Hello Gemini API / Google AI Studio Team,
I am requesting a manual review of an unexpected Gemini API access restriction on my Free Tier project.
Project details
- Project name: EchoBird-API
- Project ID: echobird-api
- Intended use: Personal development and testing with the Gemini API
- Intended tier: Free Tier
Current status in Google AI Studio
- Project status: Restricted
- Billing tier: Unavailable
- AI Studio shows that API access for this project is restricted.
API behavior
Listing models succeeds:
GET /v1beta/openai/models → HTTP 200
The API successfully lists available models, including gemini-3.8-flash.
However, a minimal content-generation request fails with:
HTTP 403 PERMISSION_DENIED
"Your project has been denied access. Please contact support."
I have also confirmed that:
- The API key is valid.
- The Google Cloud project exists and is active.
- The request reaches the Google Gemini API successfully.
- The issue occurs with content generation rather than model discovery.
- Phone verification has been completed on my Google Account.
- 2-Step Verification (2SV) is enabled.
I would like to use the eligible Free Tier and do not want to enable paid billing simply to remove what may be an automated restriction.
Could a member of the Gemini API / Google AI Studio team please manually review the access status of this project and restore Free Tier access if this restriction is a false positive?
I have intentionally not included my API key or other credentials in this public post. I can provide additional project information privately if required.
Thank you for your help.