And I believe that what you need is only the com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads dependency in the build.gradle file for the AdMob extension. Ignore the other two lines.
Version 18.3.0 does however use AndroidX and that could cause a conflict with other extensions (maybe). In that case you can try an older version of com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads. Available versions can be seen here for instance:
My apologize for the following maybe stupid question. I am using 1.2.164 and the editor show me “Update Available”. Is this 1.2.165 or just the Beta? I have never downloaded a Beta and I would prefer not.
In your “About” dialog, you should see channel: editor-alpha which is the up-to-date editor changes, together with the latest engine release (1.2.164).
Clicking the Update button will give you the next release in that channel.
You can check the about dialog afterwards to confirm.
I am sorry, but probably I am missing something. With “Update Button” do you mean the text “Update Available” in the right bottom corner of the editor?
(Just to confirm: I read “editor-alpha” and “1.2.164” as engine release)