Google Analytics 4 DebugView is not working? Let’s fix it! This article includes the 6 most common reasons why it happens and how to resolve them. 

GA4 is blocked by Browser Extensions or Browser itself

Reason:

The first and most frequently observed case is that you use Chrome Browser extensions that block Google Analytics 4. Some are Ad Blocker, Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on or something else. Even if you don’t use browser extensions, your browser can block all tracking codes (Safari, Brave, Mozilla). 

Solution:

Turn off all extensions or switch to another browser, revisit your website and check GA4 DebugView.

Remember to select a device or refresh the page

Reason:

The second case is when you land on your website, activate GA4 Debug mode right but don’t refresh the GA4 DebugView page or don’t select your device. Google Analytics 4 DebugView shows 0 devices by default.

Solution:

Remember to select yourself in the debug device selector. If you don’t see any device, try to refresh GA4 DebugView. 

DebugMode Wasn’t Enabled Right

Reason:

The third case is when you didn’t enable debug mode right. I recommend you follow my other article, which mentions how to correctly activate it. 

Based on your device, and your product, you can have different ways to do it. However, if you have a website and DebugView doesn’t work, try to use Google Tag Manager Preview Mode. It’s working in 100% of cases for me.

Solution: 

Investigate whether you enabled DebugMode right following these instructions. 

GTM Server-side requires a unique approach

Reason:

If you are reading this section, you are likely using GTM server-side. This way, you can’t use GA Debugger Chrome Extension to enable DebugView because the events are going through your private server domain, not through the client-side. 

Solution: 

In this case, you should use GTM Preview Mode or add the event parameter “debug_mode” : ‘true’ to every event you send into GA4. Both of them work, but I would start with GTM Preview Mode. 

Check GA4 filters (internal and developer filters)

Reason:

Google Analytics 4 have two filters that can disallow DebugView for some cases. It’s tricky to figure out the exact reason, but you shouldn’t have one filter in the active mode and another one in the testing mode. 

Solution: 

I recommend enabling both filters: internal traffic and developer traffic filters in GA4. This will help to remove irrelevant traffic and enable the DebugView report.

Other things blocking GA4 debug mode 

Apart from the things mentioned above, there are unique cases when you tested all and couldn’t activate DebugView in Google Analytics 4. In this case, I recommend you look at the Chrome browser developer tool and check if anything is preventing it from fire. This can be highly technical. Therefore, don’t hesitate to ask me or your engineering team. 

Final Word 

Though this article contains the most common scenarios experienced by companies worldwide, there are cases when DebugView in Google Analytics 4 doesn’t work still. 

If none of these solutions helped you, don’t hesitate to contact me or post a message, and we will figure out how to resolve your case. 

Frequently Asked Questions