Five test tubes of red, orange, yellow, green and blue liquid standing in a wooden rack

Lead gen forms

Why does Meta's Lead Ads Testing Tool say my test lead failed or stay on pending, and how do I fix it?

By The Tofu team ·

Pending means Meta hasn't yet delivered the test lead's webhook to your endpoint. Meta says that takes a few seconds, so click Track Status again. If it stays pending or turns failed, the usual causes are a Meta app still in Development mode, a Page that hasn't installed your app for lead webhooks, a CRM or connector without leads access, or an expired token (error 190). Read the error_code column, fix that one cause, then delete the test lead and create a new one. Meta allows one test lead per form.

As of November 2026.

What do pending, success and failed mean?

They show whether Meta's real-time update (its webhook) for your test lead reached your endpoint. Meta's testing guide says "it takes a few seconds" to fire, and "until then, you see the RTU in pending status." It turns to success once it lands, and the table then shows the payload, "a copy of what Facebook sends to your endpoint." It turns to failed if sending hit a problem, and "the error_code column gives details about the reason for the failure."

Success only means Meta delivered the notice. It doesn't prove the lead reached your CRM. That's a separate check, covered below.

Why does my test lead stay on pending?

Click Track Status a few more times first. Meta's retrieval guide says real-time pings can arrive "with a delay of up to a few minutes." If it still won't move, check these in order:

  1. Your Meta app is in Development mode. Meta's testing guide says "you cannot use the tool in developer mode," and its lead ads guide says "You can't retrieve leads if your app is in Development mode," except leads from people with a role on the app. n8n's docs say to switch the app from Development to Live before its Facebook Lead Ads trigger works. In an n8n community thread from January 2026, the poster traced a test that sat on pending and then failed to an app still in Development mode.
  2. The Page hasn't installed your app. Meta says webhook notifications "will only be sent if your Page has installed your Webhooks configured-app," and only if the Page hasn't turned off the App platform in its App Settings. A custom app installs itself with a POST to the Page's subscribed_apps edge with subscribed_fields=leadgen. A GET on the same edge lists the apps installed.
  3. Your endpoint can't accept the webhook. Meta's webhooks guide says your server "must have a valid TLS or SSL certificate" and "Self-signed certificates are not supported." It should answer every notification with 200 OK. Meta retries a failed send "a few more times with decreasing frequency over the next 36 hours."
  4. Another URL took over the webhook. n8n's docs say Facebook Lead Ads lets you register "a single webhook per app," so switching between n8n's test URL and production URL overwrites the other one. Unpublish the workflow while you test, then publish it again.

LeadSync, a lead-sync vendor, says some test submissions in 2026 "never resolve to 'success' or 'failed'" and suggests deleting the test lead and sending a fresh one. Meta's docs don't mention this.

What do error codes 100, 103 and 190 mean?

Meta's testing guide doesn't list the codes the tool shows. Meta's error references cover 100 and 190 in general, but not 103. LeadSync's testing guide (July 30, 2026, updated September 15) explains all three:

CodeWhat Meta's error docs sayWhat LeadSync says it means in the toolWhat to do
100, subcode 33"Unsupported post request." Meta says it may happen when the access token isn't added as a system user, with the right permissions, to the ad account that owns a Custom Audience"You're using a Page token to test an ad-level integration"Check that the person or system user behind the integration has access to both the Page and the ad account. LeadSync suggests a Business system user token
103Not in Meta's public Marketing API error referenceYour CRM's access was removed in leads accessLeadSync's fix: open leads access for the Page in your business portfolio settings and assign the CRM again
190"Invalid OAuth 2.0 Access Token." The Graph API guide says "Get a new access token""Your CRM's connection token has expired"Reconnect the integration so it gets a new token. For a custom app, Meta's retrieval guide suggests a long-lived Page token so it doesn't expire

Meta's Graph API guide also lists subcodes under 190: 463 (expired), 467 (invalid), 460 (password changed) and 458 (the user hasn't logged into your app). So a changed Facebook password is enough to break a token that was working.

Why can't I create another test lead?

Meta says "You can create one test lead per form." Click Delete Lead, then Create Lead again. Meta's guide says "only the owner of the lead can delete the lead," so a test lead a teammate created may need to be deleted by that teammate.

Developers can do the same through the API: POST /{FORM_ID}/test_leads creates one, a GET on the same path reads it, and DELETE /{LEAD_ID} removes it. Meta says the call needs a Page access token, a Page role of Advertiser or higher, and no existing test lead on the form. You can pass field_data to fill in your own answers.

Why don't I see my Page in the tool?

Meta says the drop-down "lists all the pages you have advertiser access to." If your Page is missing, ask a Page admin or someone with full control of the business portfolio to give you that access, then reload the tool.

The test says success, but nothing reached Zapier, n8n or my CRM. Why?

Then Meta did its part, and the problem sits in the connector. Check these:

  • The connector is off or points at an old form. Zapier's help says Zaps "are off by default when created and turn off automatically if there are errors." It also says "when you update your form, Facebook assigns a new ID to it," so re-select the form in the trigger.
  • The connector filters on campaign or ad. Meta says leads from the tool "are organic leads that are not associated with any ad." A filter or required field that expects an ad or campaign will drop them. See how Meta passes campaign names to your CRM.
  • The CRM rejected the dummy data. "By default, the lead that gets created has dummy data within it." LeadSync says some CRMs reject those placeholder values. Click Preview Form and enter a real-looking name and email instead.
  • The connection expired. Zapier lists an expired Facebook connection as a cause. Reconnect Facebook, update the trigger and turn the Zap on.

Some CRMs also take a while. For HubSpot's timing and fixes, see how to send Meta leads to HubSpot or Salesforce.

Why do test leads work but real leads don't arrive?

Zapier's help says that when "test leads work during test, but do not trigger when the Zap is live," Zapier most likely lacks CRM access to your Page. That is set in leads access. Meta says that until someone with full control of your business portfolio customizes it, "all Page admins or people with messaging permissions can download leads." After that, new people, CRMs and partners have to be added by hand.

Zapier's fix: make sure the entry named "Zapier" (not "Zapier Inc.") has access. If it does and leads still don't come through, click Restore Default Access next to it, then reconnect Facebook in Zapier. Development mode can cause the same split, since Meta lets a Development-mode app read leads only from people with a role on the app. That may be why your own tests get through.

If leads were arriving and then stopped, see why Meta lead ads suddenly stopped getting leads.

What if the tool itself won't load or shows an error?

LeadSync suggests clearing cookies for developers.facebook.com and facebook.com, or trying a private window or another browser, when the tool says "Something went wrong." If you think the bug is on Meta's side, see how to get Meta developer support.

Sources

Ask Tofu next

Pick a question and Tofu Ads Agent answers it in chat.

Related answers

More on

Let an agent build your next campaign.

Tofu Ads Agent reads your CRM, plans the funnel, builds the audience and creative, and stages full campaigns across LinkedIn, Google and Meta for your approval.

Try it free Get a demo