I figured it was to do with me using the wrong API key. i kinda tried to use an open api key out there, but that failed. that must be something to do with secureness, i suppoe. something has changed lately. but anyways it worked when i created my own api key.
anyhow, still working on the google maps... they're just warnings regarding the api key, and was working fine before for sure. now i'm just not sure why it's showing a blue sky instead of land. also my location seems to be showing zagreb, when i'm actually in england. i think this is due to the inaccuracy of the api. i tried using the coordinates and they showed the right place with google... so the coordinates are right... but the sky is, for some reason, displayed on the map. whereas on the google maps website these coordinates display my universtiy