Android: Getting HTTP 403 Forbidden upon calling https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json

Question

I have been trying to use the Google api, more specifically this URL to get the U.S State and city and I keep on getting a 403 Forbidden HTTP error message, My code goes as follows:

private static boolean getAddressResult(String input, StringBuilder jsonResults) {
    HttpURLConnection conn = null;
    try {

        String mapUrl;
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json);
        sb.append("?sensor=false&address=" + URLEncoder.encode(input, "utf8"));

        mapUrl = sb.toString();

        URL url = new URL(mapUrl);

        Logger.d(TAG, ""+ url);
        Logger.d(TAG, "trying to read");

        conn = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();


        int status = conn.getResponseCode();

        Logger.d(TAG, "status: "+ status);
        InputStreamReader in = new InputStreamReader(conn.getInputStream());

        // Load the results into a StringBuilder
        int read;
        char[] buff = new char[1024];
        long currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();

        while ((read = in.read(buff)) != -1) {
            Logger.d("NetworkUtil", "trying to parse");

            long elapsedTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
            if(elapsedTime-currentTime>=5000)
                return false;
            jsonResults.append(buff, 0, read);
        }
    } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
        Logger.e(LOG_TAG, "Error processing Places API URL", e);
        return true;
    } catch (IOException e) {
        Logger.e(LOG_TAG, "Error connecting to Places API", e);
        return true;
    } finally {
        if (conn != null) {
            conn.disconnect();
        }
    }
    return false;
}

I have tried different alternatives including changing the URL from HTTP to HTTPS, I am not sure of exactly what I am missing at this point, there have been few instances where this web service call came back with a 200 success but most of the time it just fails with a 403 HTTP ERROR code, any advice would be helpful at this point, I am also attaching a Log from Logcat:

 Error connecting to Places API
java.io.FileNotFoundException: https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?sensor=false&address=08080
        at libcore.net.http.HttpURLConnectionImpl.getInputStream(HttpURLConnectionImpl.java:186)
        at libcore.net.http.HttpsURLConnectionImpl.getInputStream(HttpsURLConnectionImpl.java:271)
        at .getAddressResult(NetworkUtil.java:217)
        at .access$000(NetworkUtil.java:30)
        at $ResolveCityTask.doInBackground(NetworkUtil.java:81)
        at $ResolveCityTask.doInBackground(NetworkUtil.java:42)

Answer 1

1. The sensor parameter is no longer required.
2. Also you did not provide a API_KEY in your request url.
3. the StringBuilder's string should be surround by double quotes.
4. Your address string from the logcat is 08080, which should be a characters string.
5. You should perform your API request in background thread.

A sample API require URL should be like this: https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway,+Mountain+View,+CA&key=API_KEY

Sample modified code:

String API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY_STRING";
String input = "1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway,+Mountain+View,+CA";

private static boolean getAddressResult(String input, StringBuilder jsonResults) {
    try {

        URL requestUrl = new URL("https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=" + input " + &key=" + API_KEY;
            );
        HttpURLConnection connection = (HttpURLConnection)requestUrl.openConnection();
        connection.setRequestMethod("GET");
        connection.connect();


        responseCode = connection.getResponseCode();
        if (responseCode == HttpURLConnection.HTTP_OK) {

            BufferedReader reader = null;

            InputStream inputStream = connection.getInputStream();
            StringBuffer buffer = new StringBuffer();
            if (inputStream == null) {
                // Nothing to do.
                return false;
            }
            reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(inputStream));

            String line;
            while ((line = reader.readLine()) != null) {
                long elapsedTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
                if(elapsedTime-currentTime>=5000) {
                   return false;
                }
                buffer.append(line + "\n");
            }

            if (buffer.length() == 0) {
                return false;
            }

            Log.d("Test", buffer.toString());
            return buffer.toString();
        }
        else {
            Log.i(TAG, "Unsuccessful HTTP Response Code: " + responseCode);
            return false
        }
    } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
        Log.e(LOG_TAG, "Error processing Places API URL", e);
        return false;
    } catch (IOException e) {
        Log.e(LOG_TAG, "Error connecting to Places API", e);
        return false;
    } catch (Expcetion e) {
        return false;
    }
    return false;
}

This sample code should be run inside your background method.

also need to make sure add internet permission in your manifest file. <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

You can also check your internet connectivity by adding <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" /> and call this method to see if your internet is connected:

 private boolean isNetworkAvailable() {
        ConnectivityManager manager = (ConnectivityManager)
                getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
        NetworkInfo networkInfo = manager.getActiveNetworkInfo();

        boolean isAvailable = false;
        if (networkInfo != null && networkInfo.isConnected()) {
            isAvailable = true;
        }
        return isAvailable;
    }