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FAQ and troubleshooting

Short answers to the questions and problems that come up most often, grouped by where they bite. Each answer links to the page that covers the flow in full.

If you are setting up for the first time, read Getting started instead — it walks the whole flow in order.

General​

Does the Subscriber Exchange cost anything?​

No. Hosting and running ads is free — the exchange runs on reciprocity, not money. The only optional charges are the one-off delivery boosts and Priority Review, the $1 External Links add-on if you need a non-Telegram link, and the Onflow Ads subscription plans that raise your limits.

Can I run ads without hosting?​

No, and the rule holds for as long as your campaigns run — it is not only a check at submit time. You need at least one enrolled, active channel before the advertising side opens, and if you later withdraw your last one, your approved campaigns pause until you enrol another. If you would rather pay for reach without hosting, use Paid Promotions instead.

I withdrew my channel and my ads stopped. What happened?​

Two things, both said in the reply to the withdrawal itself.

If it was your last hosting channel, every approved campaign on your account was paused. The exchange is reciprocal: your ads run in other members' channels, so hosting none of theirs stops yours. Nothing is lost — enrol any channel and the paused campaigns flip back to running on their own, and a campaign you cancel instead is refunded on the ordinary rules. A paid delivery upgrade is not refunded by the pause; it waits with the campaign.

Any swap campaign that offered the withdrawn channel was cancelled. A swap is a 1:1 trade of that specific channel, so it cannot stand without it. Swaps are never charged for, so there is nothing to refund, but a cancelled one does not come back when you re-enrol — re-create it from a channel you still host with.

One thing to watch if you are on Ultimate: a cycle you paused this way is not covered by the Delivery Floor, because the shortfall was not the exchange under-delivering.

Will my subscribers know my channel is in an exchange?​

The ads themselves do not say so. What they carry is one line reading exactly advertisement via onflowads.com, one blank line below the creative — and whether it appears is your decision as the host, not the advertiser's. On Free and Lite it appears on every exchange ad your channels carry; from Plus upward it is removed. It never names the advertiser, your channel, or the exchange relationship. See Hosting ads.

What do the pills at the top of the page mean?​

  • "1274 channels · 96 live now" — live pool activity: enrolled channels and placements up right now, in aggregate.
  • "Exchange in sync" / "Sync pending" / "Sync degraded" — whether the delivery bot is running the configuration this build published. "Sync pending" is normal briefly after a platform update and clears when the bot restarts.
  • "Reliability 9.2/10" — your account reliability score. Press it for the full breakdown.

Where do I read my credit balance?​

On the website, one channel at a time. Each channel's own dashboard carries a lifetime Credits earned figure for that channel plus the credit each recent placement paid, on every plan — see A channel's own dashboard. Every credit is minted by one channel, so there is no screen that adds them into a single account-wide figure; ask support if you need that total. The bot's takedown message confirms a placement earned but does not quote the amount — the website mints it a few minutes later. See How credits work.

Enrolment problems​

Verification keeps failing when I add my channel​

The message names the exact problem, and the rights checklist highlights anything missing in red. The full table is in Getting started. The common ones:

  • "We couldn't reach that channel" — the bot has not been added yet, or the username is wrong.
  • "Only public Telegram channels can join the exchange." — private channels are not eligible.
  • "…is an admin but still needs: …" — a specific right is off. Turn on exactly the ones named.
  • "You must be an administrator of this channel to enrol it." — the Telegram account linked to Onflow Ads must itself be an admin.
  • "That channel is already enrolled in the exchange by another account." — a channel lives in the exchange under one account only.

Why does the bot need Delete Messages?​

Because the exchange promises every placement comes down after 24 hours, and only a bot with delete rights can keep that promise. The bot only ever removes ads it posted itself. The wizard's "Is it safe to give the bot Delete rights?" panel spells out exactly what it can and cannot do.

I was told my channel needs a minimum number of subscribers​

A channel needs at least 1,000 subscribers to be enrolled as a host — the same floor Paid Promotions uses. The number in the message is the live one: an operator can change it for everybody. It decides who may start: a channel you already have in the exchange can still change its level ceiling or come back from a pause below it.

