How to Resolve the "Invalid Items" Error
Error introduction: The "Invalid Items" error is an error that shows on your Meta (Facebook) Ads Manager when you launch a funnel.
It looks like this:
This error can be easily fixed once you find the reason behind it. Therefore, we did our magic! Collected the reasons that may cause this annoying error and prepared the proper solution for every case.
The first thing you must check once you encounter the “Invalid Items” error is your images. I can hear you asking me “what exactly do I need to check in my lovely images?”
Here are the 3 elements that may cause the” invalid Items” error:
The first thing you need to look for in your images is their format. Meta accepts only JPG and PNG formats. Other formats will affect the quality of your images. To know your image format, you simply need to go to your image, and select “properties” if you're on Windows or select the image and hit (CMD + i) if you're on OS.
If you discover that your image format is not JPG or PNG, you can use many websites that convert the image format to JPG or PNG on Google. Here is an example of a website to use for image format conversion: img2go.com
Once you choose a website to use for image format conversion, you can upload your image to it and convert it to JPG or PNG. Then, download it in the new format.
After the image format, you need to pay attention to your image size. Meta (Facebook) rejects any image size below 8MB/8000kB.
You can easily check your image size by right clicking your image and choosing Properties on Windows or by selecting the image and tapping (CMD + i) on OS.
In the same place as your image format your image size will be displayed for you.
Megabytes (MB) and Kilobytes (KB) are measurements that size your images. Kilobytes are the smallest amount and Megabytes are a medium amount.
If your image size is above 8MB/8000kB, you can use many websites to change your image size on Google.
Here's a solid one to use: img2go.com
You can upload your image to it and resize it, then you can download your new image in the new size which must be under 8MB/8000kB to your website. The error will self-resolve in 24 hours.
The image dimensions are the length and width of a digital image. It's usually measured in pixels. Meta (Facebook) accepts only images that are larger than 500 x 500 pixels.
Therefore, you must check if all your images are larger than 500 x 500 pixels. You can do this easily by following two steps:
Head to image “properties”.
Click on details to see your image dimensions.
Thanks to the automatic placement that Easy ads provides, your ad is going to be displayed in all the available placements through Facebook and Instagram in order to find the right placement for you; the one that will get your ads the most attention and potential customers.
If one of your images is smaller than 500 x 500 pixels, it will be much smaller to fit in the automatic placement which will cause you the annoying “invalid item” error.
In case your images are smaller than 500 x 500 pixels, you must change them (your images) to fit the standard 500 x 500 pixels requirement.
Because, if your images are smaller than 500 x 500 pixels, that will not fit in certain ad placements and cause the “Invalid Items” error.
Thus, you must change your images to another one that is larger than 500 x 500 pixels and below 8MB/ 8000kB in size.
You can either:
Change the image dimensions using the same website mentioned above. Keep in mind that this will result in a low quality image.
Or
Change the image as a whole with a new one, that respects Meta's requirements AND is high quality.
Meta (Facebook) is a platform that always ensures its user's safety. Therefore, Meta is always reviewing all the products that are advertised on the platform to confirm that these items are not against Meta's (Facebook) policies.
If one of your products fails to comply with Meta's community standards, your campaign will be stopped, and the “Invalid Items” error will appear.
Thus, if you want to successfully run ads on Meta’s platforms, you must be familiar with these advertising standards.
In Easy Ads, we know how frustrating it can be to go through all those policies. To make advertising as easy as possible for you, we summarized Meta's (Facebook) community standards for you:
Threatening and illegal content:
Avoid Illegal products and services.
Do not share any misinformation in your catalog.
Do not spread Vaccine discouragement.
Avoid Discriminatory practices based on people’s race, sex, color, age, religion…
Your ads should not contain inflammatory content which refers to threatening people based on their race, sex .... .
Stay away from militarized social movements and violence-inducing conspiracy networks and dangerous individuals and groups.
Misleading content:
Prevent content that might fraud people .
Do not help people to cheat .
Keep away from unrealistic promises.
Avoid unfunctional displays in the ad itself.
Do not use softwares that results in an unexpected experience.
