Few things are more frustrating for advertisers than launching a new campaign—only to see:

• $0 spent
• Ads stuck in learning
• “Limited” or “Inactive” delivery
• Or ad sets spending a fraction of their expected daily budget

The good news?
When Meta ads stop spending, the cause is always diagnosable.

This guide breaks down the exact troubleshooting sequence used by top performance marketers in 2025, aligned with Meta’s Andromeda delivery system.

Follow these steps in order and you’ll find the bottleneck every time.

Step 1 - Check Your Budget-to-Optimization Ratio

Meta needs enough daily budget to exit learning.

Minimum rule of thumb (2025):

• 2–5× your expected CPA/day
• Below this = limited or no spend

Examples:

Expected CPA → Minimum Budget Required

$20 → $40–$100/day

$50 → $100–$250/day

$100 → $200–$500/day

If your budget is below threshold, Meta simply won’t risk spending.

Fix:

Increase daily budget OR switch to a cheaper optimization event (ATC, ViewContent, Leads, etc.)

Step 2 - Confirm You’re Optimizing for an Event With Enough Volume

Delivery stops when the optimization event is too rare.

Meta requires consistent daily conversions for optimization events like:

• Purchase
• Complete Registration
• Schedule
• Subscribe

If your account only gets 1–2 purchases/day, Meta may stop spending altogether.

Fix:

• Switch to a higher-funnel event temporarily
• Increase budget
• Improve CVR before scaling purchase optimization
• Use a broad audience to widen exploration

Step 3 - Check Audience Size (Yes, It Still Matters)

In the Andromeda era, audience size matters less but still impacts spend.

Ads may not spend if:

• Interests are stacked too narrowly
• A retargeting audience is tiny
• You used “Narrow further”
• You overused exclusions
• LALs below 1% in small countries
• Geographic targeting is too restrictive

Fix:

• Remove unnecessary exclusions
• Avoid “narrow further”
• Expand geographic regions
• Increase lookalike size (1% → 3–5%)
• Add Broad to the campaign for balance

You need room for exploration.

Step 4 - Check for Delivery Conflicts Inside the Ad Account

Common hidden blockers:

1. Multiple ad sets competing for the same small audience

Result → throttled spend.

2. Overlapping audiences

Even in 2025, overlap can cause one ad set to dominate the other.

3. Weird campaign structures

Mixing ABO + CBO too closely can cause learning imbalances.

4. Using both Advantage+ Shopping and normal prospecting simultaneously

A+ often steals the budget.

Fix:

• Pause low-priority ad sets
• Use Advantage Campaign Budget + simple structure
• Avoid running too many overlapping tests

Step 5 - Check If Your Creative Has Poor Early Signals

This is the #1 cause of no spend in 2025.

Under Andromeda, Meta will refuse to push ads that show:

• very low CTR
• very low watch time
• instant “low engagement scores”
• irrelevant visual patterns
• confusing video thumbnails
• unclear product presentation

Meta thinks these ads won’t convert → so it protects your budget.

Fix:

Try:

• different thumbnails
• different hooks
• higher motion
• clearer product demos
• creator-led intros
• shorter first 3 seconds
• more native-looking UGC

If you launch a creative the system doesn’t “believe in,” spend stops immediately.

Step 6 - Check Account-Level Limitations

These hidden issues cause zero spend:

1. Disabled payment method

The silent killer.

2. Spending limits enabled accidentally

(Facebook business manager allows this.)

3. Account flagged for risk review

Ads may appear approved but won’t deliver.

4. Unsettled invoices

Even small unpaid balances stop spend.

Fix:

• Update payment method
• Clear pending invoices
• Contact Meta support if “Account Under Review”

Step 7 - Check Campaign-Level Delivery Settings

Review:

• Bid caps (set too low = no spend)
• Cost caps far below historical results
• Manual placements
• Manual bid strategies
• Minimum ROAS settings

Overly restrictive settings → no delivery.

Fix:

• Remove bid caps
• Use Advantage+ placements
• Use Highest Volume instead of Cost Cap
• Reduce ROAS guardrails

Let Meta breathe.

Step 8 - Check the Learning Phase Status

If an ad set never exits learning:

• Meta throttles spend
• Signals don’t stabilize
• Ads don’t explore new pockets

Fix:

• Consolidate ad sets
• Increase daily budget
• Reduce number of creatives
• Improve CVR to boost event volume

Step 9 - Review Any Recent Account Changes

Meta punishes chaos.

If you changed:

• budgets
• creatives
• placements
• events
• targeting
• campaign types
• conversion events

…all within 24 hours, spend may halt.

Fix:

Make one change at a time and wait 24–48 hours.

Step 10 - Check For Market-Level Competition Spikes

External factors also cause zero spend:

• BFCM
• Christmas
• Q4
• payday cycles
• state or national holidays
• new competitor launches
• CPM surges in your niche

If competition skyrockets, Meta may decide it cannot achieve your CPA → so it stops spending to protect ROI.

Fix:

• Switch to AEO or ATC
• Increase budget temporarily
• Refresh creatives
• Broaden audiences
• Switch to CBO

When to Worry vs When It’s Normal

Normal no-spend scenarios

• First 2–6 hours after launch
• Budgets under $20–$30/day
• Very niche targeting
• Retargeting audiences under 1,000 size
• New pixel events
• New ad accounts

Worry if no spend for 24+ hours AND:

• Broad audience
• Good creative
• Enough budget
• Proper optimization event

That means something is actually wrong.

The Fix in One Sentence

No-spend is always caused by either constrained delivery, weak signals, or overly restrictive settings.
Once you identify the bottleneck, spend always resumes.

Andromeda is predictable once you know what it’s trying to protect: your CPA.