My ad​

My ad is approved but has no placements yet — is something wrong?​

Usually not. Press Why? on the campaign row: the diagnostic walks every gate in order and names the one that applies. The common answers are the even spread (the next placement is a day or two away), a targeting filter that matches too few channels, a swap waiting for a partner, or your reliability. Full details in Running ads.

My ad was declined — what now?​

The reason is printed in red on the row and repeated in a Telegram message and an email. Fix it and submit a corrected ad, or press Appeal and give the reviewer a sentence or two. One appeal per ad, and a decline never lowers your reliability. The decision itself — and the refund of any delivery boost — is made by the website; the reviewer's tap in Telegram only relays it.

Why can't I pick the level I want for my ad?​

Some topics enforce a minimum level — a crypto ad always runs at level 3 or above. This stops sensitive ads being declared "general" to reach channels whose owners said no to that content. Gambling and betting have no level at all: they are not carried on any rail.

Does my campaign ever end on its own?​

No. An approved broadcast campaign rolls into a new 30-day cycle and keeps delivering until you cancel it. If you are at your live-ad limit, an old campaign you forgot about is usually why. See "How long a campaign runs" in Running ads.

How do I make one campaign bigger than my plan's cadence?​

With a delivery boost, bought from your wallet at submit time — $0.99 for +2 placements, $1.99 for +4, $2.99 for +6, on every plan including Free. It is one purchase for one campaign, and it sits under the same 24-placement ceiling everything else does.

I cancelled an ad — do I get my money back?​

If nothing had delivered yet, yes, automatically, with the refund's OFT- reference named in the reply. If at least one placement ran, a mid-cycle cancel forfeits the purchase. A decline in review always refunds the delivery charge.

Why does the reach number on the form not match the diagnostic?​

They apply almost the same filters, and the gap is deliberate. The form's line already narrows for your level, your topic, and the language, country and audience-size filters you set on the Audience step (step 4) — it re-asks the server every time you change one. What it cannot apply is your competitor blocklist: feeding your own list of handles to an estimator would turn the difference between the two numbers into a way of confirming which of those channels are enrolled, so the route refuses to read it. The diagnostic's Matching channels step runs after approval, against the real pool, and does apply the blocklist along with the per-channel gates a host controls — their weekly cap, quiet hours and any ad they refused. So the form can only ever over-count, never under-count.

My approved ad says "Paused — the pool is short". Did I do something wrong?​

No. Ads run only while the exchange holds enough eligible channels for the placements your plan still has to make this cycle. The pool shrank below that — hosts left, or a suspension landed — so the website paused the ad rather than let it under-deliver. Nothing is charged while it waits, live placements finish their 24 hours, and it resumes on its own (you are told) once the pool recovers. Enrolling one of your own channels will not change it: an ad is never placed in its own advertiser's channels. See Running ads.

The exchange said it can't carry my ad yet — what does that mean?​

Your plan runs an ad in a fixed number of different channels a cycle, and right now fewer eligible channels than that accept your ad. Rather than approve a campaign that would under-deliver, the exchange refuses the submit — nothing charged, no ad created — and puts you on a list. The moment the pool is big enough you are told on Telegram, by email and on the site, and the hub keeps a Waiting for the pool card with the live numbers until then. Widening your audience filters or lowering the level is what you can change; enrolling one of your own channels will not, because an ad is never placed in its own advertiser's channels. See Running ads.

Yes, with the External Links add-on — a one-off $1 charged to your wallet, which you can buy from inside the link dialog. Without it, only Telegram links pass, and private Telegram invite links need Lite. See "The link policy" in Running ads.

Hosting​

An ad appeared in my channel that I do not want. What do I do?​

My channels → Hosted ads → Refuse on that ad. It comes down within about a minute, never returns to that channel, and costs you nothing. Do not delete the post by hand or demote the bot — that is an early removal and damages your standing. Step by step in Refusing an ad.

Can I approve every ad before it posts?​

Yes. Turn on Review ads on the channel row. Matched ads are then held for your approval, with a Telegram message and a 24-hour deadline for each. Undecided holds are skipped, never posted. See Reviewing ads before they post.

Does a held ad cost the advertiser a placement?​

No. While a hold waits on you, the campaign's schedule advances without counting a drop, so it keeps reaching other channels. The hold does take your channel's slot for that cycle.

