Why it happens
The tag was removed in a site change
The tag was removed in a site change
A redesign, a new theme, a checkout migration or a Google Tag Manager container published without the Google Ads tag. The most common cause by far, and it usually lines up with a deploy date.
The conversion page changed
The tag fires on a URL that no longer exists, like an old /thank-you page after the form moved to an inline success message.
Consent mode or a cookie banner blocks it
A consent setup that never grants ad_storage, or a banner that loads after the tag, can stop the tag for most visitors.
The trigger in Google Tag Manager is wrong
A form-submit trigger that never matches, a typo in a custom event name, or a tag left paused in the workspace.
Clicks land somewhere the tag cannot fire
Final URLs that send traffic to a booking tool, a marketplace or another domain where your tag is not installed.
How to fix it, step by step
Open the conversion action
In Google Ads go to Goals, then Conversions, then Summary. Click the action marked Misconfigured (or Inactive) and note when it last recorded a conversion.
Run the troubleshooter
Click Troubleshoot next to the action. Google walks you through a test conversion and tells you whether the tag fired.
Check the page with Tag Assistant
Open Tag Assistant, connect your site and complete a real conversion. Confirm the Google tag loads and the conversion event fires with the right conversion ID and label.
Reinstall or fix the trigger
Put the event snippet back on the conversion page, or fix the Tag Manager trigger and publish the container. Check consent mode grants ad_storage after the visitor accepts.
Wait, then verify
The status can take up to 48 hours to update. Watch the action move back to Active, and check conversions are landing in the Conversions column, not only All conversions.
Steps checked against Google Ads Help: How Google Ads tracks website conversions; Google Ads Help: Use Tag Assistant to troubleshoot your unverified or inactive conversion actions; Google Ads Help: Conversion action tracking status.
Sprites diagnoses this
Sprites diagnoses it
Sprites finds when the action broke and what changed that day, then cleans up the action itself.
What Sprites does
- Splits conversions by conversion action, day by day, and pins down the day this one stopped recording.
- Lines that day up with the account change history, so you see whether the account changed or the site did.
- Lists every final URL clicks were sent to and flags the ones off your domain, where your tag cannot fire.
- Moves a dead action to secondary so Smart Bidding stops optimizing on it, once you approve.
What it doesn't do
- It does not edit your site or Google Tag Manager, so reinstalling the tag is on you or your developer.
- It does not run Tag Assistant or load your pages to watch the tag fire.
Questions
What does inactive mean on a Google Ads conversion action?
Google has recorded no conversions for the action in the last 7 days and cannot detect its tag firing. Since July 2026 the Google Ads interface calls this status Misconfigured.
Is Misconfigured the same as Inactive?
Yes. Google replaced Inactive with Misconfigured in July 2026. Both mean conversions stopped recording because of a setup error or a broken tag.
How is Inactive different from No recent conversions?
No recent conversions, now called Awaiting conversions, means the tag works but nobody converted in 7 days. Inactive means the tag itself is not firing.
How long does it take for the status to change after I fix the tag?
Up to 48 hours. A fast-converting site often flips back to Active within a few hours of the first conversion.
Do I lose the conversions from the days the tag was broken?
Yes. Conversions that happened while the tag was not firing were never recorded and cannot be recovered from the tag. If you have the click IDs in a CRM, an offline conversion import can add some back.
Should I pause campaigns while the tag is broken?
Not necessarily, but move the broken action to secondary or switch bidding off conversion-based strategies until it is fixed, so Smart Bidding does not chase zero.
See where it breaks
Connect your accounts. Sprites reads them side by side and shows you exactly where the numbers split.