This topic describes how to unlock or rebuild an expired or overdue ApsaraDB RDS instance within the specified retention period.

Warning If your RDS instance expires or becomes overdue, it may be stopped. You will be notified in these cases. To ensure service availability, you must immediately renew your RDS instance or top up your Alibaba Cloud account.
Billing method Instance status Operation
Subscription
  • If auto-renewal is enabled but the automatic renewal fails:
    • During the first day to the fifteenth day after your RDS instance expires, the instance still runs as normal.
    • On the sixteenth day after your RDS instance expires, the instance is stopped.
    • On the thirty-first day after your RDS instance expires, the instance is released. However, the backups of the instance are still retained until the thirty-eighth day.
    • On the thirty-ninth day after your RDS instance expires, the backups of the instance are released.
  • If auto-renewal is not enabled:
    • During the first day to the fifteenth day after your RDS instance expires, the instance is stopped.
    • On the sixteenth day after your RDS instance expires, the instance is released. However, the backups of the instance are still retained until the twenty-third day.
    • On the twenty-fourth day after your RDS instance expires, the backups of the instance are released.
  • Before your RDS instance is released, manually renew the instance. The instance is immediately available. For more information, see Manually renew an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
  • After your RDS instance is released and before the backups are released, rebuild the instance from the recycle bin and restore the data of the instance to a new RDS instance. For more information, see Manage ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances in the recycle bin. The time that is required for the restoration varies based on the performance and data volume of your RDS instance.
    Note Only the RDS instances that meet the specified requirements are moved to the recycle bin after they are released. For more information, see Manage ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances in the recycle bin.
  • After the backups are released, your RDS instance cannot be restored.
Pay-as-you-go If you have an overdue payment in your Alibaba Cloud account, all of the pay-as-you-go instances under this account change to the Overdue state.
  • During the first day to the fifteenth day after your RDS instance becomes overdue, the instance still runs as normal.
  • On the sixteenth day after your RDS instance becomes overdue, the instance is stopped.
  • Before you add funds to your Alibaba Cloud account, you cannot release your RDS instance.
  • On the thirty-first day after your RDS instance becomes overdue, the instance is released with the backups and cannot be restored.
  • Before the backups are released, check the payment method of your Alibaba Cloud account and top up this account in the Billing Management console.
  • After the backups are released, your RDS instance cannot be restored.
Note After an RDS instance is released, the backup files of the instance are retained in the following situations:
  • The instance runs MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server, and the cross-region backup retention period that you specify has not elapsed. In this case, the cross-region backup files of the instance are retained within the specified cross-region backup retention period.
  • The instance runs MySQL, and you have specified to retain the backup files of the instance even after the instance is released. In this case, the backup files of the instance are retained. For more information, see Enable automatic backups for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

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FAQ

My Alibaba Cloud account has overdue payments because I have subscription RDS instances that are charged at additional fees. These fees include the fees for excess backup usage beyond the provided free quota and the fees for features such as SQL Explorer. What will happen in these cases?

In these cases, your subscription RDS instances still run as normal. However, all of the pay-as-you-go RDS instances under your Alibaba Cloud account become overdue.