Dear Google AI Team and Community,
I am writing to seek help regarding an unexpected issue with the Gemini 2.5 Flash Image API (codenamed Nano Banana) that we have encountered recently. Our website has been integrating this official API for image pattern extraction, and it worked stably with excellent results for a long time. However, a critical problem emerged last week, which has severely affected our service operation.
1. Background of API Usage
Service Purpose: We call the Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) API to extract patterns from uploaded images (e.g., extracting texture features, shape outlines, and key pattern elements of the images).
Integration Method: Directly call the official API of Google Gemini, following the standard request format and parameter requirements provided in the Gemini 2 API documentation 1.
Previous Performance: The API was highly stable before last week. The probability of returning the original image without any pattern extraction was only about 5%, which was within an acceptable range and did not affect the overall service.
2. Detailed Description of the Current Issue
Problem Onset Time: Approximately one week ago (around January 3, 2026; the exact time is being confirmed through server logs).
Core Symptom: Since the problem occurred, every API call for image pattern extraction returns the original image directly, with no pattern extraction results or any changes to the image. The failure rate has jumped from 5% to 100%.
Test Verification: We have conducted multiple tests with different types of images (including those that were successfully processed before and new images) and repeated calls with the same image. All tests consistently result in the original image being returned, with no exceptions.
Error Information: No explicit error codes (such as 400, 403, 500, 503, etc. mentioned in the troubleshooting guide ) are returned in the API response. The response status is normal, but the returned image data is identical to the uploaded original image.
3. Preliminary Troubleshooting Conducted
To rule out common issues, we have performed the following checks, but none of them resolved the problem:
- API Key Validation: Confirmed that the API key is valid, has not expired, and has the correct permissions. We also tried using a backup API key, but the issue persists.
- Request Parameter Check: Verified that the request parameters (including content format, MIME type of images, and extraction task prompts) are completely consistent with the previously working configuration and comply with the API documentation requirements7.
- Rate Limit and Billing Check: Confirmed that we have not exceeded the API rate limit and that the billing plan of the Google AI Studio project is normal (no overdue payments or service suspension).
- Regional Access Check: Ensured that the server region for API calls is within the supported range of the Gemini API, and there is no network access restriction issue 6.
- Image File Check: Tested with different sizes and formats of images that meet the API’s supported specifications, and the issue still occurs.
4. Supplementary Information
API Version: We are using the v1beta version of the Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) API, which is the same version as the previously stable one (belongs to the Gemini 2 series).
Request Example (Simplified and Desensitized):
curl “https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-2.5-flash-image:generateContent” \
-H “x-goog-api-key: [Our Valid API Key]” \
-H ‘Content-Type: application/json’ \
-X POST \
-d '{
“contents”: [
{
“role”: “user”,
“parts”: [
{
“inline_data”: {
“mime_type”: “image/jpeg”,
“data”: “[Base64 Encoded Image Data]”
}
},
{
“text”: “Extract the key pattern elements of this image and return the processed result”
}
]
}
]
}’
5. Request for Help
We suspect that this issue may be related to recent updates or changes to the Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) API backend service (part of the Gemini 2 series), as we have not made any changes to the frontend and backend code related to API calls during this period.
We sincerely hope that the Google AI team can investigate this issue. Could you please confirm whether there are any recent service adjustments, version updates, or known issues related to the Gemini 2 series’ Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) API’s image pattern extraction function? If additional information (such as complete request logs, project ID, etc.) is needed for investigation, we are willing to provide it promptly.
Thank you very much for your attention and support!
Best regards,
[Your Name/Team Name]
[Contact Information, Optional]