Unsafe content:
Do not display in your ads drugs, tobacco, unsafe substances, or weapons.
Objectionable content:
Keep away from nudity.
Avoid sales of body parts.
Prevent negative statements about personal health and appearance.
Steer clear of bad quality ads.
Do not display shocking violent content.
Grammar mistakes are a bad mark in your ads too.
Keep far from mentioning crises or personal information of somebody.
You can learn more about Meta’s advertising standards here: Meta's Advertising Standards.
If one of your items fails to comply with Meta's policies, you can edit that specific item to meet Meta's policies.
However, if you believe that your items comply with Meta's standards, you can request a review from the Ads Manager. To ask for a review of your rejected items, you can find a step by step guide here.
If your catalog fails to meet Meta’s community standards, the “Invalid Item” error will be displayed. To avoid it, you must read Meta’s policies before you run your ads. In case you already launched your campaign, you can request a review for your rejected items.
Your products must comply with commerce policies as well. You can learn more about commerce policies here: Commerce Policies.
We have stated previously that Meta reviews your items before they're published. Thus, when you delete an item or add a new one to your catalog, Meta (Facebook) will stop your campaign to review your items before it allows it to run.
In this case, you must wait up to 48 hours then check your catalog.
If you're still facing the same error, please restart your campaign by deleting it from your Meta Ads Manager, then return to the app, and create a new campaign.
When deleting or adding an item in your catalog, you must be aware that your campaign is going to be paused until Meta reviews your catalog. It usually takes 48 hours.
Then, you can restart your campaign to run again.
Congratulations! Now you will not be disturbed by the “Invalid Itemx” error anymore. When you face this issue again, you will easily find the cause and the solution.
You will check your image format, size, or dimensions; you will make sure your articles are meeting Meta’s policies; and you will ensure that you did not update your catalog recently.
If you're unable to resolve this error, please contact our support team via the live chat bubble you see on this page or on the app. We will help you to successfully resolve this error and improve your ads.
It looks like this:
This error can be easily fixed once you find the reason behind it. Therefore, we did our magic! Collected the reasons that may cause this annoying error and prepared the proper solution for every case.
Reason 1: Your Images Are Invalid or Missing.
The first thing you must check once you encounter the “Invalid Items” error is your images. I can hear you asking me “what exactly do I need to check in my lovely images?”
Here are the 3 elements that may cause the” invalid Items” error:
1. Your Image Format.
The first thing you need to look for in your images is their format. Meta accepts only JPG and PNG formats. Other formats will affect the quality of your images. To know your image format, you simply need to go to your image, and select “properties” if you're on Windows or select the image and hit (CMD + i) if you're on OS.
Solution:
If you discover that your image format is not JPG or PNG, you can use many websites that convert the image format to JPG or PNG on Google. Here is an example of a website to use for image format conversion: img2go.com
Once you choose a website to use for image format conversion, you can upload your image to it and convert it to JPG or PNG. Then, download it in the new format.
2. Your Image Size.
After the image format, you need to pay attention to your image size. Meta (Facebook) rejects any image size below 8MB/8000kB.
You can easily check your image size by right clicking your image and choosing Properties on Windows or by selecting the image and tapping (CMD + i) on OS.
In the same place as your image format your image size will be displayed for you.
Megabytes (MB) and Kilobytes (KB) are measurements that size your images. Kilobytes are the smallest amount and Megabytes are a medium amount.
Solution
If your image size is above 8MB/8000kB, you can use many websites to change your image size on Google.
Here's a solid one to use: img2go.com
You can upload your image to it and resize it, then you can download your new image in the new size which must be under 8MB/8000kB to your website. The error will self-resolve in 24 hours.
3. Your Image Dimensions.
The image dimensions are the length and width of a digital image. It's usually measured in pixels. Meta (Facebook) accepts only images that are larger than 500 x 500 pixels.
Therefore, you must check if all your images are larger than 500 x 500 pixels. You can do this easily by following two steps:
Head to image “properties”.
Click on details to see your image dimensions.
Thanks to the automatic placement that Easy ads provides, your ad is going to be displayed in all the available placements through Facebook and Instagram in order to find the right placement for you; the one that will get your ads the most attention and potential customers.
