How to fix creative upload failures

Most upload failures come down to one of three things: the file is a format uplads doesn't accept, it's larger than the size limit, or the transfer stalled mid-flight. The good news is that uploads run in a resilient background queue, so a failed file rarely means starting over. This guide walks through each cause and how to recover.

Checking format and the 250 MB size limit

uplads validates every file before it leaves your browser, so a rejected file is caught instantly. Two rules apply:

• Supported formats only. Images must be JPG, PNG, or WebP. Videos must be MP4, MOV, or WebM. Anything else is rejected with "Unsupported file type." This is why HEIC photos from an iPhone, GIFs, AVI, and PDFs fail — convert them to a supported format first.
• 250 MB maximum per file. A file over the limit fails with "File exceeds 250MB limit." Compress or re-export the video at a lower bitrate, or trim its length, then try again.

The drop zone restates these rules right above the file picker, so you can confirm what's accepted before you select anything. If a file is rejected, the rest of your batch still uploads normally — only the invalid file is skipped.

Retrying a failed upload from the progress list

When a file errors out (for example, a network blip during the transfer), it appears in a red row in the progress list below the drop zone, showing the file name and the error reason.

1. Find the failed file in the red error row.
2. Click Retry at the end of that row.
3. The file re-enters the upload queue and resumes from a fresh attempt.

Retrying is safe — it won't create a duplicate creative. If the same file keeps failing after a couple of retries, the cause is usually format or size rather than the network, so re-check the rules above.

Cancelling a stuck upload and re-adding the file

Occasionally an upload sits at the same percentage and never finishes — a stalled connection or a sleeping laptop can cause this. To clear it:

1. In the progress list, find the in-progress file row.
2. Click the X button on that row to cancel it.
3. Drag the file back into the drop zone, or use Select files to add it again.

Cancelling removes the stuck job from the queue cleanly so the new attempt starts fresh. If several files stall at once, your internet connection is the likely culprit — reconnect and re-add them.

Why uploads survive navigation and refresh

Uploads don't run on a single page — they run in an app-wide background queue. That means:

• You can move to the next wizard step (targeting, ad copy) while files keep uploading. The progress list even reminds you: "You can move to the next step — uploads keep running."
• Navigating away and back to the creatives step repopulates the same progress list from the still-running queue, so nothing is lost.

Because of this, you rarely need to babysit a large batch. Just keep the browser tab open until the queue finishes. Closing the tab entirely will interrupt in-flight transfers, so let active uploads complete first.

Confirming the creative appears in the library after upload

A finished upload shows a green "uploaded" count in the progress summary. Once that count ticks up, scroll down to the media library — the new creative will be selectable there.

If a file shows as uploaded but you can't find it, refresh the page and check the library again. Still missing? See How to upload creatives to the media library for the full flow, or How to select, search and manage creatives to filter the library.

For other launch-time issues, see Why did my launch fail and how do I fix it?. If you're importing from cloud storage instead of your computer, How to fix Dropbox and Google Drive import problems covers those errors.