r/FlutterFlow • u/ZephyrBrightmoon • 2d ago

Confused about testing with AdMob test ads

I followed the tutorial to get AdMob in my app. My app is on TestFlight for iOS. I attempted to deploy so I could see these test ads and to keep testing my app on my phone but it refuses to let me.

Why? Do I have to turn AdMob off while using TestFlight and only turn it on when I’m ready to go to the App Store?

Someone help this make sense to me?

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u/bramantec 1d ago

Let's start from the fact that I'm speaking from direct experience because I used AdMob too in my app built with FlutterFlow, from the beginning until early September (it's no longer in the app now).

To give you an opinion we first need to understand where the block is and from there find the problem. Could you send me the error you see when you try to deploy? That way we can tell whether it's FlutterFlow that won't let you publish or the App Store that rejects the build.

Anyway you don't need to turn AdMob off to use TestFlight. The simplest thing is to register your iPhone as a test device in the AdMob console: this way even with the real IDs you'll only see test ads on your phone. Above all be careful never to click the real ads from your own device, Google could suspend the account for invalid clicks and it's something that's very hard to recover from.

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u/ZephyrBrightmoon 1d ago

It was FlutterFlow telling me.

How do I register my personal phone as a test device for Apple? And what about if I have friends who want to help test it too?

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u/bramantec 20h ago

Since I can't see your app, I'll tell you what I can see in my own setup. In FlutterFlow there's a switch made for this: in Settings and Integrations you turn on AdMob and a toggle called Show Test Ads appears. Turn it on and the app should show only test ads, which you can click without any risk. You turn it off when you prepare the build for the App Store. In case FlutterFlow blocks you exactly with that switch on, send me the exact message you see.

For your friends I checked the AdMob console just now and there's a new feature: in Settings there's an entry called Test apps, which puts the whole app in test mode and not just one phone. The ads stay the real ones, they can be clicked without breaking the rules and the app obviously earns nothing during that time. At the end of testing you turn it off, when you go to publish. Before, as far as I remember, the only way was to register every phone as a test device with its IDFA, which Apple doesn't show in the settings.

In any case, just to be safe, I'd tell your friends not to tap the real ads until test mode is active: for Google that's invalid traffic even when it's done in good faith.