Hello,
I am trying to upgrade my Gemini API project from Free Tier to Paid Tier in Google AI Studio, but billing setup fails with this error:
“Billing setup can’t be completed”
“This action couldn’t be completed. [OR_BACR2_44]”
What I already did:
- Created a new Gemini API project
- Created a new API key for that project
- Added a payment method
- Payment itself appears successful
- Tried using the Set up billing flow in AI Studio
- Billing still fails at the final step with OR_BACR2_44
Why this matters:
I am running a text-to-SQL evaluation workload using the Gemini API. My project is currently blocked by free-tier quota limits, so I need paid-tier billing to complete the evaluation.
Current API behavior:
- Small smoke tests can work
- Full evaluation runs fail with 429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED because the project is still on free-tier quota
Observed quota error from the API:
- Quota metric mentioned:
generativelanguage.googleapis.com/generate_content_free_tier_requests - I also hit a daily free-tier limit during evaluation
What I need help with:
- What does OR_BACR2_44 mean in this billing flow?
- Why can billing setup fail even after payment succeeds?
- Is this a Google Payments profile issue, a Cloud Billing issue, or an AI Studio project-linking issue?
- What exact steps should I take to successfully move this project to the paid tier?
Additional notes:
- I already created a new project specifically to avoid the old free-tier quota issue
- The API key works, but the project still behaves like free tier
- I can provide screenshots if needed
Any guidance would help. Thank you.