A Complete List of Video Advertising Error Codes

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Below is a combined list of video advertising error codes from VAST 3.0 & 4.1, the IMA3 SDK and video players from Brightcove, VideoJS, JWPlayer and more. Included are their possible causes and recommended resolutions.

Error severity levels:

Non-Fatal – An error is triggered but the video ad request is not interrupted and a video ad is successfully served.

Fatal – An error is triggered and the video ad request is stopped, preventing an ad being played. This is either followed by video content playback or a new ad request being triggered (depending on player configuration).

More information can be found in the IAB VAST Specification Guide, Google DFP Help, Brightcove Support or JWPlayer

VAST XML Document Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
100 Yes VAST XML parsing error This can be caused when the buyer’s response is either malformed or an otherwise invalid XML document, or a redirect VAST URL that fails to resolve successfully Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Verify that the VAST XML is correctly formatted and contains all of the required elements and attributes. Refer to the VAST specification from the IAB
101 Yes VAST schema validation error This can be caused when the buyer's response is missing required elements or attributes of the XML or contained unrecognized elements, according to the IAB standard, such as:
  • InLine and Wrapper both present
  • AdTagURI missing in Wrapper element
  • Duration missing
  • Missing Ad node or MediaFile node
  • Offset attribute on Progress event is missing or not a valid value
 Publisher - Alert the buyer
Buyer -Verify that the VAST XML is correctly formatted and contains all of the required elements and attributes. Refer to the VAST specification from the IAB
102 Yes VAST version of response not supported This can be caused when a video player does not support the VAST version specified in the bid request, i.e. the bidder did not respect the VAST version(s) listed in the bid request or the exchange is sending wrong VAST version(s) in the bid request Publisher - Alert the buyer
Buyer - Ensure that only supported VAST versions are sent in a response

VAST Creative File Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
200 Maybe Video player expecting different ad type This can be caused when a video player does not expect or support an ad type requested in a bid request. For example:
  • Player wanted Skippable Linear, but got back Linear
  • Player wanted Linear, but got back Skippable Linear
  • For Skippable Linear, skipoffset doesn’t meet publisher expectations
  • Bidder did not respect the skip-ability/skipoffset in the bid request
  • Exchange is sending wrong skip-ability/skipoffset in the bid request
Publisher – Check for trafficking errors or alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that only specified ad types are sent in a response, and that skippable linear creatives respect the skip offset attribute
201 Maybe Video player expecting different linearity This can be caused when the linearity in the buyer’s response does not match the video player’s request. For example:
  • Bidder did not respect the linearity in the bid request.
  • Exchange is sending wrong linearity in the bid request
  • Ensure linearity requested is being respected
 Publisher - Ensure that the correct linearity is specified in the ad request
Buyer - Ensure that the response only includes linearity specified in the request
202 Maybe Video player expecting different duration This can be caused when the creative returned is a different duration than specified. For example, a creative of duration 30 seconds is returned, but the actual MediaFile duration is 60 seconds Publisher - Ensure that the creative duration is set properly in DFP
Buyer - Ensure that the response respects the max duration specified in the request
203 Maybe Video player expecting different size This can be caused when a buyer's returned MediaFiles are incompatible with the device from which the bid request is sent. For example:
  • When high bitrate creatives are returned to mobile devices
  • No MediaFile is available with dimensions that are matching for the device (i.e. mobile devices that cannot play full HD)
Publisher - Alert the buyer
Buyer - Ensure that your response includes MediaFiles that are compatible with different technologies and devices, including bitrates

VAST Ad Request Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
300 Yes General wrapper error This can be caused when the wrapper limit is reached This is a general wrapper error and is not actionable, however:
  • Check that all VAST URIs are reachable and not timing out
  • Ensure wrapper limit is not reached
301 / 301:20301 Yes VAST redirect timeout reached This can be caused when a VAST redirect tag does not return a response within the timeout (5 seconds is the default) specified in a wrapper element, due to one of the following:
  • Non-optimized page
  • Player timeout set too low
  • Invalid URI, unreachable or request timeout for a URI, or other exceptions related to requesting a VAST URI.
  • High latency connection (for example, 3G) or simply a slow response from a buyer
  • HTTP serving to HTTPS
 Publisher -Increase the timeout limit of your player
Buyer -Ensure that the VAST redirect URI is reachable and no protocol issues exist (for example, responses hosted on HTTP and served to an HTTPS site
302 / 302:20302 Yes Wrapper limit reached This can be caused when the wrapper limit defined by the video player is reached, due to either:
  • Too many wrapper responses are received without an inline response
  • A circular loop of daisy chaining exists (one network bouncing to another and another)
  • Too many empty VAST responses from video fallback
Publisher - Increase the wrapper limit of your player via the SDK
Buyer -Verify that any VAST redirects are not redirecting again to another network. When too many redirects are called from a video player before a valid MediaFile is returned, the player might abort the ad request
303 / 303:20303 Yes Empty VAST response returned This can be caused when no ads are returned in a VAST response after one or more wrappers. This also includes empty VAST responses from video fallback.

