Meta Ads Troubleshooting

This section describes common issues when working with the Meta Ads connector, their causes, and how to resolve them.

Throttle Errors

Throttling is the most common issue when working intensively with the Meta API. It occurs when request limits are exceeded.

Code 4: Application request limit reached

• Description: The request limit for the entire app has been exceeded
• Cause: The integration is sending too many requests in a short period of time
• Solution: Wait and retry automatically via exponential backoff. If this happens frequently, check the app-level load and reduce the number of parallel requests

Code 17: User request limit reached

• Description: The request limit for a specific user has been exceeded
• Cause: Too many requests from a single user token
• Solution: Wait and try again later. Spread requests out over a longer period

Code 32: Page-level throttling

• Description: Throttling at the Facebook Page level
• Cause: Too many requests for a specific Page's data
• Solution: Spread requests across Pages or reduce the frequency of requests to a single Page

Code 613: Custom-level throttling

• Description: A custom limit at the app level
• Cause: Custom limits are enabled in Meta Business settings
• Solution: Check the rate limiting settings in the Meta Business App Dashboard

Code 80000: Instagram business use case throttling

• Description: A limit on Instagram for business use cases
• Cause: The request frequency to the Instagram API has been exceeded
• Solution: Reduce the frequency of requests to the Instagram API. Separate Meta Ads and Instagram Insights requests

Code 80003: Ads management throttling (custom audiences)

• Description: A limit on custom audiences in ads management
• Cause: Frequent requests to custom audiences via the ads management API
• Solution: Wait and retry. Optimize audience requests

Code 80004: Ads management general throttling

• Description: A general limit for ads management
• Cause: The request limit for the ads management API has been exceeded
• Solution: Reduce request frequency. Use batch requests where possible

Code 80014: Ads insights throttling

• Description: Throttling for ads insights
• Cause: Too many requests to the /insights endpoint
• Solution: Reduce the number of parallel statistics requests. Use async reports for large data volumes

Payload Errors

Payload too large (code: 1, subcode: 99)

• Description: The request exceeds the allowed size (code: 1, subcode: 99)
• Cause: Too many fields or metrics in a single request
• Solution: Split the request into several smaller ones. Request metrics in groups of 10-15 at a time

Payload too large (code: 100, subcode: 1487534)

• Description: The request exceeds the allowed size (code: 100, subcode: 1487534)
• Cause: Similarly — the request is too large
• Solution: Reduce the request size: fewer fields, fewer breakdowns, a shorter period

Transport Errors

HTTP 5xx Server Error

• Description: An error on Meta's server side (500, 502, 503, 504)
• Cause: Temporary unavailability or overload of Meta's servers
• Solution: Automatic retry via backoff. Usually resolves within a few minutes

ECONNABORTED — Connection Aborted

• Description: The connection was aborted
• Cause: Meta's server closed the connection before a full response was received
• Solution: Automatic retry via backoff

ECONNRESET — Connection Reset

• Description: The connection was reset by the server
• Cause: Meta's server forcibly closed the connection
• Solution: Automatic retry

ETIMEDOUT — Connection Timed Out

• Description: A timeout connecting to Meta's servers
• Cause: Network issues or server overload
• Solution: Automatic retry via backoff. Check your network connection

EAI_AGAIN — DNS Lookup Failed

• Description: A temporary DNS resolution failure
• Cause: DNS server issues
• Solution: Automatic retry via backoff. Usually resolves quickly

HTTP 429 Too Many Requests

• Description: The standard HTTP status for exceeding the request limit
• Cause: The API rate limit has been exceeded
• Solution: Use estimated_time_to_regain_access from the response header to calculate the wait time. Apply the backoff strategy

Data Issues

Missing Creative Fields

• Symptom: The fields thumbnail_url, body, link, video_id are empty
• Cause: An error during creative enrichment — the main request succeeded, but the creatives request failed
• Solution: Retry the request. If the issue persists, check creative availability in Ads Manager

Incomplete Data for Today

• Symptom: Today's metrics are significantly lower than expected
• Cause: The API updates with a 15-60 minute delay
• Solution: Use yesterday's data for accurate analysis

Changing Historical Data

• Symptom: Data for a period 2-7 days ago changes on repeated requests
• Cause: Attribution delay — new conversions are added within the attribution window
• Solution: For accurate reports, use data older than 7 days

Truncated Results (Paging Truncation)

• Symptom: Not all campaigns/ads appear in the result
• Cause: The META_MAX_PAGES limit was exceeded
• Solution: Use filters to narrow the sample or request data in parts

Diagnosing Issues

Checking Token Status

Use the Access Token Debugger to check:

• The token's expiration
• The list of active permissions
• Whether the required scopes are present

Checking with Graph API Explorer

To isolate the issue, run the request directly via the Graph API Explorer:

1. Select the LightLead app
2. Get a token with the necessary permissions
3. Run the problematic request
4. Compare the result with the data in LightLead

Logging

When contacting support, prepare:

1. The ad account ID (act_XXXXXXXXXX)
2. The period for which data was requested
3. The set of fields and metrics requested
4. The error text from the LightLead interface
5. The time the issue occurred (with time zone)

Related Pages

• Limitations
• Data Differences
• Connecting Meta Ads
• Permissions
• Reconnecting a Connector