Why does my channel say "Suspended"?​

Three strikes crossed the threshold, and every active channel on the account is held out of the pool for 7 days. The row names the date it lifts. It clears automatically; re-enrolling after it has been served tidies the card, and never shortcuts one still running.

Strikes are a rolling window, not a permanent record

A strike is counted per episode, not per broken placement: while your cooldown is still running, a further attributable removal refreshes the cooldown but does not add another strike.

The count also decays. Go a full 30-day cycle after your cooldown ends with no new breach and it is back to zero, so the next slip is a six-hour cooldown again rather than the seven-day suspension. That is roughly 31 days clear after an ordinary strike, and roughly 37 after one that crossed the threshold and bought the 7-day suspension. Nothing needs asking for — it clears on its own — but support can also clear a strike you believe was wrongly attributed.

Grace resets every 30 days too, and separately. Use Refuse rather than deleting a post by hand. See Rules and fair play.

"Your exchange is paused" — what is that banner?​

A hosting promise was broken — a placement was removed early, or the bot lost the rights it needs in your channel — so the exchange is closed to your account — hosting and advertising both — until the time shown. The banner also shows your strike count. Paid plans include a per-cycle grace allowance for genuine accidents.

How often will my channel carry ads?​

At most 4 in a rolling week by default, never two within 20 hours of each other, never the same advertiser twice inside 72 hours, and only ever at or below the level ceiling you chose.

My channel has gone completely quiet​

Work down the causes table in Hosting ads. The one people miss is their own reliability: the matcher requires the channel owner's score to clear the exchange floor before offering that channel anything.

How do I stop hosting temporarily?​

Turning on Review ads gives you manual control without leaving. To stop entirely, press Leave — anything live finishes its 24 hours and you can re-enrol later with your settings kept.

Credits​

How do I earn credits?​

Host placements to completion. Each full 24-hour run pays at your plan's rate — 10 credits on Free, up to 20 on Ultimate. See Earning credits by hosting.

Can I buy credits, or cash them out?​

No to both. Credits are minted by hosting only and have no cash value. Money buys delivery boosts instead, which are a separate, paid product.

Are SubX credits the same as Boost credit?​

No. SubX credits are earned by hosting. Boost credit is a separate balance used by the Boost product — and it is what the Ultimate Delivery Floor make-good pays out in.

Plans​

Which numbers change when I upgrade?​

Enrolled channels, ads running at once, placements per cycle, link buttons per post, whether those buttons may carry a colour, private-link permission, the competitor blocklist size, targeting dimensions, grace allowance, credit earn rate, dispatch priority, whether the ads your channels host run without the attribution line, and access to lookalike matching, custom matcher weights and the Delivery Floor. Full tables in Plans, tiers and limits.

What happens to a running campaign if my subscription lapses?​

Nothing to the campaign's reach. Your tier is frozen onto it at submit time, so it keeps the placements per cycle and the targeting you paid for. New submissions use your new entitlements, and existing enrolled channels are never removed.

The one thing the freeze does not cover is the attribution line, which was never the advertiser's to buy: it is decided per placement from the live plan of whichever channel is hosting. Lapsing does change what ads your own channels carry, though — drop below Plus and the line comes back on the ads you host from the next placement onward.

Does a paid plan protect me from penalties?​

No. Reliability rules bite paid plans exactly as hard as free ones. Paid plans include grace, which forgives a number of accidental early removals per cycle and never covers demoting or removing the bot.

Does Priority Review guarantee a fast decision?​

No. It stamps your card so a reviewer picks it up first. Nothing in the exchange enforces a review deadline, on any plan.

AI tools​

Which AI tools are in the builder, and what do they cost?​

Two entrances. On step 1, Write my ad with AI opens a dialog with a Generate tab (drafts the copy) and an Image tab. On the Topic step (step 3), Targeting copilot sits under the reach line. A Generate run and a copilot run each spend one action from your shared text allowance — 1 a day on Free, up to 5 a day on Master and Ultimate. The Image tab spends from a separate image allowance available on Master and Ultimate only, at 2 a day and 10 a month. Failures are refunded. See AI tools in the exchange.

Why does the Targeting copilot ignore my filters?​

It is sent the content level and topic only. For a number that includes your Audience-step filters, submit the campaign and read the Matching channels step of the Why? diagnostic.

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