Your Meta pixel should fire on every page load and every conversion — but when it doesn't, there's no error message, just missing data. Work through this checklist in order and you'll find the cause fast.
1. Confirm it with the Meta Pixel Helper
Install the Meta Pixel HelperChrome extension and load your site. It tells you whether the pixel is present and which events fire. If it shows nothing, the base code isn't loading. If it shows PageView but no conversion event, the issue is on your conversion page or trigger.
2. Check the base code is installed
- View the page source and search for your pixel ID — if it's missing, the base code was removed (often during a site update).
- Make sure it's installed site-wide, in the
<head>, not just on one page. - If you use Google Tag Manager, confirm the tag is published and its trigger is set to fire on all pages.
3. Check Events Manager
In Meta Events Manager, look at your data source's “Events received” and the last-received timestamp. A stale timestamp means events aren't arriving. The Diagnostics tab flags specific problems like missing parameters or a deactivated pixel.
4. Rule out consent and ad blockers
- A consent-management platform may be blocking the pixel until the user accepts cookies — test by accepting consent and reloading.
- Ad blockers and browser privacy features block browser-side pixels for a growing share of users. This is exactly why a server-side Conversions API setup matters.
5. Check for a recent site or tag change
Line up the date events dropped with your last deploy, theme change, or GTM publish. The overwhelming majority of “pixel not firing” cases trace back to a site change that removed or broke the tag.
6. Test end to end
- Open the Test Events tool in Events Manager.
- Complete the action yourself (add to cart, purchase, submit a form).
- Confirm the event arrives in real time. If it doesn't, the trigger or code on that page is the problem.
Stop chasing it after the fact
This checklist only helps once you know something's wrong — and a silent pixel can run broken for days. Taglert checks your pixel activity across every connected account every 30 minutes and alerts you the moment it goes inactive, so you never have to discover it from a checklist again.
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