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Elastic Compute Service:Renew a subscription instance

Last Updated:Jun 20, 2026

If you want to continue using your subscription ECS instance, you can renew it at any time before it expires. A renewal extends the service period of the instance and prevents it from being released. This topic describes how to renew an ECS instance.

You can choose a renewal method based on your needs at different stages of the instance lifecycle, such as creation, expiration, or release.

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Manual renewal

Console

  1. Go to the Instances page in the ECS console. In the top menu bar, select your instance's region.

  2. On the Instances page, find the instance to renew, go to the instance details page, and then click Renew below the Expiration Time field. Follow the on-screen instructions to select a renewal duration and complete the payment.

Note

You can renew multiple instances at once.

  • To renew multiple instances in the same region, select the instances from the instance list. At the bottom of the list, choose More > Instance Settings > Renew.

  • To renew multiple instances across different regions, go to the Renewal Management page. On the Manual Renewal tab, select one or more ECS instances to renew. Note that you cannot batch-renew ECS instances with other Alibaba Cloud services.

API

You can call the RenewInstance API operation to renew a single ECS instance. Specify the instance ID and one of the following renewal duration parameters depending on your scenario: Period, PeriodUnit, or ExpectedRenewDay. To renew multiple ECS instances, call this operation for each instance.

Other API operations are also available to manage subscription instance renewals:

  • Enable auto-renewal: Call the ModifyInstanceAutoRenewAttribute operation. Set the InstanceId, Duration, and AutoRenew parameters to enable auto-renewal for an instance.

  • Query instance renewal prices: Call the DescribeRenewalPrice operation. Specify parameters such as the region, instance type, and renewal duration to get the renewal cost of an instance.

  • Query instances that expire within a specific time range: Call the DescribeInstances operation. Set the ExpiredStartTime and ExpiredEndTime filter parameters to find instances expiring in that range.

  • Query the auto-renewal status of an ECS instance: Call the DescribeInstanceAutoRenewAttribute operation. You can query the auto-renewal status of a specific instance by setting the InstanceId parameter. You can also query for instances with a specific auto-renewal status by setting the RenewalStatus parameter.

More renewal methods

Renewal method

Time window

Scenarios

New billing cycle

Auto-renewal

From instance creation until 14 days after expiration

This method only extends the subscription duration without changing the instance configuration.

The system automatically renews the instance before it expires. This prevents business interruptions from forgotten renewals.

After a successful auto-renewal, the new billing cycle starts from the original expiration date.

Renewal with downgrade

From 15 days before expiration until the instance is released

This method allows you to downgrade resource configurations, such as the instance type or public bandwidth, during renewal.

Use this method to reduce costs by downgrading the instance type or public bandwidth if you expect lower business demand or have over-provisioned resources.

  • Within 15 days before expiration: The new billing cycle starts on the original expiration date.

  • After expiration: The new billing cycle starts on the renewal date.

Align expiration dates for subscription instances

Before the instance expires

You can align the expiration dates of multiple subscription instances to the same day of a month. This simplifies instance management and renewal, and reduces the risk of business interruptions from missed renewals.

The new billing cycle starts on the renewal date.

Non-renewal

If you are certain that you no longer need an instance after it expires, you can set it to Non-renewal. This reduces the expiration reminders you receive.

Note

Even after you set an instance to Non-renewal, you can still renew it at any time before it expires.

  1. Go to the Renewal Management page and configure the filters.

    For Product, select ECS (Subscription). Then, click the Manual Renewal or Auto-renewal tab.

  2. Select one or more ECS instances. At the bottom of the list, click Set to Non-renewal. In the dialog box, confirm the details and click OK.

  3. After the setting is applied, you can view the instances on the Non-renewal tab.

You can still renew instances set to Non-renewal at any time before they are released. On the Non-renewal tab, find the instance and select any renewal option in the Actions column. This cancels the non-renewal setting.