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    Alibaba Cloud DNS:Instance expiration and renewal

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    Alibaba Cloud DNS:Instance expiration and renewal

    Last Updated:Dec 01, 2025

    The topic describes the expiration effects of paid DNS instances and how to renew them.

    Effects of DNS expiration

    1. If you do not renew a paid DNS instance, the DNS resolution service still runs on the expiration date.

    2. If you renew the instance within seven days of its expiration (the seventh day not included), the resolution service continues to run.

    3. If you do not renew the instance by the seventh day after it expires, the instance is released. Data on the paid DNS cluster becomes unavailable.

    Renewal

    To prevent service interruptions, we recommend renewing your instance as soon as you receive an expiration notice.

    Renewal time

    Effect

    Procedure

    Within seven days after expiration

    The paid DNS service continues to run.

    Manually renew the DNS instance.

    Seven days expiration or later

    • The DNS instance is released. The data on the paid DNS cluster becomes unavailable and cannot respond to DNS queries.

    • For domain names registered on Alibaba Cloud, the system will attempt to switch from paid DNS to free DNS after the paid service expires. This may fail due to domain status, such as a transfer/lock setting, and you will not be notified. Please renew or adjust settings before expiry. The downgrade is attempted only, and Alibaba Cloud is not liable if it fails.

    On the seventh day after expiration, the system automatically releases the DNS instance. You cannot restore the service by renewing the instance. Instead, follow these steps:

    1. Purchase a domain name.

    2. Bind the domain name to the new DNS instance.

    3. If there are any records that were suspended when the DNS instance was released, enable them again. If not, you can ignore this.

    Renewal procedure

    You can renew DNS instances manually or automatically. To prevent service interruptions, we recommend that you enable auto-renewal.

    Auto-renewal

    1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS - Public Zone page. On the Public Zone page, click Bactch Operation and choose the Configure Auto-renewal tab.

    2. On the Resource Renewal page, check the box next to the instance ID and click Enable Auto-renewal.

    Manual renewal

    Log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS - Public Zone page. On the Instance page, click Renew to the right of the instance.

    Important

    • Auto-renewal takes effect the next day, not immediately. The system begins charging for the renewal at 08:00, nine days before the instance expires. If the first payment fails for reasons such as an insufficient account balance, the system retries the payment once per day. This continues until the payment succeeds or until 08:00 on the day before the instance expires.

    • When you purchase a Public Zone, if you select and agree to Auto-renewal, the system sends a reminder and automatically creates a renewal order before the instance expires. You do not need to renew it manually. The auto-renewal period is one month for monthly subscriptions and one year for yearly subscriptions.

    Discontinue the Paid Edition

    If you do not plan to continue using the paid DNS service, see Unbind a domain name from an instance to downgrade it to Free Edition.