"Error during billing setup" — Paid Tier 1 but unable to set up/fund Prepay

Google AI Studio
1

I’m hoping someone from the Google AI/Gemini billing team can help with what appears to be a stuck billing/prepay state on my account.

I upgraded my Gemini API project from the Free tier to Paid Tier 1 and have an active Google Cloud billing account with a valid payment method. The project is correctly shown in Google AI Studio as Paid 1, but the Gemini API Billing page says:

“No prepayment method set up for this billing account. Prepay is required for this billing account.”

When I click Set up prepay, I immediately receive:

“Error during billing setup.”

AI Studio therefore cannot use the paid API key. When my free daily AI Studio requests are exhausted and it switches to Pay per Request, requests fail with:

“Your prepay credits are depleted. Buy credits or switch to a project in a different billing account to continue.”

Clicking Buy credits simply sends me back to the Gemini API Billing page, where I am again told to set up prepay. Clicking Set up prepay again produces “Error during billing setup.” This creates a loop in which there is no way for me to fund/use the paid API account.

I have already tried:

  • Confirming that the Google Cloud billing account is active and has a valid payment method.
  • Linking the Gemini API project to the billing account.
  • Attempting the Set up prepay process multiple times on different days.
  • Creating a new Gemini API key for the same project and selecting that new key in AI Studio.
  • Refreshing/restarting AI Studio and waiting for the billing state to synchronize.

The new API key made no difference. The project continues to show Paid Tier 1, while the billing page simultaneously says that Prepay is required but will not allow me to set it up.

At one point the Google Cloud Billing Assistant indicated that the project may be in an incomplete/stuck transition between Postpay and Prepay. That seems consistent with what I am seeing: the project recognizes the paid billing account, but no usable Prepay balance/wallet can be established.

Could someone from Google please inspect the billing state for this project/account and determine whether the Postpay-to-Prepay migration or billing synchronization is stuck, and reset/repair it if necessary?

I am happy to purchase/add Prepay credits. The problem is that Google’s billing interface will not allow me to complete the Prepay setup.

I can provide screenshots of the Paid 1 status, Error during billing setup, Prepay required, and prepay credits are depleted messages if helpful.

Thank you. I would greatly appreciate someone checking the account/project on the backend rather than directing me back to the Set up prepay button, since that button is the part that is currently failing.

2

Hello @Randy_McFadden ,

I have DM`ed you for more details .

3

Hello @Randy_McFadden ,

To help us investigate the exact error, could you please share a browser network recording (HAR file)? This will allow us to inspect the underlying API request and error response returned when you click the button.

Steps to capture the HAR file:

  1. In Google AI Studio, open Developer Tools by pressing F12 (or right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect).
  2. In the Developer Tools panel, switch to the Network tab.
  3. Check the Preserve log checkbox.
  4. Reproduce the issue by clicking Set up prepay (or triggering the error).
  5. Once the error appears, right-click anywhere in the list of network requests and select Save all as HAR with content (or click the Export HAR download icon).
  6. Share the saved .har file with us here (or via private message).

(For additional details, see the Google Cloud guide on capturing browser traces.)