Hi Google AI team,
I’m a paid Tier 1 user (billing account linked with valid payment method) running the Gemini API through a local agent tool (OpenClaw). I’ve been experiencing persistent “billing error / insufficient balance” messages (which I understand map to HTTP 429 resource exhausted) on both gemini-3-flash-preview and gemini-3-pro-preview, even with very low usage.
Error Definition:
API provider returned a billing error — your API key has run out of credits or has an insufficient balance. Check your provider’s billing dashboard and top up or switch to a different API key.
- This is the only thing responded half of the time to eventually all the time when working with the OpenClaw AI I have setup.
Potential Issue
I have looked at my request amount and total is high, this is due to a heartbeat that could not find a file. This would submit a request ping to the server, thus racking up a high number of requests for the API. Since finding out that it was doing so, I have turned off that system. However it seems my account is potentially flagged do to this heartbeat system, which is part of OpenClaw’s interface. I am not sure a point of resolution or if this was the cause at all. So, below is a timeline of actions I took in order to resolve the issue, give or take a few potentially.
Timeline and steps taken:
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Initial setup
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Checked my API key in Google AI Studio, is indeed linked to a Google Cloud project with active billing. It is - error still occurred.
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Billing dashboard and quota page show Tier 1 limits (10,000 RPD for G3 Flash, 250 RPD for G3 Pro, etc…). 72/10k used for G3 Flash today.
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Troubleshooting attempts
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Switched between gemini-3-flash-preview (primary model) and gemini-3-pro-preview — same error on both, and other models.
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Waited over 48 hours for daily reset — error still occurred.
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Generated brand-new API keys in AI Studio and updated them in the tool — error still occurred.
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Enabled Vertex AI API and Generative Language API in the project - error still occurred.
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Explored alternative auth methods (including community “antigravity” OAuth plugin) — eventually reverted to standard API key mode as the most stable/official path.
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Avoided antigravity OAuth after going through all steps necessary to enable it. I heard that in cases of accidental or other misuse it can flag accounts as shadow banned. I just want an AI assistant not a ban.
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Current state
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Model: primarily gemini-3-flash-preview (multimodal, 1M+ context).
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Quota dashboard shows Tier 1 limits.
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No actual billing alerts, suspensions, or payment issues in Cloud Console or AI Studio.
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Questions:
- Is there a hidden quota?
- If there is how can I see if I hit it?
- How can I continue to use my t1 service and API?
- What steps can I take to avoid this in the future?
- If I swapped to Vertex AI which is the current recommendation are there any safeguards in place incase I or the AI I am working with/on makes an error and sends a ton of requests?
Any additional information or resolution would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Oatmeal
