounts in the connected TikTok Business Center
  • Ad accounts are disabled or restricted
  • You’re connected to the wrong Business Center
Resolution Steps:
  1. Log in to TikTok Ads Manager and verify which ad accounts you have access to
  2. Check that you connected the correct Business Center (if you manage multiple)
  3. Verify ad accounts are active and not disabled
  4. Ask your Business Center admin to grant you access to the ad accounts
  5. If accounts are in a different Business Center, disconnect and reconnect with the correct one
Symptoms: Cannot perform actions due to insufficient permissions.Possible Causes:
  • Your TikTok account role doesn’t have required permissions
  • Permissions were changed after initial connection
Resolution Steps:
  1. Check your role in TikTok Ads Manager (need Admin or Operator role)
  2. Ask your account admin to upgrade your permissions
  3. Reconnect your TikTok account in Whathead after permissions are updated
  4. Verify all required permissions are granted during authentication

​
Publishing Failures

Symptoms: Publishing fails with error “You don’t have permission to create campaigns in this ad account”.Possible Causes:
  • Your TikTok 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 TikTok account
  2. Ensure you grant all required permissions during authentication
  3. Verify the ad account is active in TikTok Ads Manager
  4. Check that you have operator or admin access to the ad account
  5. If the account is restricted, resolve the restriction in TikTok Ads Manager first
Symptoms: Publishing fails with error about creative not meeting requirements.Possible Causes:
  • Image or video doesn’t meet TikTok’s specifications
  • File is corrupted or in an unsupported format
  • File size exceeds limits
  • Creative violates TikTok’s advertising policies
Resolution Steps:
  1. Check image requirements: JPG/PNG, under 10 MB, at least 640×640 pixels
  2. Check video requirements: MP4/MOV/AVI, under 500 MB, 5-60 seconds duration
  3. Verify the file is not corrupted by opening it locally
  4. Ensure creative content complies with TikTok’s advertising policies
  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 $20 per day”.Possible Causes:
  • Budget is set below TikTok’s $20/day minimum
  • Budget field is empty or zero
Resolution Steps:
  1. Open the campaign or ad group with the budget error
  2. Set the daily budget to at least $20
  3. If using lifetime budget, ensure it meets the minimum requirement
  4. Save changes and try publishing again
Symptoms: Error “Cannot connect campaigns with different objectives to the same ad group”.Possible Causes:
  • You’ve connected multiple campaigns with different objectives to one ad group node
  • Ad group 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 group
  3. Either:
    • Create separate ad groups for each campaign, OR
    • Ensure all campaigns connected to the ad group have the same objective
  4. Disconnect incompatible campaigns from the ad group
  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
  • TikTok 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 TikTok Ads Manager
Symptoms: Publishing takes a very long time or fails with timeout error.Possible Causes:
  • Large campaign with many entities
  • Slow internet connection
  • TikTok API is experiencing delays
  • Uploading large video files
Resolution Steps:
  1. Check your internet connection speed
  2. Try publishing during off-peak hours
  3. If uploading videos, compress them or upload to TikTok’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

​
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 group has no targeting.Resolution:
  1. Open the ad group 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 group is not connected to a parent campaign.Resolution:
  1. On the canvas, locate the disconnected ad group node
  2. Drag a connection from a campaign node to the ad group node
  3. Verify the connection is established (line appears between nodes)
  4. Try publishing again
Symptoms: Ad group is missing an optimization goal.Resolution:
  1. Open the ad group node
  2. Navigate to the Optimization section
  3. Select an optimization goal compatible with your campaign objective
  4. Save and try publishing again
Symptoms: Placement configuration is invalid or incomplete.Resolution:
  1. Open the ad group node
  2. Navigate to the Placements section
  3. Select at least one valid placement (TikTok, Pangle, or Global App Bundle)
  4. Ensure selected placements are compatible with your ad format
  5. Save and try publishing again

​
Editing Issues

Symptoms: Objective field is locked on an existing campaign.Explanation: TikTok 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 groups and ads to the new campaign
  3. Publish the new campaign
  4. Pause or archive the old campaign
Symptoms: Optimization goal field is locked on an existing ad group.Explanation: TikTok does not allow changing optimization goal after an ad group is created.Workaround:
  1. Create a new ad group with the correct optimization goal
  2. Copy your ads to the new ad group
  3. Publish the new ad group
  4. Pause the old ad group
Symptoms: Made changes in Whathead but they don’t appear in TikTok Ads Manager.Possible Causes:
  • Changes weren’t saved before publishing
  • Publishing failed silently
  • TikTok 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 TikTok Ads Manager (hard refresh with Cmd+Shift+R or Ctrl+Shift+R)
  4. Wait a few minutes for TikTok’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

