Documentation › Google Consent Mode › Verifying the installation and support

Verifying the installation and support

How to check that the bar sends Consent Mode signals correctly and in time: the installation check in the dashboard, verification in Google's Tag Assistant, and what to do when something is wrong.

The installation check in the dashboard

On the license's Overview tab, below the license key, there is an Installation check box. It loads your homepage the way a visitor does and checks that our script is there, that it carries this license's key and that the Google Consent Mode default is set before any Google tag. It repeats regularly on its own. After changing your website, run it straight away with Check installation; you can run it again after a minute.

When the check finds a problem, an orange exclamation mark appears next to the domain in My licenses. Hovering over it tells you what is wrong.

ResultWhat it means and what to do
Everything is in orderOur script is on the page and the Consent Mode default is set before any Google tag.
No Google tag was found on your homepageOur script is there, but Consent Mode has nothing to signal to yet. That is fine if you do not use Google tags or block them until consent (basic mode).
Our script was not found on your homepageInsert the code from the Implementation tab as the first script in the <head>.
The script carries a different license keyThe website has another license's code. Replace it with the code from this license's Implementation tab.
No Consent Mode default reached the dataLayerThe script is there but the default is missing. Check that nothing blocks the script and that Send Google Consent Mode signals is on in Configuration.
The default was set only after a Google tagMove the embed code in the <head> above Google Tag Manager and gtag.js and remove any async or defer from it.
Your homepage could not be loadedThere was nothing to check. Make sure the website is publicly reachable and try again later.

In Google Tag Manager mode the default is set inside the GTM container, which the check cannot see. It only verifies the script itself, so check the default in Tag Assistant.

Verifying in Tag Assistant

Google describes the verification in Troubleshoot consent mode with Tag Assistant. The steps are the same for gtag.js and Google Tag Manager:

  1. Open Tag Assistant, or start Preview in GTM, and connect your website. Test in a private window so the bar does not know your earlier choice.
  2. Default: open the earliest Consent event in the summary, select the Consent tab in the Output section and check the On-page Default column. All four types ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization must be denied.
  3. In the bar click Accept all, or save only some categories.
  4. Update: open the most recent Consent event and check in the On-page Update column that the values match your choice. Categories you did not switch on stay denied.
  5. Reload the page without clearing cookies. The bar no longer shows and the update with your stored choice must arrive straight away.

Google notes that the Consent tab is empty when consent mode is not implemented on the page, and advises not to set default consent states asynchronously.

A quick check in the browser console

In DevTools, type dataLayer in the Console. Among the first entries there must be consent / default with all four types denied, before gtm.js or the Google tag's config. After a choice in the bar, consent / update appears, followed by the consentUpdate event.

Most common problems

ProblemCause and fix
Tag Assistant shows no defaultThe bar's script loads late or asynchronously, or the signals are off. Insert the code from the Implementation tab as the first script in the <head> and check the switch in Configuration. In GTM, fire the template on Consent Initialization – All Pages.
The default appears twice or values get overwrittenThe bar is installed twice, for example with the script in the code and the GTM template, or Implementation type in Configuration does not match reality. Keep a single installation.
A tag does not fire after the click in the barThe tag fires only on All Pages, or waits for gtm_consent_update, which the template pushes only for a returning visitor. Fire it with consentUpdate, see Basic and advanced mode.
A Google tag fires with denied values although the visitor consentedThe tag is above the bar's script in the code, or another script fires it before the bar sends the update. Put the bar's script first in the <head>.

Support

If Consent Mode signals are missing from your Google tags or do not match your visitors' choices, start with us, not with Google. We help with installing the bar correctly on your website.

Tell us the website's domain, how you install the bar (script in the code or GTM) and what you saw in Tag Assistant. When your question concerns Google Consent Mode, please copy cmp-support-helper@google.com. This helps Google improve support for Consent Mode implementations. If you do not add the address, we may ask your permission to add it ourselves.

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