diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx
index f9906f6fb5..e405032040 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx
@@ -878,10 +878,8 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
     async (apiKey: string) => {
       try {
         onAuthError(null);
-        if (!apiKey.trim() && apiKey.length > 1) {
-          onAuthError(
-            'API key cannot be empty string with length greater than 1.',
-          );
+        if (!apiKey.trim()) {
+          onAuthError('API key cannot be empty.');
           return;
         }