When working with third-party networks, the fill-rate can be less than 100%. If so, this is an expected error. For example, if the third-party expects to fill 60% of the time, you should expect 40% errors

Publisher - Ensure that the error rate is in line with the fill-rate of the third-party network. Video fallback may be helpful to avoid losing impressions
Buyer - Ensure that bids are not being returned with an empty VAST response, and that empty responses are not being returned by the advertiser or agency hosting the creative

VAST Linear Tag Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
400 / 400:20400 Yes General linear error This can be caused when a video player is unable to display the linear ad. It may occur when the MediaFile is not a valid video file of the specified format, or because the browser restricted autoplay with sound, or another unknown reason Publisher – Check for player issues, enable your player to detect for restricted autoplay, or alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that the VAST response returns a valid creative
401 Yes MediaFile not found This can be caused when a file cannot be found from a MediaFile URI Publisher – Ensure that all MediaFiles in the response return a valid video asset. If not, alert the buyer
Buyer -Ensure that the VAST response returns a valid creative
402 / 402:20402 No Timeout of MediaFile URI This can be caused by a problem fetching or playing the MediaFile, and could be any of the following:
  • The loadVideoTimeout is set too low in the IMA SDK. (the default is 8 seconds)
  • Low bandwidth or poor website implementation with competing requests that delay loading of the MediaFile
  • A video auto-plays in a mobile environment, whereas it should be click-to-play (there are some exceptions)
  • Showing video ads in an auto-play environment (for example, a playlist), while the window is not in focus (either another tab is selected, or window is minimized) (Chrome only)
Publisher – Increase the timeout limit of your player
Buyer – Ensure that any CDN-hosted creatives are returned within the specified media timeout
403 Yes Could not find MediaFile that is supported by this video player, based on the attributes of the MediaFile element This can be caused by a VAST response that declares unsupported MIME types for all available MediaFiles. For example:
  • Bidder did not respect mime types in bid request
  • Exchange did not send correct mime types
  • May indicate that the wrong creative type attempted to play such as a Flash creative attempted to play on a mobile device or WebM on iOS
Publisher – Ensure that the creative format or technology requested is supported by the video player’s device and platform. For example, VPAID creatives should not be requested from mobile apps
Buyer – Ensure that all returned creatives respect the video format in the bid request
405 Yes Problem displaying MediaFile This can be caused when a faulty creative is returned due to a mismatch between the MIME type and the video file type, a CORS configuration on the creative’s CDN, transcoding-related reason such as an unsupported codec, or unsupported delivery method Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that all creative MIME types and CDN configurations are accurate
406 No Missing required mezzanine file This can be caused a VAST response is returned without a required mezzanine file. Publishers with server-side ad implementations (SSAI) often require mezzanine files, which are raw high-quality video files for ad-stitching, or to generate video files of appropriate quality (VAST 4) Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that a mezzanine file is included in your response when required by the publisher
407 Yes Mezzanine file downloaded for the first time This can be caused when the mezzanine file is downloaded for the first time, so no ad is served. It can also occur when an ad insertion is missed because the creative is being transcoded. It continues to occur until the creative is available for insertion (VAST 4) No action required
408 Yes Ad rejected in VAST response This can be caused when the ad returned in the VAST response is rejected Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that only approved creatives are returned in your VAST response, or that any advertisers or agencies hosting the creatives are aware of rejections
409 Yes Interactive unit in the InteractiveCreativeFile node was not executed This can be caused when a creative defined in the InteractiveCreativeFile node does not execute Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that any interactive creatives returned in your response successfully play when requested
410 Yes Verification unit in the Verification node was not executed This can be caused when the code referenced in the AdVerification node does not execute (VAST 4) Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that the verification code referenced in the response is correctly implemented according to the verification vendor

