How to check Google Consent Mode v2 is working

Omea Consent sends Google Consent Mode v2 on every page, but your Google tags only behave correctly if they read it. This check shows you exactly what Google receives before and after a choice. You need nothing more than your browser.

Check it with the browser’s developer tools

1. Open a private window A private (incognito) window starts with no saved choice, so you see what a first-time visitor sees.
2. Open the network tab Open the browser’s developer tools (F12 or Cmd+Option+I), go to Network and type collect in the filter box.
3. Load your site and don’t click the banner In advanced mode you should see GA4 requests to /g/collect with gcs=G100. In basic mode you should see no Google requests yet.
4. Click Accept all New requests should show gcs=G111. If you choose only Statistics in Preferences, expect gcs=G101.
5. Check the defaults in the page source View the page source and search for omea-consent-mode-default. That script, with every type set to denied, must come before any Google tag.

Reading the gcs parameter

Every GA4 and Google Ads request carries a gcs value: G1, then one digit for ad_storage and one for analytics_storage (1 = granted, 0 = denied).

gcs	ad_storage	analytics_storage	Typical moment
G100	denied	denied	Before a choice, or after Reject all
G101	denied	granted	Statistics accepted, Marketing not
G110	granted	denied	Marketing accepted, Statistics not
G111	granted	granted	Accept all

These are the values we verified when testing Omea Consent: G100 on the first page view in advanced mode, G111 after Accept all.

Reading the gcd parameter (the v2 signals)

gcd is longer and also covers the v2 signals ad_user_data and ad_personalization. Each signal gets a letter. The ones you’ll see most:

Letter	Meaning
p	denied by default, not updated yet
q	denied by default and by the update
r	denied by default, granted by the update
l	not set at all – the signal is missing

Before a choice, expect p for each signal. After Accept all, expect r. An l means Consent Mode isn’t reaching that tag – see the fixes below.

Check with Google Tag Assistant

Open Tag Assistant, connect your site and look at the Consent tab for the first event. It shows the default and the updated state for each signal. Accept the banner in the connected window and the next event should show the update.

Common problems

No requests before consent in advanced mode. Something is holding the Google tag. Check that the tag isn’t pasted into Scripts with a category (then it waits for that category in both modes), and that basic mode isn’t selected under Settings › Advanced.

gcs stays G100 after Accept all. Another Consent Mode setup is fighting Omea’s. Remove gtag('consent', 'default', …) code from your theme, a GTM Consent Initialization tag, or another cookie plugin.

gcd shows l for the v2 signals. The tag loaded before Omea’s defaults. Make sure Omea Consent’s default script comes first in the page source – remove other plugins that print Google tags very early, or move the tag into Omea.

Google requests before consent in basic mode. gtag.js is being added by your theme or another plugin. Turn on auto-blocking so it is held too.

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