If one of your images is smaller than 500 x 500 pixels, it will be much smaller to fit in the automatic placement which will cause you the annoying “invalid item” error.
Solution:
In case your images are smaller than 500 x 500 pixels, you must change them (your images) to fit the standard 500 x 500 pixels requirement.
Because, if your images are smaller than 500 x 500 pixels, that will not fit in certain ad placements and cause the “Invalid Items” error.
Thus, you must change your images to another one that is larger than 500 x 500 pixels and below 8MB/ 8000kB in size.
You can either:
Change the image dimensions using the same website mentioned above. Keep in mind that this will result in a low quality image.
Or
Change the image as a whole with a new one, that respects Meta's requirements AND is high quality.
Reason 2: Your Items Are Against Meta's (Facebook) Standards.
Meta (Facebook) is a platform that always ensures its user's safety. Therefore, Meta is always reviewing all the products that are advertised on the platform to confirm that these items are not against Meta's (Facebook) policies.
If one of your products fails to comply with Meta's community standards, your campaign will be stopped, and the “Invalid Items” error will appear.
Thus, if you want to successfully run ads on Meta’s platforms, you must be familiar with these advertising standards.
In Easy Ads, we know how frustrating it can be to go through all those policies. To make advertising as easy as possible for you, we summarized Meta's (Facebook) community standards for you:
Threatening and illegal content:
Avoid Illegal products and services.
Do not share any misinformation in your catalog.
Do not spread Vaccine discouragement.
Avoid Discriminatory practices based on people’s race, sex, color, age, religion…
Your ads should not contain inflammatory content which refers to threatening people based on their race, sex .... .
Stay away from militarized social movements and violence-inducing conspiracy networks and dangerous individuals and groups.
Misleading content:
Prevent content that might fraud people .
Do not help people to cheat .
Keep away from unrealistic promises.
Avoid unfunctional displays in the ad itself.
Do not use softwares that results in an unexpected experience.
Unsafe content:
Do not display in your ads drugs, tobacco, unsafe substances, or weapons.
Objectionable content:
Keep away from nudity.
Avoid sales of body parts.
Prevent negative statements about personal health and appearance.
Steer clear of bad quality ads.
Do not display shocking violent content.
Grammar mistakes are a bad mark in your ads too.
Keep far from mentioning crises or personal information of somebody.
You can learn more about Meta’s advertising standards here: Meta's Advertising Standards.
Solution:
If one of your items fails to comply with Meta's policies, you can edit that specific item to meet Meta's policies.
However, if you believe that your items comply with Meta's standards, you can request a review from the Ads Manager. To ask for a review of your rejected items, you can find a step by step guide here.
If your catalog fails to meet Meta’s community standards, the “Invalid Item” error will be displayed. To avoid it, you must read Meta’s policies before you run your ads. In case you already launched your campaign, you can request a review for your rejected items.
Your products must comply with commerce policies as well. You can learn more about commerce policies here: Commerce Policies.
Reason 3: You Recently Updated Your Catalog.
We have stated previously that Meta reviews your items before they're published. Thus, when you delete an item or add a new one to your catalog, Meta (Facebook) will stop your campaign to review your items before it allows it to run.
Solution:
In this case, you must wait up to 48 hours then check your catalog.
If you're still facing the same error, please restart your campaign by deleting it from your Meta Ads Manager, then return to the app, and create a new campaign.
When deleting or adding an item in your catalog, you must be aware that your campaign is going to be paused until Meta reviews your catalog. It usually takes 48 hours.
Then, you can restart your campaign to run again.
Conclusion
Congratulations! Now you will not be disturbed by the “Invalid Itemx” error anymore. When you face this issue again, you will easily find the cause and the solution.
You will check your image format, size, or dimensions; you will make sure your articles are meeting Meta’s policies; and you will ensure that you did not update your catalog recently.
Alternative Solution:
If you're unable to resolve this error, please contact our support team via the live chat bubble you see on this page or on the app. We will help you to successfully resolve this error and improve your ads.
Updated on: 05/01/2024
Thank you!