VAST Non-linear Tag Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
500 Yes General NonLinearAds error This can be caused when a video player is unable to display a non-linear ad, for an unknown reason Publisher – Check for video player issues or alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that the VAST response returns a valid creative
501 Yes Non-linear ad creative dimensions do not align with creative display area This can be caused when a non-linear ad is unable to play because the creative dimensions did not align with creative display area (the creative dimension was too large). It may occur if you use CSS styles to set width and height of the video content element Publisher – Ensure that the set width and height match the display area. If you set the width and height of the video content element with CSS styles, set them with HTML attributes instead
Buyer -Alert the publisher
502 Yes Unable to fetch NonLinearAds/NonLinear resource This can be caused when the buyer’s response returns a non-linear ad that fails to return a valid creative Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer -Ensure that valid creatives are returned in the non-linear ad response
503 / 503:20503 Yes Could not find NonLinearresource with supported type This error can be caused when a creative size is larger than the player size, or not a proper media type Publisher – Ensure that requested creative sizes and media types are acceptable for the video player
Buyer -Alert the publisher

VAST Companion Ad Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
600 Maybe General CompanionAds error This can be caused when a publisher is unable to display a companion ad, for an unknown reason Publisher – Check for ad serving issues, or alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that the VAST response returns a valid creative
601 Maybe Companion creative dimensions did not align with companion display area This can be caused when the companion creative dimensions do not fit within Companion display area (i.e., no available space) Publisher – Ensure that the requested companion ad size fits within the dimension of the ad unit from which the request is made
Buyer – Alert the publisher
602 Maybe Unable to display Required Companion This can be caused the publisher is unable to render the companion ad creative returned in the VAST response Publisher – Check for ad serving issues, or alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that the VAST response returns a valid creative
603 Maybe Unable to fetch CompanionAds/Companion resource This can be caused when the buyer’s response returns a companion ad that fails to return a valid creative Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure that valid creatives are returned in the companion ad response
604 Maybe Could not find Companion resource with supported type This can be caused when a publisher requests an unsupported creative type for the companion ad slot Publisher – Ensure that specified creative types are supported for the companion ad slot
Buyer – Alert the publisher

VPAID Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
900 / 900:20900 Yes Undefined VAST 2 error This is the result of an unknown VAST 2 error, which likely stopped the ad request Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Work with the publisher to troubleshoot the exact issue
901 / 901:20901 Yes General VPAID error This can be caused by any VPAID error, which could be any of the following:
  • SSP VPAID wrapper not buying
  • SSP VPAID wrapper timeout
  • VPAID creatives required insecure mode
  • An Ad Exchange “IMA Adapter” tag is used with the IMA SDK, and a VPAID ad is returned (the “Direct SDK” tag should be used)
Publisher – Ensure that any VPAID creative requests are supported for devices and players. You can use video creative profiles to control which creatives are eligible to serve
Buyer – Ensure that any VAST responses that return HTML5 VPAID wrappers from IAS/DV/MOAT include an MP4 asset, and that the wrapper is not aborting playback. Also, ensure that you don’t bid on impressions without a determined advertiser or buyer, or attempt to initiate a client-side resale

Brightcove Player Ad Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
adtimeout Yes IMA3 has timed out A timeout managed by the plugin has expired and regular video content has begun to play. Ad integrations have a fixed amount of time to inform the plugin of their intent during playback. If the ad integration is blocked by network conditions or an error, this event will fire and regular playback resumes rather than stalling the player indefinitely
ima3-hardtimeout Yes IMA3 hard timeout reached A timeout managed by the Brightcove Player has expired and the ad execution has been abandoned with regular video content started. Brightcove has a setting that gives the IMA plugin a fixed amount of time to complete its execution. If it fails to do so the Player will abandon the ad execution irrespective of how far it has reached in its cycle. If you see a high rate of this error type it’s advisable to adjust the levels accordingly in your Brightcove player settings
ima3error Yes IMA3 SDK failed to load There was an error loading the IMA3 SDK from Google. If it occurs, no ads will be displayed and regular content will be started. The cause of this could be due to an active ad blocker intercepting the call to load the SDK. Or other network conditions might have caused the IMA3 SDK to not load properly. If you see a high rate of this error it’s advisable to contact your Brightcove Support rep to investigate further

