If your browser console fills with Google Maps errors on pages that use the Google Map widget, the usual cause is Google’s maps script being loaded twice on the same page. The plugin’s own note on the setting puts it plainly: "Turn Off this key If your theme already have google key option. So, It will not generate error in console for multiple google map keys."
The Plus Addons has a switch for exactly this. Turning Google Map API off stops the plugin adding its own copy of the script, leaving whichever copy your theme or other plugin already loads.
To check the complete feature overview documentation of The Plus Addons for Elementor Google Map widget, click here.
Requirement – This widget is a part of The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro, make sure it’s installed & activated to enjoy all its powers.
Before You Start
- Edition: Pro — the Google Map widget ships only with The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro. With the free plugin alone it is shown in the Elementor panel as a locked Pro widget and cannot be added to a page.
- Widget to enable: Google Map, switched on under The Plus Addons > Widgets (search for it under Essential).
- Two map types: Google Map needs a Google Maps API key, Open Street Map (OSM) needs none. You choose between them in Layout > Map Type.
- Check first who else loads it. Open the page source and search for
maps.googleapis.com. If it appears more than once, this doc is for you. If it appears once, the error is something else.
Turn Off the Plugin’s Copy of the Google Maps Script
- Go to The Plus Addons > Extra Options > Settings and scroll to the API block.
- Find the Google Map API card.
- Switch it off. The gear icon greys out with it, because the Map API Key field belongs to that switch.
- Reload the page that was showing the errors and check the console again.
With the switch off the plugin no longer loads Google’s maps script at all. If nothing else on your site loads it, the Google Map map type will have no script to run on.
What the Switch Changes
| Google Map API switch | What the page contains |
|---|---|
| On (the default) | The plugin adds maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js with your saved key |
| Off | The plugin adds nothing. Any Google maps script on the page comes from your theme or another plugin. |
How It Behaves
- The switch is site-wide. It is not per page and not per widget.
- The key field lives behind the same switch. Switch it off and Map API Key is no longer reachable; the key itself is kept, so switching back on restores it.
- The script loads for the Open Street Map type too. While the Google Map widget is switched on under The Plus Addons > Widgets, the plugin adds Google’s script to the page even when the widget is set to Open Street Map (OSM). On a site that only uses OSM maps, switching this option off removes the script and its console warnings with no loss at all.
Console Messages Seen Without a Key
| Console message | What it means |
|---|---|
NoApiKeys | The script was loaded with an empty key. Save a key, or switch Google Map API off. |
InvalidKey | Google rejected the key that was sent. Check it on Google’s side. |
tp_map_gmap is not defined | A different problem: see the limitation below. |
Limitations
- Google Map map type, version 6.5.0: a widget set to Map Type > Google Map draws in the Elementor editor but leaves an empty space on the published page, with
tp_map_gmap is not definedin the browser console. This happens with or without a valid API key. Open Street Map (OSM) is not affected. - Switching the option off does not make a map appear. It removes the plugin’s script. A Google Map only has something to run on afterwards if your theme or another plugin loads Google’s maps script itself.
- There is no per-page control. If one page needs the plugin’s script and another does not, this switch cannot tell them apart.
Troubleshooting
The console errors are still there after switching it off
Clear any page cache and reload. If they remain, the second copy of the script is not coming from The Plus Addons — look at your theme’s options and your other plugins.
The console says "tp_map_gmap is not defined"
That is not an API key problem. In version 6.5.0 the widget’s own Google Map script is not added to the published page, so the map area stays empty. Set Layout > Map Type to Open Street Map (OSM) if you need a working map now.
I only use Open Street Map but still see Google Maps warnings
That is expected: the plugin adds Google’s script whenever the Google Map widget is enabled, whatever map type the widget is set to. Switch Google Map API off, or switch the widget off under The Plus Addons > Widgets if you do not use it at all.
