Start from what you see on your site, run the browser checks in DevTools, then open the page for that symptom. Work through the causes of your symptom from the most likely, with the check and the fix for each. Then confirm the result in the "How to verify" section of that page. Check that the cookie-consent.js address in your page source carries 4.2.0, the TermsFeed Free Cookie Consent version these fixes are written for.

Browser checks to run before you pick a symptom

The browser developer tools (DevTools) show the cause of most Cookie Consent problems. The checks assume express consent with page_load_consent_levels left out or at the generator value ["strictly-necessary"]. Close every private window, then run the checks in a new one, so an earlier answer does not hide the consent banner. A private window does not run extensions by default, so repeat the Network tab check in your normal window to catch an ad blocker.

  1. Add "debug": true to the object you pass to cookieconsent.run(), publish the change, reload the page, and open the Console tab. Most Cookie Consent debug lines start with a timestamp, and most yellow warnings name the option or the tagged script at fault.
  2. Open the Network tab, type termsfeed in the filter, and reload. The loader cookie-consent.js and the script cookie-consent-code.js both return status 200. In your normal window, net::ERR_BLOCKED_BY_CLIENT on either request points to an ad blocker.
  3. Open the Application tab, select your site under Cookies, and look for cookie_consent_level, cookie_consent_user_accepted, and cookie_consent_user_consent_token.

Before an answer in express mode, only cookie_consent_level exists; the other 2 follow the answer, and implied mode writes the token on page load. Of the 3 cookies, cookie_consent_user_accepted holds true once the visitor answered. The cookie_consent_level cookie holds the choice for each of the 4 categories. Decode each value with The 3 cookies Cookie Consent writes.

Symptoms and the page that fixes each one

Find what you see on your site, and open the page that fixes it.

Page What you see
Cookie Banner Not Appearing No consent banner on your site
Scripts Run Before Consent A tracker request in the Network tab before the visitor answers
Cookie Banner Reappears on Every Page The consent banner returns after the visitor answered
2 Cookie Banners Appear on Your Site A second consent banner from your platform or a plugin
Google Consent Mode Stays Denied Denied signals in Google Tag Assistant after a click on the "I agree" button, or the "OK" button in implied mode
Cookie Banner Reappears on Subdomains A new consent banner on each subdomain of your site
Preferences Center Not Opening A cookie settings link, such as "Update cookies preferences", that does nothing
Ad Blockers and CSP Hide the Cookie Banner No consent banner for some visitors or under a Content Security Policy
Cookie Banner Covers Content A consent banner over a button, behind a widget, or pushing the page down
Garbled Accents in the Cookie Banner Broken accents or symbols, or text in an unexpected language
Callbacks Not Firing or Firing Twice Your own code that never runs, or runs 2 times

Collect the details a support reply needs in the window where you see the problem, before you ask for help, so the first reply answers the problem. Keep "debug": true in the configuration while you collect them.

  • The full address of a page that shows the problem.
  • The complete Cookie Consent block as it appears in the page source (Ctrl+U), with the configuration object.
  • Every Cookie Consent line and every red error in the Console tab, copied in full.
  • The status of each request in the Network tab with the filter termsfeed.
  • The values of the 3 Cookie Consent cookies in the Application tab, before and after you answer.
  • The browser, its version, and any ad blocker or privacy extension it runs.

Remove "debug": true again once the problem is solved, because it prints the Cookie Consent debug lines in the console of every visitor. Find where to send these details in Free Cookie Consent FAQ and Support.