Downgrade specifications while renewing a subscription ECS instance, change public bandwidth, or switch data disk billing method - Elastic Compute Service

To renew a subscription instance and your business requirements have decreased or your current instance specifications exceed your needs for the next billing cycle, use the renewal with downgrade feature. This lets you reduce the instance type (vCPU and memory) within the same instance family, change public bandwidth, or switch the data disk billing method—all while renewing your subscription Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance—to lower costs for the next billing cycle.

Usage notes

Review the following information before using the renewal with downgrade feature.

Note	Description
Available period	From 15 days before instance expiration until just before the instance is released after expiration. Note For the duration between expiration day and release day, see How to renew a subscription instance.
Supported downgrade operations	Reduce instance type: Lower the instance type within the same instance family (only available within 15 days before expiration). Important During renewal with downgrade, you can only downgrade the instance type within the same instance family. To switch to a different instance family, directly modify the instance type. For details, see Modify instance type. After instance expiration, to change the instance type, renew first and then change the instance type. For details, see Renew now and Modify instance type. Change public bandwidth: If currently pay-by-bandwidth: Reduce the fixed bandwidth, switch the billing method to pay-by-traffic, and set a peak bandwidth value. If currently pay-by-traffic: Modify the peak bandwidth value. Switch data disk billing method: Change from subscription to pay-as-you-go. Note To scale disks or change disk types, see Resize disks, Shrink disks, and Change disk type.
Instance restart required?	Reduce instance type: Yes In the new billing cycle, wait for the system to automatically restart the instance or manually restart it to apply the downgrade. Warning The timing of the automatic system restart is the Renew and Downgrade feature's configured Restart Time. Plan accordingly to avoid affecting your business. After the new billing cycle starts but before the scheduled restart time, you can manually restart the instance to apply the downgrade. The original automatic restart task will then be canceled. If you manually restart the instance before the new billing cycle starts, the downgrade will not take effect, and the scheduled automatic restart will still occur. Change public bandwidth: No Switch data disk billing method: No
When new configuration takes effect	Reduce instance type: Takes effect after the system or manual restart in the new billing cycle. The configuration remains unchanged during the remainder of the current billing cycle. Change public bandwidth or switch data disk billing method: New settings take effect in the next billing cycle. The configuration remains unchanged during the remainder of the current billing cycle.
Configuration Impact	If you perform renewal with downgrade before instance expiration, you cannot do the following during the remainder of the current billing cycle: Upgrade the instance type. Temporarily increase public bandwidth. Resize disks, including extending partitions and file systems.

Procedure

Go to ECS console - Instances.
In the top-left corner of the page, select the resource group and region where your target resource resides.
Find the ECS instance to renew. In the Actions column, choose > Upgrade/Downgrade > Renew and Downgrade.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the configuration change and instance renewal.

Warning
If you change the instance type, select a Restart Time. The instance will automatically restart at the scheduled time, and the downgrade will take effect after restart. Plan accordingly to avoid service disruption.

After the new billing cycle starts but before the scheduled restart time, you can manually restart the instance to apply the downgrade. The original automatic restart task will then be canceled.

If you manually restart the instance before the new billing cycle starts, the downgrade will not take effect, and the scheduled automatic restart will still occur.
Select ECS Terms of Service, then click Create Order and complete payment as prompted.

What to do next

If you reduce the instance type: The instance will automatically restart at the scheduled Restart Time, and the downgrade will take effect after restart. After the new billing cycle starts but before the scheduled restart time, you can manually restart the instance to apply the downgrade. The original automatic restart task will then be canceled.

Important

If you manually restart the instance before the new billing cycle starts, the downgrade will not take effect, and the scheduled automatic restart will still occur.