generated: '2026-08-13'
method: searched
source: https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/test-mode
docs:
- https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/test-mode
- https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/mediation-debugger
- https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/creative-debugger
- https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/demo-app
- https://support.applovin.com/en/max/advanced-features/ad-unit-management-api
note: >-
  AppLovin's sandbox is CLIENT-SIDE ONLY. There is a genuine, well-documented test mode for
  the MAX SDKs — test devices, a mediation debugger, a creative debugger, demo apps. There
  is NO test mode for the HTTP APIs: no sandbox host, no test-vs-live key prefixes, no test
  account, and no way to exercise createCampaign, uploadAssets or postConversionEvents
  against anything but production. Every API key is a live key.
api_sandbox:
  exists: false
  test_host: null
  key_prefixes: null
  note: >-
    The five AppLovin API credentials (SDK Key, Management Key, Report Key, Campaign
    Management API key, Conversion API key, Ad Review Key) have no test/live variants and
    no distinguishing prefix. There is no way to tell a test key from a live key because
    there are no test keys. An agent calling createCampaign is spending real money against
    a real advertising account on its first call.
  consequence: >-
    This is the highest-consequence gap in the AppLovin developer surface. The write
    operations control live advertising spend and live monetization configuration, and
    none of them can be rehearsed.
sdk_test_mode:
  exists: true
  name: Test Mode
  purpose: >-
    Verify that specific ad networks are integrated. Test Mode increases the likelihood of
    ad fill during testing.
  activation:
  - method: Mediation Debugger
    description: Open the Mediation Debugger in the app and enable test ads.
  - method: programmatic
    description: >-
      Pass test device advertising IDs (GAIDs on Android, IDFAs on iOS) into the SDK
      initialization configuration. Must be set when the first SDK instance is created.
    android_api: AppLovinSdkInitializationConfiguration.builder("«SDK-key»").setTestDeviceAdvertisingIds([...])
  - method: api
    description: >-
      Test devices can also be registered over HTTP through the MAX Test Devices API rather
      than hardcoded in the app.
    operations:
    - openapi/applovin-test-devices-api-openapi.yml#listTestDevices
    - openapi/applovin-test-devices-api-openapi.yml#createTestDevice
    - openapi/applovin-test-devices-api-openapi.yml#getTestDevice
    - openapi/applovin-test-devices-api-openapi.yml#updateTestDevice
    note: >-
      The Test Devices API is the one place where the HTTP surface touches testing — and
      it configures testing for the SDK, it does not provide a test mode for itself.
  verification:
    log_line: 'Test Mode On: true'
    location: AppLovin SDK initialization logs
    side_effect: Test Mode makes the MAX SDK emit verbose device logging to the IDE console.
  accounting:
    tracked: false
    note: >-
      AppLovin does not track impressions, clicks, or revenue for test ads. Test traffic
      never reaches reporting, which also means an integration cannot be validated
      end-to-end by watching a report.
  caveats:
  - No-fills are common in test mode and typically do not indicate an integration problem; the docs recommend loading live ads to confirm.
  - Server-to-server rewarded callbacks are NOT sent for test ads, only live ads. The rewarded callback path is therefore unverifiable in test mode.
tooling:
- name: Mediation Debugger
  type: in-app
  description: Inspect network integration status, toggle test ads, and inspect the live waterfall from inside the app.
  docs: https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/mediation-debugger
- name: Creative Debugger
  type: in-app
  description: Identify the specific creative shown in an impression, for reporting bad ads.
  docs: https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/creative-debugger
- name: Demo apps
  type: sample-application
  description: First-party demo applications per platform, shipped in the SDK repositories.
  docs: https://support.applovin.com/en/max/android/testing-networks/demo-app
  repos:
  - https://github.com/AppLovin/AppLovin-MAX-Unity-Plugin
  - https://github.com/AppLovin/AppLovin-MAX-SDK-Android
  - https://github.com/AppLovin/AppLovin-MAX-SDK-iOS
- name: DSP testing
  type: partner
  description: A separate testing path documented for demand-side platform partners on the oRTB exchange.
  docs: https://support.applovin.com/en/max/demand-partners/demand-side-platforms/dsp-testing
magic_values:
  published: false
  note: >-
    No test card numbers, magic identifiers, test SIDs, fixture triggers or time-simulation
    tooling. AppLovin is not a payments provider and publishes no synthetic test data. Test
    device identifiers are the customer's OWN device GAIDs/IDFAs — real values the developer
    supplies, not values AppLovin publishes. Nothing is recorded here that AppLovin did not
    publish.