Why This Happens
If your OTTO pixel appears correctly in your page source but the platform still shows a not_installed status, the pixel itself is not the problem. The issue is almost always a temporary delay between installation and detection. Several factors can cause this gap:
- Browser or server-side caching — Your site may be serving a cached version of the page that does not yet reflect the updated code.
- CDN or DNS propagation — If your site uses a content delivery network (CDN) or recently updated DNS records, changes can take time to reach all servers.
- Detection service lag — The OTTO detection service runs periodic checks. A status update may not appear immediately after installation.
- Tag manager delays — If you installed the pixel through Google Tag Manager or a similar tool, the container may not have published or fired correctly on all pages.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
- Confirm the pixel is in the page source. Open your website in a browser, right-click anywhere on the page, and select View Page Source. Use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) and search for your OTTO pixel script. If it appears here, the pixel is installed at the code level.
- Check on a hard-refreshed, uncached page. Press Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) to force a full reload bypassing the browser cache. Then check the page source again to confirm the pixel is still present.
- Purge your CDN or server cache. Log in to your hosting provider or CDN dashboard (for example, Cloudflare, Fastly, or WP Engine) and purge all cached files. This forces the detection service to scan your live, updated page rather than a cached copy.
- Verify the pixel fires on the correct pages. OTTO detection checks specific URLs associated with your project. Make sure the pixel is present on the exact pages linked to your OTTO workspace — particularly your homepage or the URL you submitted during setup.
- Check your tag manager container (if applicable). If you used Google Tag Manager, open your GTM workspace and confirm the tag is published (not just saved as a draft) and that the trigger is set to fire on All Pages or the relevant page URL. Preview the container using GTM's built-in preview mode to verify the tag fires correctly.
- Wait and recheck. Detection service intervals mean that even a perfectly installed pixel may show not_installed for some time after installation. If all the steps above confirm correct installation, allow some time for the status to refresh automatically before contacting support.
When to Contact Support
If you have confirmed the pixel is present in your page source, your cache has been purged, and the status has not updated after a reasonable waiting period, our team can investigate the detection service directly. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.