play-services-ads:24.0.0 resource xml/gma_ad_services_config not found

Problem

When upgrading from play-services-ads:23.6.0 to version 24.0.0, developers encounter the following build error:

AAPT: error: resource xml/gma_ad_services_config (akacom.test.test:xml/gma_ad_services_config) not found.

This error occurs because Google removed the automatic inclusion of the gma_ad_services_config resource in version 24.0.0, but existing AndroidManifest.xml files may still reference it.

Solution

Remove AD_SERVICES_CONFIG from Android Manifest

The primary solution is to remove or comment out the AD_SERVICES_CONFIG property from your AndroidManifest.xml file. Google intentionally removed this configuration requirement in version 24.0.0 to prevent merge conflicts and provide developers with more flexibility.

<!-- Remove or comment out this section in AndroidManifest.xml -->
<!--
<property
    android:name="android.adservices.AD_SERVICES_CONFIG"
    android:resource="@xml/gma_ad_services_config"
    tools:replace="android:resource" />
-->

Step-by-Step Fix

1. Update build.gradle:

   implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:24.0.0'

2. Modify AndroidManifest.xml: Locate and remove the AD_SERVICES_CONFIG property tag or comment it out as shown above.

3. Sync and Build:

   • Sync your project with Gradle files
   • Clean and rebuild your project

WARNING

If you had previously created a custom xml/gma_ad_services_config.xml file in your project, you should also remove it as it's no longer needed in version 24.0.0+.

Explanation

According to Google's official announcement, this change was made to:

"Prevent merge conflicts for apps that configure API-specific Ad Services, we've removed the android.adservices.AD_SERVICES_CONFIG property tag from the SDK's manifest file. This change provides greater flexibility for developers who need to customize their Ad Services configurations."

The AD_SERVICES_CONFIG property is no longer necessary in version 24.0.0 and later, as the SDK now handles Ad Services configuration differently. Removing the manual reference resolves the missing resource error while maintaining full Ad Services functionality.

Additional Information

For more details about this change and other updates in version 24.0.0, refer to the official Google Ads Developers blog post.

Version Compatibility

This solution applies specifically to play-services-ads version 24.0.0 and later. If you're using an earlier version, you should keep the AD_SERVICES_CONFIG property in your manifest.