Restricted Default Gemini Project: request for free-tier access review, without enabling billing

Gemini API
1

Hello Google Gemini API team,

Please review the Gemini API access restriction on my project and explain whether access can be restored on the free tier, without linking a billing account, prepayment, or a paid support plan.

Project: Default Gemini Project
Project ID: gen-lang-client-04775540..
Model: gemini-3.5-flash-lite

A generation request through TomoriBot returns:

HTTP 403 PERMISSION_DENIED: “Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.”

Checks performed on 13 October 2026:

  • The Gemini API (generativelanguage.googleapis.com) is enabled.
  • My account has the project Owner role.
  • The existing API key is listed as available, is restricted to the Gemini API, and is bound to a service account. No key value is included here.
  • Cloud API metrics show ListModels succeeded, while StreamGenerateContent failed.
  • Cloud quotas show a free-tier daily request limit of 500 for gemini-3.5-flash-lite, with current usage of 1.
  • AI Studio nevertheless shows billing tier unavailable and the project as restricted. Its explanation asks to set up billing.
  • No specific restriction reason or appeal link was visible in the project views checked. Cloud Console notifications were empty.
  • Cloud support shows Basic (billing only), and case creation reports that I am not authorized to create support requests.

I do not authorize billing activation or paid usage. Please identify the restriction and provide a free-tier review or appeal route, if available. If the free tier cannot be enabled for this project, please explain the reason.

I have not included credentials or private Discord content. Thank you.

2

Hello @Kaafa ,

Getting a 403 API error response and / or seeing “Unavailable” next to your project in AI audio indicates a flag has been placed on your account. To proceed:

If you’re on the free tier with no billing attached, please try the below steps:

  1. Check Model Availability & Rate Limits:

    • Ensure that the model you are requesting is available on your current plan. For example, not all models are available on the free tier. You can verify model availability, quotas, and limits on the AI Studio Rate Limit dashboard.

  2. Ensure you have completed age verification by navigating to Google Account Age Verification and verifying date of birth in Google Account Personal Info.

  3. Once age verification is configured, retry your request or create a new API key in Google AI Studio.

  4. If completing these steps still does not restore access (or if using a model requiring a paid tier), you might want to consider adding prepayment credits directly in Google AI Studio and/ or attaching a Google Cloud Billing account in the Google Cloud Console. Please note this will mean you lose your free tier quota.

3

Thank you for the suggested checks. I followed the free-tier steps on 14 October 2026:

  • The Google Account age-verification page says no further age verification is required.
  • The selected text model is gemini-3.5-flash-lite, whose standard text input/output are listed as free. The test used no web search or task scheduling.
  • AI Studio still shows Default Gemini Project as restricted, with its quota tier unavailable.
  • I created a new API key in that same project and replaced the existing Google provider key in TomoriBot. TomoriBot confirmed that the API-key change was saved.
  • One subsequent generation test still returned HTTP 403 PERMISSION_DENIED: “Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.”

I want to keep this project on the free tier. I will not activate billing, buy prepayment credits, or switch to a paid tier. Could the appropriate Google team review the restriction and provide a free review/appeal route? If free-tier access cannot be restored for this project, please explain the reason.

No API key or private Discord content is included.