MaxtDesign

Troubleshooting

Tracking Fires Before Consent

This is the most common issue. Check these steps in order:

  • 1.Go to Settings → Cookie Consent → Advanced Settings
  • 2.Ensure "Inject Default Consent State" is enabled
  • 3.View your page source (View Page Source, not Inspect)
  • 4.Search for gtag('consent', 'default'
  • 5.Confirm it appears before your GTM snippet

    • If the default consent script appears after GTM, there may be another plugin injecting GTM at an earlier priority. Move your GTM implementation to a later priority or contact support.

    Popup Not Appearing

  • 1.Clear all caches — site cache, CDN cache, browser cache
  • 2.Check that the plugin is activated (Plugins page)
  • 3.Open browser console (F12) and look for JavaScript errors
  • 4.Confirm the popup hasn't already been shown (check localStorage for mdcc_consent key)
  • 5.Try a private/incognito window — this eliminates cached consent state
  • 6.If using an Elementor popup, verify the Popup ID is correct in settings

    • Popup Flashing or Not Displaying Consistently

    Update to version 1.7.2 or later. Earlier versions had a race condition where JavaScript could initialize before the popup HTML was rendered in wp_footer.

    Verifying Consent Is Working

    Method 1: GTM Preview Mode

  • 1.Open your site in a private browsing window
  • 2.Enable GTM Preview mode for your container
  • 3.Before clicking any consent button, check the Preview panel
  • 4.Tags should show "Not Fired" or "Consent Denied"
  • 5.Click "Accept All" — tags should fire immediately
  • 6.Test "Decline All" in another window — tags should remain blocked

    • Method 2: GA4 Realtime Report

  • 1.Open GA4 Realtime report in a separate window
  • 2.Visit your site in a private browsing window
  • 3.Click "Decline All" when the popup appears
  • 4.Your visit should NOT appear in Realtime
  • 5.Open a new private window and click "Accept All"
  • 6.Your visit should appear within seconds

    • Method 3: Browser Console

    If WP_DEBUG is enabled, open the browser console (F12) and look for [MDCC] messages:

  • [MDCC] Consent state saved: {analytics: true, ads: false}
  • [MDCC] GCM v2 updated: {analytics_storage: "granted", ad_storage: "denied"}

    • Method 4: Page Source

  • 1.Right-click → View Page Source
  • 2.Search for gtag('consent', 'default'
  • 3.This should appear before your GTM or GA4 snippet
  • 4.Confirms default consent is properly injected

    • Shortcodes Not Displaying

  • Ensure the shortcode is spelled correctly: [mdcc_consent_status] or [mdcc_manage_consent]
  • Older versions used different prefixes (mdlc_). Update to v1.7.0+ which uses mdcc_ prefix
  • Check that the plugin is activated
  • Shortcodes don't work in widget titles — only in widget content areas

    • Conflict with Other Plugins

  • 1.Deactivate all plugins except Cookie Consent
  • 2.Reactivate plugins one by one
  • 3.When the issue returns, that plugin is the conflict
  • 4.Common conflicts: other consent plugins, GTM plugins that inject their own consent defaults

    • Elementor Popup Not Working

  • 1.Verify the Popup ID is correct (check Templates → Popups)
  • 2.Ensure your buttons call the correct functions:

    • - Accept All: mdccConsent.acceptAll()

    - Analytics Only: mdccConsent.acceptAnalyticsOnly()

    - Decline All: mdccConsent.declineAll()

  • 3.The Elementor popup must be published and its display conditions must be set
  • 4.Check browser console for JavaScript errors

    • Plugin Deactivation vs Deletion

  • Deactivate: Popup stops appearing. Settings preserved. Reactivating restores everything.
  • Delete: All settings and data removed from database. Cannot be undone. Client-side localStorage consent data is unaffected.

    • Getting Support

    If you can't resolve the issue:

  • 1.Search existing topics on the [WordPress.org support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/maxtdesign-cookie-consent/)
  • 2.Create a new topic including:

    • - WordPress version

    - PHP version

    - Plugin version (current: 1.7.3)

    - Active theme name

    - Error messages from browser console

    - Steps to reproduce the issue

    For Pro customers: email support@maxtdesign.com for priority assistance.

    Developer Guide