Account restricted to AQ. tokens after key exposure — requesting AIza key restoration

Gemini API
1

Hello Google AI Developer Support Team,

I am writing to request restoration of my account’s ability to
generate standard AIza-format API keys.

Account: m.....@gmail.com

Issue: All API keys generated under my account — including keys
in newly created Google Cloud projects — are now issued with the
“AQ.” prefix instead of the standard “AIza” format.

These AQ. keys fail with the following error when calling
generativelanguage.googleapis.com:

401 UNAUTHENTICATED
ACCESS_TOKEN_TYPE_UNSUPPORTED

I have verified this fails via:

  • genai.Client(api_key=‘AQ…’)
  • GEMINI_API_KEY env variable
  • Raw WebSocket ?key= parameter

Root cause: A previous AIza key was accidentally exposed in a
GitHub repository. I have since deleted all exposed keys and
secured all repositories.

I have confirmed my Google account DOES have access to
Gemini 3.5 Live Translate (tested successfully in AI Studio
Playground). The issue is only with API key format.

I am using the LiveKit + Gemini Live Translate architecture
(official Google demo: google-gemini/gemini-live-api-examples)
which requires an AIza-format API key for WebSocket authentication.

Please restore my account’s ability to generate standard
AIza-format API keys, or advise on the correct authentication
method for AQ. keys with the Live API WebSocket endpoint.

Thank you.

2

Hello @Michael_Pak ,
We are moving away from Traffic keys (Alza) and towards a more secure Authentication Key (AQ). AI Studio will now only generate Authentication Key (AQ) keys. More information on key usage can be found in the Using Gemini API keys documentation.

Please submit any compatibility issues with services / SDKs etc. in this form for our engineering team to review. Thanks!