# Renew an instance or enable auto-renewal

How to renew a prepaid instance in advance and turn on auto-renewal, and why canceling a renewal invoice deletes the instance immediately with no way to undo it.

The instance detail page's **Billing** tab has three controls: the **Renew in Advance** button, the **Auto Renew** switch, and the **Stop Billing** switch. This page covers renewing a prepaid instance and turning on auto-renewal, and one action that looks harmless but is not.

> [!CAUTION]
> On the invoice detail page, selecting **Cancel** does not mean "skip this
> renewal" or "decide later." For a renewal invoice — the one **Renew in
> Advance** generates, or the invoice created when the instance was first
> purchased — canceling it deletes the instance within seconds. There is no
> confirmation dialog, and once it runs there is no way to undo it.
>
> The **Cancel** button itself carries no warning. It is labeled only
> **Cancel**, and the toast that appears right after the invoice is
> generated just says: "Renewal invoice has been successfully generated,
> please pay in time." Neither one mentions deletion.

_Interface illustration: Invoice detail page for a renewal invoice, showing the Cancel button in the action row with no adjacent warning text_

## Three billing controls people confuse

These three controls sound related but do different things:

| Control                         | What selecting it does                                                                 | Can it delete the instance                               |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Cancel** on a renewal invoice | Cancels that invoice                                                                   | Yes, immediately, for invoices you are allowed to cancel |
| **Stop Billing**                | When turned on, the instance is deleted automatically the next time it expires         | Yes, by design, once expiration is reached               |
| **Auto Renew**                  | When turned on, the platform pays the next renewal from your balance before expiration | No, turning it off does not by itself delete anything    |

**Stop Billing**'s own description states its effect plainly: "When enabled, the instance will be automatically deleted upon expiration." That deletion is expected and intentional. The deletion caused by **Cancel** is not something its label tells you about at all.

## What canceling a renewal invoice actually does

Cypacky creates renewal invoices for a prepaid instance in two different ways: you generate one manually with **Renew in Advance** (or receive one automatically when the instance is first created), or the platform generates one automatically before each expiration date. The two behave differently when you select **Cancel**:

| What happens                                                                                                                                              | What does not happen                                                                                              |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Canceling a manually generated renewal invoice — from **Renew in Advance**, or from first creating the instance — deletes the instance almost immediately | No dialog asks you to confirm the deletion; the button just reads **Cancel**                                      |
| A system-generated periodic renewal invoice that goes unpaid still deletes the instance, about 48 hours after it expires, even if you never select Cancel | Doing nothing is not automatically safe; the 48-hour window is a grace period, not a permanent pause              |
| Existing backups and custom images are not deleted along with the instance                                                                                | The instance itself — its IP addresses, running state, and disk — is not preserved; only the backup files survive |
| Selecting **Cancel** on a system-generated periodic renewal invoice is rejected by the backend                                                            | The instance is not deleted when the rejection happens, but the invoice is not canceled either                    |

The rejection for a periodic invoice is covered in "When an action is rejected" further on this page.

## Before you begin

- **Applies to prepaid instances only.** Usage-based instances are billed by the hour, have no renewal invoice, and show no **Renew in Advance** button.
- **Permissions.** Your role needs the instance billing permission. Project viewers can see billing information but cannot generate invoices or change either switch.
- **The instance must be eligible for renewal.** If it is not, the **Billing Settings** card shows an explanation instead of the switches.

## Renew an instance in advance

1. On the instance detail page, select the **Billing** tab.
2. In the **Billing Information** card, confirm the instance uses a fixed billing cycle rather than usage-based billing. **Renew in Advance** only appears for fixed-cycle instances.
3. Select **Renew in Advance**.
4. The platform generates an invoice for the next billing cycle and confirms: "Renewal invoice has been successfully generated, please pay in time."
5. The new invoice appears in the **Related Invoices** card. Select it to open the invoice detail page and pay it.

Generating the invoice does not renew the instance by itself. The instance renews once the invoice is paid.

_Interface illustration: Billing Information card on the instance detail page, showing the billing cycle, cycle price, expiration time, and the Renew in Advance button_

## Turn auto-renewal on or off

1. On the instance detail page, select the **Billing** tab.
2. In the **Billing Settings** card, locate the **Auto Renew** switch, described as "Automatically pay using balance before expiration."
3. Select the switch to turn it on or off. The change applies immediately; there is no confirmation dialog.
4. The dashboard confirms with "Auto-renewal enabled" or "Auto-renewal disabled."

With **Auto Renew** on, the platform tries to pay the next renewal from your balance three days before expiration. Turning it off does not generate an unpaid invoice by itself and does not immediately put the instance at risk, but it also means nothing pays the renewal on your behalf. You still need to pay a renewal invoice manually, or the instance follows the timeline described in "If you do nothing."

_Interface illustration: Billing Settings card on the instance detail page, showing the Auto Renew switch next to the Stop Billing switch, each with its description text_

## Pay or cancel the invoice you just generated

1. In the **Related Invoices** card, select the new renewal invoice to open its detail page.
2. Review the amount, then select **Go to Payment** or **Continue Payment** to pay it.
3. If you no longer want this renewal, you can select **Cancel** instead. Only do this if you also intend to delete the instance — the platform does not ask you to confirm that separately.

## If you do nothing

If a renewal invoice, manual or system-generated, goes unpaid, the instance does not disappear the moment it expires:

| Time after expiration     | Instance state                                | Instance deleted |
| ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| 0 hours (Expiration Time) | Still marked as expiring; no action taken yet | No               |
| About 24 hours later      | Stopped and marked delinquent                 | No               |
| About 48 hours later      | Deleted                                       | Yes              |

Once an instance is stopped for nonpayment, the dashboard's delinquent-instance message states: "This instance is delinquent, so you cannot operate it. Pay the associated invoices or delete the instance. Contact Cypacky Networks Support if you have questions." Paying the outstanding invoice before the 48-hour mark stops the deletion. **Auto Renew**, when turned on, tries to pay automatically three days before this timeline even starts.

## When an action is rejected

### Renew in Advance is unavailable because of an unpaid invoice

> If there are unpaid invoices, please pay them first

An instance cannot carry two open renewal invoices at the same time. Pay or resolve the existing invoice before generating another.

### Canceling a system-generated renewal invoice fails

Selecting **Cancel** on a periodic renewal invoice you did not generate yourself is rejected. The dashboard shows:

> Failed to cancel invoice.

> [!NOTE]
> The exact rejection text shown to the user is not fully confirmed. The backend's internal rejection reason is "current invoice status does not allow cancellation," but that string does not appear in the `billing.json` locale files, so the interface may instead be showing the generic message quoted above. Verify which text actually renders before treating this as final.

This rejection is expected. System-generated renewal invoices cannot be canceled by design, and rejection does not mean the invoice is stuck — it still follows the timeline described in "If you do nothing."

### Turning Auto Renew on or off fails

> Failed to update auto-renewal

Retry the switch. If it keeps failing, contact Cypacky Networks Support with the instance ID.

### Renew in Advance itself fails

> Cannot generate renewal invoice

The instance's current billing state does not allow a new renewal invoice right now. Resolve its current billing status, such as an existing unpaid invoice, before trying again.

## Related documentation

- [Instance details](/compute/instances/detail/)
- [Start, stop, and restart an instance](/compute/instances/management/power/)
- [Delete an instance](/compute/instances/management/delete/)