JWPlayer Ad Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
900:60001 Yes No Ad element in VAST document after following wrappers. When working with third-party networks, the fill-rate can be less than 100%. If so, this is an expected error. For example, if the third-party expects to fill 60% of the time, you should expect 40% errors. You can check to ensure that the error rate is in line with the fill-rate of the third-party network.
Some ad providers use empty VAST 3.0 responses to show that they have received the request but do not wish to fill it.
60002 Yes The amount of ad impressions your account has generated in the calendar month exceeds the specified limit. . Contact your JW Player sales representative for more details or for upgrade options
60003 Yes The viewer has an ad blocker app or extension installed for their browser.
60004 Yes Issue with CDN server.
Timeout (in milliseconds) when loading a VPAID ad response. If loading takes longer than this timeout, the ad playback is canceled. 		Can be caused by low bandwidth, or poor website implementation with competing requests that delay the loading of the VPAID ad response. he timeout is configurable for using the creativeTimeout and requestTimeout configuration options. However, increasing the timeout could potentially negatively affect user experience.
1002:60005 Yes No Ad element in VAST document after following wrappers. When working with third-party networks, the fill-rate can be less than 100%. If so, this is an expected error. For example, if the third-party expects to fill 60% of the time, you should expect 40% errors. You can check to ensure that the error rate is in line with the fill-rate of the third-party network.
Some ad providers use empty VAST 3.0 responses to show that they have received the request but do not wish to fill it.
900:60006 Yes An ad tag failed to download, but not inside of a wrapper.
900:60007 Yes An ad tag failed to play because of an unsupported operating system.
60900 Yes Unknown error. .

IMA3 SDK Errors

Code Fatal Definition Likely Cause Remedial Action
1005 / 900:1005 Yes URI malformed This can occur when either the encoding or decoding of a URI was not successful Publisher – Ensure that any special characters in your URI strings are encoded correctly
Buyer – Alert the publisher
1007 Yes Media Asset Not Found Could not find a media file that is supported by this video player, based on the attributes of the MediaFile element.This may indicate that the wrong creative type attempted to play. This error type is more common on mobile Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure the right media file format is being targeted to the right device type
1007 / 900:1007 Yes Media Asset Not Found Could not find a media file that is supported by this video player, based on the attributes of the MediaFile element.This may indicate that the wrong creative type attempted to play. This error type is more common on mobile Publisher – Alert the buyer
Buyer – Ensure the right media file format is being targeted to the right device type
1009 / 900:1009 / 900:21009 Yes Empty VAST Response No ads VAST response after one or more wrappers. This also includes the number of empty VAST responses from fallback. When working with third-party networks, the fill-rate can be less than 100%. If so, this is an expected error. For example, if the third-party expects to fill 60% of the time, you should expect 40% errors Check to ensure that the error rate is in line with the fill-rate of the third-party network
1010 / 900:1010, / 900:21010 Yes Unknown Ad Response The response from the ad server was malformed or indeterminate
1011 / 900:1011 Yes Unsupported Locale The locale specified for the SDK is not supported Check the settings of the IMA SDK to ensure locale is set properly
1105 / 900:1105 Yes Invalid AdX Extension An invalid AdX extension was found
1012 / 900:1012 / 900:21012 Yes Request blocked / Network error There was a problem requesting ads from the server due to an error caused by an invalid or malformed XML file. Contact your Ad server support team for more help
1013 / 900:1013 Yes Invalid ad tag The ad tag URL specified was invalid. It needs to be properly encoded
1020 / 900:1020 Yes Stream initialisation failed There was an error with stream initialisation during server side ad insertion
1021 / 900:1021 / 900:21021 Yes Asset fallback no ad replacement The fallback failed to return an ad Ensure your line items are properly setup and you have sufficient demand in your fallback sequence
1101 / 900:1101 Yes Invalid Arguments in the Request Invalid arguments were provided to IMA SDK methods Please contact the support team of your video player provider
1205 / 900:1205 Yes The browser prevented playback initiated without user interaction Autoplay videos are not supported in some browsers. This error is thrown when the browser has prevent an attempt to auto play
2025 / 900:2025 Yes DisplayObject not a child See Google Support for help - https://developers.google.com/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/flash/errorcodes#2025
2032 / 900:2032 Yes URL access blocked See Google Support for help - https://developers.google.com/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/flash/errorcodes#2032
2035 / 900:2035 Yes Incorrect path to assets See Google Support for help - https://developers.google.com/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/flash/errorcodes#2035
2036 / 900:2036 Yes Flash ad failed to load See Google Support for help - https://developers.google.com/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/flash/errorcodes#2036
2048 / 900:2048 Yes CORS security violation This is caused when a page or player loaded using HTTPS tries to load a ad resource over HTTP Check and ensure all creative and redirect URIs are being served over HTTPS

Sources:

IAB TechLab Wiki

DoubleClick For Publishers

Brightcove Player Events

JWPlayer API Documentation