​
Asset and Creative Issues

Symptoms: Image upload fails or shows error.Possible Causes:
  • Image doesn’t meet TikTok’s requirements
  • File is corrupted
  • Network connection issue
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify image is JPG or PNG format
  2. Check file size is under 10 MB
  3. Ensure resolution is at least 640×640 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 TikTok’s requirements
  • File size is too large
  • Slow internet connection
  • Video duration is outside acceptable range
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify video is MP4, MOV, or AVI format
  2. Check file size is under 500 MB
  3. Ensure duration is between 5 and 60 seconds
  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 TikTok’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 TikTok Ads Manager
  3. If asset failed review, check TikTok’s policy violation notice
  4. Try uploading the asset again if it’s unavailable
Symptoms: Video upload succeeded but was rejected during review.Possible Causes:
  • Content violates TikTok’s advertising policies
  • Video contains prohibited elements (weapons, alcohol, etc.)
  • Video quality is too low
Resolution Steps:
  1. Review TikTok’s advertising policies and community guidelines
  2. Check the rejection notice for specific policy violations
  3. Edit the video to remove prohibited content
  4. Ensure video quality meets TikTok’s standards
  5. Re-upload the corrected video

​
Performance and Learning Phase

Symptoms: Ad group shows “Learning” status for many days.Explanation: TikTok’s algorithm needs sufficient conversions to optimize delivery effectively.What to do:
  • Be patient — learning can take 7-14 days for new ad groups
  • 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 group re-entered learning phase
  • Review what changed and consider reverting if performance doesn’t recover
  • Make smaller, incremental changes in the future
Symptoms: Campaign is active but getting very few or no impressions.Possible Causes:
  • Budget is too low for competitive bidding
  • Targeting is too narrow
  • Creative quality is low
  • Bid is too low
Resolution Steps:
  1. Check if budget is at least $20/day (TikTok minimum)
  2. Review targeting settings and consider broadening audience
  3. Ensure creative meets TikTok’s quality standards
  4. Consider increasing bid or switching to automatic bidding
  5. Check if ad is still in review status

​
TikTok-Specific Issues

Symptoms: Smart+ campaign is active but not getting impressions.Possible Causes:
  • Insufficient budget for Smart+ optimization
  • Creative doesn’t meet Smart+ requirements
  • Targeting conflicts with Smart+ automation
Resolution Steps:
  1. Ensure daily budget is at least $50 (Smart+ recommended minimum)
  2. Verify you have multiple creative variations uploaded
  3. Remove overly restrictive targeting (Smart+ works best with broad targeting)
  4. Wait 3-5 days for Smart+ to complete learning phase
  5. Check TikTok Ads Manager for Smart+ specific recommendations
Symptoms: Spark Ads published but not showing organic post engagement.Possible Causes:
  • TikTok post authorization not completed
  • Post is from a different TikTok account
  • Post was deleted or made private
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify the TikTok post still exists and is public
  2. Check that post authorization was granted in TikTok app
  3. Ensure you’re using a post from the correct TikTok account
  4. Try re-authorizing the post in TikTok Ads Manager
Symptoms: Campaign with Pangle placement enabled is not getting impressions on Pangle network.Possible Causes:
  • Creative format not compatible with Pangle
  • Pangle inventory is limited for your targeting
  • Budget is being spent on TikTok placement first
Resolution Steps:
  1. Verify creative format is compatible with Pangle (check TikTok’s placement specs)
  2. Consider creating a separate ad group specifically for Pangle
  3. Increase budget to allow for multi-placement delivery
  4. Review Pangle-specific creative requirements

​
Getting More Help

If you’ve tried the troubleshooting steps above and still have issues:
  1. Check TikTok’s Status: Visit TikTok for Business Status to see if there are platform-wide issues
  2. Review TikTok’s Documentation: Check TikTok Ads 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.

​
Next Steps

Publishing Workflow

Learn about the publishing process

FAQ

Common questions about TikTok campaigns

Connection Setup

Review connection requirements

Validation Rules

Understand validation requirements