---
title: Ad Inspector
description: >-
Inspect requests and mediation or open Google Ad Manager creative debugging
tools.
---
> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://react-native-google-mobile-ads.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Ad Inspector is Google's in-app overlay for examining test requests, SDK and adapter
initialization, waterfall results, privacy signals, and ad units. The Google Ad Manager debug menu
is a separate tool for creative preview and delivery inspection.
## Prerequisites
Before opening either tool:
1. Use a native development build. Expo Go cannot load the Google Mobile Ads native SDK.
2. For Ad Inspector, register each physical device. Emulators and simulators are automatically
test devices, so they need no registration.
3. Initialize the SDK after consent and request eligibility are resolved.
4. On Android, use a suitable Google Play system image for Native and inspector testing and keep
Play services current. Prefer API 26 or newer for reliable tooling.
5. Make at least one test request so the inspector has a request to display.
Ad Inspector launches only on devices registered as test devices. Use a real device for final UMP,
ATT, mediation, and gesture-launch smoke testing.
## Register the test device
Use the AdMob interface's
[test-device setup](https://support.google.com/admob/answer/9691433), or make one ad request and copy
the hashed identifier from Xcode or logcat:
```ts
import mobileAds from 'react-native-google-mobile-ads';
await mobileAds().setRequestConfiguration({
testDeviceIdentifiers: ['YOUR-HASHED-TEST-DEVICE-ID'],
});
// Gather consent and confirm request eligibility before initialization.
await mobileAds().initialize();
```
Set request configuration before initialization or any ad preload. Restart the app and confirm a
Google-served ad shows the **Test Ad** or **Test mode** label before interacting with it. See
[Testing ads](/testing#register-a-test-device) for emulator and mediation caveats.
## Use Ad Inspector
Use Ad Inspector when you need to:
- inspect recent requests, errors, and ad-unit results;
- verify SDK and mediation adapter initialization;
- examine waterfall or bidding sources and latency;
- test a single ad source or an ad unit outside its normal screen;
- inspect privacy signals and troubleshoot consent-related serving.
Google maintains separate feature references for
[Android](https://developers.google.com/admob/android/ad-inspector) and
[iOS](https://developers.google.com/admob/ios/ad-inspector).
### Launch programmatically
`mobileAds().openAdInspector()` takes no arguments and returns a promise. The promise resolves when
the overlay closes and rejects if it closes because of an inspector error.
```ts
import mobileAds from 'react-native-google-mobile-ads';
export async function inspectAds(): Promise {
try {
await mobileAds().openAdInspector();
console.log('Ad Inspector closed');
} catch (error) {
console.error('Ad Inspector failed', error);
}
}
```
You can also configure a shake or double-flick gesture in the AdMob UI. Google notes that gesture
settings can take time to propagate; make a request and restart the app if the gesture does not
open the inspector.
Ad Inspector explains an individual device and request. Preserve v17 `status`, `error.reason`,
`error.phase`, and `responseInfo` in application diagnostics too, so a problem can be understood
without reproducing it in the overlay.
## Use the Google Ad Manager debug menu
Use the debug menu for Google Ad Manager creative preview and delivery inspection. It is not a
replacement for Ad Inspector's AdMob request, privacy, and mediation diagnostics.
`mobileAds().openDebugMenu(adUnitId)` takes one valid ad unit from your Google Ad Manager account
and returns `void`. On Android, `initialize()` must be called first. Since this API does not return
a promise, completion event, or native error result, do not `await` it. The JavaScript wrapper
synchronously throws only when the ad unit ID is empty; after a non-empty string is passed to
native code, the call provides no success or failure result.
```ts
import mobileAds from 'react-native-google-mobile-ads';
const GAM_AD_UNIT_ID = '/your-network-code/your-ad-unit';
export async function openGamDebugMenu(): Promise {
await mobileAds().initialize();
mobileAds().openDebugMenu(GAM_AD_UNIT_ID);
}
```
The example's promise covers initialization only; it does not track the menu opening or closing.
In production code, consent and request eligibility must be resolved before the initialization
shown in this focused example. Google's debug-menu guides cover creative linking and delivery
inspection for
[Android](https://developers.google.com/ad-manager/mobile-ads-sdk/android/debug) and
[iOS](https://developers.google.com/ad-manager/mobile-ads-sdk/ios/debug).
## If the tool does not open
| Symptom | Check |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Ad Inspector immediately rejects | Log the rejection, confirm test-device registration, initialize first, and update the native SDK through the current package version. |
| Gesture does nothing | Make a test request, restart the app, and allow the AdMob UI setting to propagate. |
| Inspector opens but has no requests | Load the affected unit in context, then reopen the inspector and select its SDK request log. |
| Native request is absent on Android | Confirm a Google Play system image, current Play services, API 26+ tooling, and unrestricted network access. |
| GAM debug menu does nothing | Use a valid ad unit from your GAM account and initialize first on Android. |
| Consent/privacy blocks requests | Refresh UMP state and verify `canRequestAds` before loading. |
Continue with [Common reasons ads do not show](/common-reasons-for-ads-not-showing). For
programmatic waterfall rows and paid telemetry, see
[Revenue telemetry and auction diagnostics](/revenue-telemetry-and-auction-diagnostics).