You are billed for pay-as-you-go dedicated hosts based on the actual usage duration. Billing starts when a dedicated host is created and ends when the dedicated host is released or stopped due to overdue payments. If you no longer need a dedicated host, we recommend that you release it to prevent unwanted charges. This topic describes how to manually release a pay-as-you-go dedicated host and how to configure automatic release.
Usage notes
When you release a pay-as-you-go dedicated host, all Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances on the dedicated host are released at the same time. Therefore, make sure that you no longer need these ECS instances before you release it.
Subscription dedicated hosts cannot be released before they expire. If your host has not expired but you no longer need it, you can submit a ticket to request a refund.
Manually release a pay-as-you-go dedicated host
If you no longer need a pay-as-you-go dedicated host, manually release it in a timely manner to prevent unwanted charges.
Log on to the ECS console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images >
> Dedicated Hosts. In the top navigation bar, select the region and resource group to which the resource belongs.
Select the pay-as-you-go dedicated host that you want to release, move the pointer over
next to Renew, and then select Release from the drop-down list. In the Release dialog box, select Instant Release.
Click OK.
Configure automatic release for a pay-as-you-go dedicated host
To optimize costs, you can configure automatic release for pay-as-you-go dedicated hosts that are no longer in use during off-peak hours.
Log on to the ECS console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images >
> Dedicated Hosts. In the top navigation bar, select the region and resource group to which the resource belongs.
Select the pay-as-you-go dedicated host that you want to release, move the pointer over
next to Renew, and then select Release from the drop-down list. In the Release dialog box, set the parameters.
The following table describes the parameters.
Parameter
Description
Release Mode
Select Scheduled Release.
Auto-release
Click
to enable or disable automatic release. 
: enables automatic release. You can customize the release date and time. - : disables automatic release.
Release Date
Specify a release date. The default value is the current date.
NoteYou can specify a release date only when auto-release is enabled.
Release Time
Specify a release time. The default time is 1 hour after the current time.
NoteYou can specify a release time only when Auto-release is enabled.
The release time must be 30 minutes after the current time.
Click OK.
References
For information about dedicated host billing, see Dedicated host billing.
After you purchase a dedicated host or an ECS instance, you can view the resource usage and bills. For more information, see View your bills.
You can call API operations to manage the release of pay-as-you-go dedicated hosts. The API operations are as follows:
ReleaseDedicatedHost: releases a pay-as-you-go dedicated host.
ModifyDedicatedHostAutoReleaseTime: sets the automatic release time for a dedicated host.