Step by Step mothed on how to solve “Facebook ads Active but not spending/running
Have you ever launched a Facebook ad that shows as active but frustratingly isn’t spending any money—or getting any results? You check your Ads Manager and see the campaign is marked as active, but under results, reach, and impressions—everything is blank. No movement. Just silence.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the four main reasons why this issue happens and exactly how to fix each one. Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been running Facebook ads for a while, these solutions will help you get your ads working again.
1. Temporary Hold Unsuccessful – Payment Method Issue
This is the number one culprit. Facebook often places a temporary hold on your payment method to test if there are enough funds before fully launching your ad.
How to Check and Fix:
- Go to Billing & Payment Settings in your Ads Manager.
- If you see a message like:
“Temporary hold unsuccessful. We were not able to place a temporary hold on your payment method”,
it means Facebook tried to check your balance and couldn’t. - Scroll down to Payment Activity and look for any failed charges.
- If your card doesn’t have enough funds, top it up.
- Then, click “Try hold again” to retry the authorization.
If the hold still fails after topping up, I have a detailed video specifically about fixing this “temporary hold” error. You’ll find the link in the video description at the end of this article.
2. Your Daily Budget Is Too Small
Your budget may be active, but if it’s too low, your ad won’t get delivered—especially in high-competition countries.
Recommended Budget:
If you’re targeting countries like:
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Germany
…then your CPM (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions) is high. You need at least $20/day to make an impact. Anything below that likely won’t even reach your audience.
For countries with lower CPMs like Ghana, Nigeria, India, or South Africa, smaller budgets might still work. But for first-world countries, $20/day is the minimum you should aim for.
3. Your Audience Size Is Too Small
Even if your budget is okay, a tiny audience can prevent your ad from running.
What to Do:
Removing overly restrictive filters in your detailed targeting.
Go to your ad set settings and check the audience size.
Make sure your audience is at least 1 million people.
If it’s less than 100,000, your ad likely won’t deliver at all.
Fix this by:
Adding more locations.
Broadening your interest targeting.
4. Your Placement Selection Is Too Limited
If you selected only one placement—like just Facebook Reels—your ad might not deliver well.
Best Practice:
- Choose manual placements and include:
- Facebook Feed
- Instagram Feed
- Instagram Profile Feed
- Facebook Marketplace
- Video Feeds
Some ad types or boosted posts automatically restrict your placements, so it’s essential to go back and manually reselect more placements before publishing again.
Still Not Working?
If you’ve tried all four fixes and your Facebook ad is still not spending or delivering, don’t worry.
You can reach out to us directly via the Telegram or WhatsApp link in the video description. My team and I help people get their ads working properly every day—and we can help you too.
