Gemini-2.5-flash and gemini-2.5-flash-lite returning 404 "no longer available" today (July 9) - contradicts Oct 16 2026 shutdown date

Gemini API
1

Hi Google team,
Starting July 9 2026 ~11:50 AM Pacific, calls to gemini-2.5-flash and gemini-2.5-flash-lite on generativelanguage.googleapis.com return:404 NOT_FOUND:

"This model models/gemini-2.5-flash is no longer available. Please update your code to use a newer model..."

The models still appear in ListModels. This matches the exact error used for retired models.Per the deprecations page (updated July 2), shutdown is October 16 2026. No announcement in changelog.Prior days showed intermittent high demand / 503 errors.Questions:

  • Intended early shutdown or bug?
  • Global or project/key specific?
  • Any workaround besides migration to gemini-3.5-flash?