ATT Prompt Appears in Simulator but Not on Physical Device - Cordova iOS App

Question

Created Jan ’25

Replies 1

Boosts 0

Participants 1

I'm experiencing an inconsistent behavior with the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt in my Cordova iOS app using the admob-plus-cordova and cordova-plugin-consent plugins.

Environment:

Cordova iOS app
Plugins: admob-plus-cordova, cordova-plugin-consent
iOS Simulator: 16.0
Physical device: iphone 12 17.5.1
Xcode version: 16.2

Issue: The ATT permission prompt appears correctly in the iOS Simulator but fails to show on physical devices. I've verified that:

Info.plist includes NSUserTrackingUsageDescription
The ATT request is triggered before initializing AdMob
The device is running iOS 14.5 or later

Expected behavior:

ATT prompt should appear on first launch on physical devices (as it does in the simulator)

Actual behavior:

ATT prompt appears correctly in simulator [attach your screenshot]
ATT prompt never appears on physical device

Troubleshooting steps tried:

Verified app hasn't previously requested ATT permission
Confirmed tracking is enabled in device Settings -> Privacy -> Tracking
Verified implementation order (ATT request before AdMob initialization)

Any insights on why this might be happening or additional debugging steps would be greatly appreciated.

Simulator Screenshot - iPhone 16 - 2024-12-29 at 14.48.58.png

Boost

Answer 1

boazn OP

Jan ’25

async handleIOSConsent() {
    const trackingStatus = await consent.trackingAuthorizationStatus();
    console.log('📢 iOS tracking status:', trackingStatus);
    
    if (trackingStatus === 0) { // notDetermined
        const newStatus = await consent.requestTrackingAuthorization();
        console.log('📢 New tracking status:', newStatus);
    }
}

async init() {
    if (this.isInitialized) return;

    try {
        // Wait for device ready
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));

        // Check consent on iOS
        if (cordova.platformId === 'ios') {
            await this.handleIOSConsent();
        }

        // Initialize AdMob and continue with other initializations
        await admob.start();
        // ...

    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error initializing:', error);
    }
}

// Initialization
document.addEventListener('deviceready', () => {
    console.log('Initializing AdManager...');
    setTimeout(() => {
        window.adManager = new AdManager();
        window.adManager.init();
    }, 1500);
}, false);

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