Resource renewal-FAQ

If you do not continue to use the instance after it expires, you do not need to perform renewal. What is the use of the "nonrenewal upon expiration" feature on the renewal management page?

The "Nonrenewal upon Expiration" feature is generally used in two scenarios:

• Scenario 1: Alibaba Cloud typically notifies customers three times before the instance is shut down (the number of notifications for instances of various products may vary). If you do not want to receive multiple notifications for an instance that you do not intend to renew after it expires, you can configure non-renewal upon expiration. Then, Alibaba Cloud will send only one notification to you.

• Scenario 2: After you reach an important cooperation agreement with Alibaba Cloud, you can request Alibaba Cloud not to stop the instances within your Alibaba Cloud account after the instances expire. However, if some instances need to be shut down normally after expiration, you can configure non-renewal upon expiration to meet your requirements.

Why can't I see my resource instance on the renewal management interface?

Scenario 1: The resource instances that can be seen on the renewal management interface are renewable. If the instance cannot be renewed, it will not be displayed on the resource instance list page. The following are common scenarios for non-renewable resource instances:

• Instances that have been released cannot be renewed.

• Some instances that do not support renewal, such as Apsara Conference tickets.

• For some cloud product instances, you need to click the specific product in the upper right corner of the renewal management page to jump to the console for renewal operations, as shown in the figure below:

  

• Instances of the resource plan type currently require separate renewal operations on the resource plan page, as shown in the figure below:

  

• Some special cloud products only support renewal in the console, such as IoT Internet of Things card services.

Scenario 2: If you have completed Scenario 1 and still cannot find the purchased product, please confirm whether the account you logged in with is the account you used to purchase the product. You can retrieve your login name through online self-service to retrieve account name or password.

Can I only renew after the trial expires?

No. The following are explanations for different situations:

• Subscription (prepaid) products: You can renew the trial instance of the subscription at any time. After renewal, the validity period of the instance will be automatically extended from the end of the trial period.

• Pay-as-you-go (postpaid) products: Pay-as-you-go trial instances do not need to be renewed. After the trial ends, as long as there is a balance in your account, the system will automatically deduct fees based on usage. When the balance is insufficient to cover the fees, your account will be in arrears, so you need to ensure sufficient balance to avoid affecting your business. If you do not need to continue using the instance resources, to avoid incurring additional costs, please manually release them in time and make a backup before releasing.

I have set up auto-renewal. why did the renewal fail? how should I handle it?

• Reason for failure: Setting up auto-renewal only schedules the renewal cycle; it does not trigger immediate renewal. Renewal deductions are scheduled for "3 days before expiration, 1 day before expiration, on the expiration day, 6 days after expiration, and 14 days after expiration." Should a deduction attempt fail, the system will continue at the next scheduled time point. An insufficient account balance may lead to a 14 days after the expiration date.

• Handling operation: You should manually renew the instance.

If I have manually renewed before auto-renewal, will the auto-renewal operation still proceed?

If you manually renew before the auto-renewal deduction date, the system will recalculate the next renewal time based on the new expiration date.

Example: If the expiration time of an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance is 00:00 on March 30 and the user manually renews it on February 14 for one month, the new expiration date will be April 30. ECS auto-renewal deductions begin 3 days before the instance's expiration date. Therefore, the system will initiate the auto-renewal deduction at 08:00:00 on March 27.

Does exporting the renewal checklist mean the renewal has been performed?

Exporting the renewal checklist is simply for reviewing and exporting information such as renewal resources, duration, and costs. It does not constitute the actual renewal of resources. To renew, you must click the Renew or Batch Renew button and complete the payment process.

I renewed for one month. why is the final renewal duration different? sometimes 31 days, sometimes 30 days, sometimes less than 30 days?

Renewing for one month extends the service to the day before the same date in the following month. For instance:

• If the expiration is at 00:00 on June 1, renewing for one month will set the new expiration to 00:00 on July 1, totaling 30 days.

• If the expiration is at 00:00 on May 21, renewing for one month will set the new expiration to 00:00 on June 21, totaling 31 days.

• If the renewal occurs at 00:00 on February 1, the new expiration will be 00:00 on March 1, totaling 28 or 29 days depending on whether it's a leap year.

My instance expiration date is the end of the month, the 31st. Why does the expiration date change to the 30th, 29th, or 28th after renewal?

This variation occurs because different months have different numbers of days. For instance:

• Case 1: If an instance expires on January 31, renewing for one month will extend it to February 28 or 29. Subsequent renewals will continue to extend it to the last day of the month.

• Case 2: If an instance expires on May 31, renewing for one month will extend it to June 30. Subsequent renewals will continue to extend it to the last day of the month until it aligns with Case 1.

Why is the refund amount for unsubscribed unactivated renewal orders zero?

The refund amount for unsubscribed, unactivated renewal orders is zero, potentially due to the following reasons:

• Activity Factors: Your renewal order was provided as a gift with the purchase of the instance during certain promotions or discount events, so no refund will be issued upon cancellation.

• Use of Coupons or Vouchers: If you applied coupons or vouchers to reduce the cost of the renewal order, the actual cash amount paid might already be zero.

If I renewed the wrong product, is a refund supported?

If you have accidentally renewed the wrong product, please follow these steps to request a refund:

1. Log in to the resource unsubscribe page.

2. Verify if the renewal order is in effect.

   • If the order appears under the Unsubscribed Unactivated Renewal tab, it has not yet taken effect. You can request a full refund of the cash amount, excluding any coupons.

   • If the order is listed under the Unsubscribe Resource tab, the order is in effect, and any remaining fees will be refunded according to the partial refund policy.

   For more information, see the unsubscribe rule description.

3. For products that do not support self-service unsubscription, you can submit a ticket for a manual review and refund.