ads don't start and freeze when in news feeds...why?

Question

I start a news feed story, it starts, goes a few minutes, the ad notice comes up, then freezes. Nothing I do unfreezes it...waiting, pushing escape. I go out of the story restart, get close to the ad spot, FF pass the ad, I hope, and continue. The ad never comes on, just a black screen, saying ad will start, it doesn't. Help!

Answer 1

There could be several reasons why ads are not starting and freezing during news feed stories. Here are some potential causes:

1. Heavy Ad Intervention: If the ad creative exceeds certain thresholds set by browsers, such as excessive resource usage, it may not load properly. For example, if an ad uses the main thread for more than 60 seconds or consumes more than 4 MB of network bandwidth, it may trigger a "Heavy ad intervention" error, causing the ad to freeze or not display at all.
2. Technical Specifications: Ensure that the ads comply with the recommended technical specifications. If the ad is too large or has issues with the clickTAG macro, it may not function correctly.
3. Browser Issues: Sometimes, the browser itself may have issues that prevent ads from loading properly. Clearing the cache or trying a different browser may help.
4. Network Connectivity: Slow or unstable internet connections can also cause ads to freeze or fail to load.
5. Ad Blockers: If you have any ad-blocking extensions enabled, they might interfere with the ad loading process.

If these suggestions do not resolve the issue, consider reaching out to the support team of the platform you are using for further assistance.

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References:

• Microsoft Invest - Troubleshoot VAST creative display issues
• Creative troubleshooting FAQ

Answer 2

Dear Karen KRBE

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Community. I understand you are having problems with ads freezing and not starting when watching news feed stories. I am happy to assist you. Before proceeding, could you confirm if you have already tried the AI‑generated suggestions (browser cache clearing, ad blockers, or network connectivity checks)? This will help narrow down the remaining solutions. To resolve this issue, please try the following: 

1. Update Microsoft Edge
   • Ensure you are using the latest version of Edge. Outdated builds may cause playback and ad insertion issues. 
   • Go to Settings > About > Check for updates. 
2. Clear Edge Cache 
   • Close Edge completely. 
   • On Windows: navigate to %appdata%\Microsoft\Edge.
   • Delete the contents of the Cache folder. 
   • Restart Edge. 
3. Check Browser Playback
   • Please test in different browser (Google Chrome, Firefox,...) 
   • Clear browser cache and cookies. 
   • Ensure third‑party cookies and media autoplay are allowed. 
4. Verify Network and Firewall Rules 
   • Ads are delivered from external servers. If your firewall or network blocks ad domains, playback will freeze. 
   • Ensure Edge endpoints are allowed: *.msedge.net, and required CDN domains. 

Please kindly update when the issue has been resolved,if not, please reply to this thread and I will be happy to further assist you. 

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