Pause and resume a campaign

Last updated: May 19, 2026

Pause and resume a campaign

Pause: row toggle OR action menu → Pause. Async via SQS toggle worker (verified apps/backend/src/sqs/workers/toggle/). Effect within 1-2 min on platform. Spend stops within 30 min (in-flight impressions complete). Resume: same toggle. Caveat: paused > 7 days triggers Meta's learning reset on resume.

Who is this for

Mediabuyers managing daily campaign state. Anyone needing to pause an underperformer OR resume a successful campaign.

How to pause

Inline toggle (fastest)

In Ads Manager:

  • Find the campaign / ad set / ad row

  • Click the status toggle (green Active switch) → flips to Paused

  • Confirmation toast: "Pausing..."

Effect on platform within 1-2 min.

Action menu

Right-click row OR action menu (⋮) → Pause.

Same result; useful when toggle not visible (mobile, narrow viewport).

Bulk pause

Select multiple → toolbar Pause. See am-105 bulk actions.

How to resume

Same flow in reverse:

  • Inline toggle: flip Paused → Active

  • Action menu: Resume

Async via SQS toggle worker. Effect within 1-2 min.

What pause does

When you pause a campaign:

  1. Wevion calls platform's update API with status = PAUSED

  2. Platform stops new ad auctions for the campaign

  3. In-flight impressions complete (typically < 30 min)

  4. Spend stops accumulating

  5. Reporting continues (historical data preserved)

Pause is immediate stop of new delivery; historical data + structure preserved.

What resume does

When you resume:

  1. Wevion calls platform's update API with status = ACTIVE

  2. Platform restarts auctions

  3. Within minutes, ad enters auctions again

  4. Learning may reset if paused > 7 days (see below)

The 7-day learning reset

Meta's learning algorithm treats pauses differently based on duration:

Pause duration

Learning impact on resume

< 24 hours

Minimal; ad set picks up where it left off

1-7 days

Mild; some re-learning, generally smooth

7+ days

Major reset; ad set treated like fresh launch

Practical implication: don't pause a winning ad set for vacation if you can avoid it. Better: reduce budget significantly OR let it run.

If you must pause long-term: expect higher initial CPMs on resume + 3-7 days re-learning.

Bulk pause patterns

Common workflows:

Pattern

Description

Pause underperformers

Filter ROAS < 1.5, select all, bulk pause

End-of-day pause

Time-based pause via rules (gs-116)

Emergency pause

All campaigns in account, bulk pause (rare; use only for emergencies)

Holiday pause

Pause all campaigns for Dec 24-26

Cascading pause

Cascade behavior:

  • Pause campaign: all ad sets + ads in campaign also pause

  • Pause ad set: all ads in ad set also pause; other ad sets in campaign continue

  • Pause individual ad: only that ad pauses; other ads in ad set continue

Use the right level for the right scope.

Restart after long pause

If you must restart after > 7 days paused:

  1. Start with lower budget (50% of pre-pause) to ease into re-learning

  2. Don't change targeting/creative simultaneously (compounds re-learning)

  3. Monitor first 3-7 days more closely (CPMs higher, CTR variable)

  4. Once re-stabilized: ramp budget back to target

Schedule pause / resume via rules

For repeatable schedules: use Rules Engine:

  • Rule: "Pause this campaign daily at 23:00, resume at 09:00" (B2B daypart)

  • Rule: "If spend today > $500, pause for the day" (budget cap)

  • Rule: "If ROAS over 3 days drops below 1.5, pause" (auto-kill)

Async via SQS toggle worker

Verified apps/backend/src/sqs/workers/toggle/:

  • Pause / Resume jobs queued

  • Worker processes 1-by-1 in order

  • Platform sync within 1-2 min

  • Per-row status updates in Wevion UI

RBAC + audit

Mediabuyer+ to pause/resume. Audit log: action: campaign_pause / campaign_resume, metadata with timestamp + user.

What you'll see

Pause action:

  • Inline toggle: flips Active → Paused (yellow badge)

  • Toast: "Pausing campaign..."

  • Within 2 min: badge confirms Paused

  • Spend stops within 30 min

Resume action:

  • Toggle Paused → Active (green badge)

  • Toast: "Resuming..."

  • Within 2 min: Active confirmed

  • Delivery resumes within 15 min

Common issues

  • "Pause didn't apply on platform": 5-10 min sync delay. If persistent, check connector card.

  • "Resume failed: account billing issue": platform-side billing problem. Resolve on platform.

  • "Cannot resume archived campaign": must unarchive first → then resume.

  • "Paused campaign still spending small amount": in-flight impressions completing; should stop within 30 min.

  • "Bulk pause stuck on some rows": per-row issue; see error in row detail.

Best practices

Pause vs Budget=0

Always pause; don't set budget to 0:

  • Budget 0 may not stop delivery (platforms may serve at minimum)

  • Pause is the explicit "stop" signal

Don't oscillate pause/resume

Frequent pause/resume confuses Meta's algorithm. Pause once if you must, give 24h+ before resuming.

Document long pauses

For pauses > 7 days: note in audit log notes (if supported) + your team's runbook. Future you knows why.

Use rules for predictable patterns

Manual pause/resume is fine for ad-hoc. For predictable patterns (dayparting, spend caps): rules automate it cleanly.

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