AQ. API Key — Free Tier quota limit: 0 on all projects

Google AI Studio
1

Subject: Account restricted to AQ. keys / Free Tier quota limit 0 on all projects

Hi everyone,

I am building a mobile application using React Native and Expo, and I am trying to integrate the Gemini API for a receipt OCR feature.

Unfortunately, my Google account (the one I am posting from) seems to be stuck in a state where it only generates API keys starting with the AQ... prefix, rather than the standard AIza... prefix.

Because of this, I cannot access the Free Tier at all. Whenever I make an API call using these keys, I consistently receive the following error across all projects—including brand-new projects that have never had billing linked:

Quota exceeded for metric: [generativelanguage.googleapis.com/generate_content_free_tier_requests](https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/generate_content_free_tier_requests) limit: 0

What I have tried so far:

  • Created brand-new projects in Google AI Studio — they immediately generate AQ. keys with a limit: 0 quota.

  • Toggled billing on and off in Google Cloud Console — disabling billing just cuts off access entirely rather than reverting the project to the standard Free Tier.

  • Tested multiple models (Gemini 1.5 Flash, Gemini 2.0 Flash) — all return the exact same quota limit 0 error.

  • Verified headers — I am using the standard x-goog-api-key header, and the key is successfully hitting the endpoint, but being rejected due to the zero-limit quota policy.

Key Observations:

  • The Google AI Studio UI explicitly labels these projects as “Free Tier”, but the backend API enforcing the quota treats the account as having an absolute 0 limit for free requests.

  • I suspect my account has been automatically flagged by the security system, forcing the AQ. restriction, even though I don’t see any active security alerts or exposed keys on my dashboard.

What I need help with: Could a member of the Google team please review the flag on this account and restore standard AIza... API key generation so I can utilize the Free Tier for development?

Thank you for your time and help!