Geocode from existing field doesn't properly process null (empty) value

This is with an Event content type with a location field geocoding from an Address field. There have been similar posts, but they're pretty old and none seems to address this exact issue.

In my case, admin is at /admin/structure/types/manage/event/fields/node.event.field_location

In short, a map appears in all cases - there's no way to turn it off.

"If geocoding fails" value is set to "Empty the field value".

In node display (using Geofield Google Map), the "Which behavior in case of empty results?" field is set to "Empty field."

"Custom message" doesn't work either.

So, to repeat, the map appears no matter what you do - there's no way to turn it off.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance...