Help! Hitting Rate Limit (429) Even Though I'm Using My Paid API Key!

Hey everyone,

I’m running into a super annoying roadblock and was hoping someone here might know the fix!

I’m trying to generate some images using the Google AI image model (the one accessed via API key). I went through the steps, linked my paid API key, and made sure my billing is all active and good to go.

But every time I hit “Generate,” I immediately get this error:

“You’ve reached your rate limit. Please try again later.”

It’s literally happening on the very first request, even after I wait a while! It feels like the system is still treating me like a free-tier user, even though I’ve put my API key in.

:red_question_mark: My Thoughts & Questions

  1. Is there a sneaky, small default limit (like Requests Per Minute) that I need to manually increase in the Google Cloud Console, even after activating my paid account?

  2. Am I checking the right place? Which specific quota under IAM & Admin > Quotas should I be looking for to confirm my image generation limits are actually set to the paid level?

  3. Does it take time to “kick in”? Is there a known delay after linking the key before the system recognizes I have the higher, paid-tier limits?

I’ve attached a screenshot of the error message for context (the image showing the “You’ve reached your rate limit” and the “out of free generations” messages).

Any ideas or help on where to look would be hugely appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I think you hit it with #1. I would check that first because you can 100% set a budget. Keep us posted if it does not work; we will dive deeper.

~Cmd.Proton🖖

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I’ve checked everything and it all seems normal.

Here’s my details: Billing account ID

“Modified by moderator”

Account type

Direct

Projects linked to this billing account

Project name Project ID Actions
Jeff Rufino gen-lang-client-0862473208

It seems to be working now, I think the system isn’t instant. I had to wait few hours for it to kick in.

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