Google Places API Legacy vs New

General Geolocation
1

Hey team, I’ve just tried setting up a new site and connecting up Google API keys as per the HivePress Google Maps setup documentation.

However, it seems that the Places API being used with ListingHive appears to be what is now a legacy api which, according to Google, “will not be available to enable in Cloud projects starting on the Legacy date specified in the table below.” That date appears to be March 1st 2025.

This causes the “This page can’t load Google Maps correctly.” issues site-wide when doing autocompletion and searches etc.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Follow the Hivepress Google Maps API article.
  2. Specifically make sure to use a brand new Google Cloud Project.

Actual result

Get “This page can’t load Google Maps correctly.” error, because the legacy Places API is not

Expected result

Geolocation & ListingHive should work with the Places API (New)

Extra details

1 Like
4

Hi,

We checked this issue from our side, and it seems okay. Please provide more details regarding this issue (e.g., your actions step by step with screenshots, screencast, etc.). This will help us to reproduce and resolve the issue faster.

5

image
same problem with Places API

1 Like
6

We are also experiencing the exact same issue on our HivePress-based site (using ListingHive), and we’ve completed extensive testing to isolate the cause.

Summary of the Issue

When configuring Google Maps integration on a brand-new Google Cloud project (as recommended), the location autocomplete and map loading fails completely, and Google Maps throws the following error in the browser console:

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CopyEdit

This API project is not authorized to use this API. Places API error: ApiNotActivatedMapError

We followed all steps outlined in the HivePress documentation, including:

  • Creating a new Google Cloud project
  • Enabling billing
  • Restricting the key by HTTP referrer
  • Enabling the following APIs:
    • Maps JavaScript API
    • Geocoding API
    • Geolocation API
    • Places API (New) (this is now the only available version)

Despite this, location autocomplete fails, and the map shows the “This page can’t load Google Maps correctly” message.

Root Cause

The issue appears to be that HivePress is making calls to the deprecated Places API (Legacy), which Google has fully removed from all new projects as of March 1st, 2025. This means that any new Google Cloud project cannot activate the Legacy Places API, making HivePress’s current implementation incompatible with new API projects.

The error message and failed requests in the console are consistent with a system attempting to access a deprecated or unavailable API.

Google’s documentation now points developers to use the unified Places API (New), which consolidates and replaces the legacy endpoint: Overview  |  Places API  |  Google for Developers

Actions We Have Taken

  • Verified that the Maps API key works correctly (tested using the maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=...endpoint)
  • Ensured all current APIs required by Google are enabled
  • Tested across browsers and devices
  • Confirmed that legacy Places API is not available to enable in any new Google Cloud project
  • Disabled Regions in HivePress to ensure that the issue is not related to a missing secret key
  • Contacted HivePress support by email, who suggested that the issue was not reproducible

Expected Behavior

The plugin should be updated to use the Places API (New) for location autocomplete and other geolocation-related functions, as the legacy endpoint is no longer accessible in newly created API projects. Continued reliance on the deprecated API prevents new installations from functioning as expected.

Recommendation

We respectfully request HivePress to:

  • Confirm whether the plugin currently depends on the legacy Places API endpoint
  • Provide a roadmap or timeline for updating HivePress to be fully compatible with the new Places API
  • Offer a temporary workaround or patch if an update is not immediately available

We’re happy to provide additional logs, screenshots, or API responses if needed to help resolve this.

2 Likes
8

I am also facing the same error with the places API.

I also second mauribiz’s requests regarding providing a timeline estimating when the places api is fully compatible as well as perhaps providing a temporary solution in the meanwhile if the issue is going to take some time.

I would imagine almost everyone is using the geolocation feature so this seems like an urgent issue to fix.

2 Likes
9

Appreciate the extra information and time taken to write it out @mauribiz. I can confirm I did all those same things and have the exact same result.

@andrii see details above from the others. I’d be happy to do a video call / screen share session to walk you and/or your dev team through what’s happening. In the meantime, there’s more than enough evidence and instruction here for you to reproduce on your end.

1 Like
10

Thanks for reporting this issue, we’ll test this further and if there’s a bug, we’ll release a quick fix. Please also let me know if the issue occurs with newly created credentials only, or also for the old ones, because we couldn’t reproduce this with our old demo API key.

12

Please re-read my original steps to reproduce, emphasis in bold added by me this time for step number 2:

As both @mauribiz and I have stated:

So of course it will work for your old demo API key. That’s to be expected. But that’s not where the issue lies.

13

Hi,

Sorry for the delay. We recommend using Places API instead of Places API(New) for now, and everything will work correctly. We will add support for Places API(New) in the next updates.

Thank you for your feedback.

1 Like