Why is my EC2 instance stuck in the stopping state?

Short description

Instances might appear "stuck" in the stopping state when there is a problem with the underlying hardware hosting the instance. This can also occur when hibernating a hibernation-enabled instance.

Note: To check the most recent state of your instance, choose the refresh icon in the Amazon EC2 console. Or, run the describe-instances command in the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI).

If you receive errors when running AWS CLI commands, make sure that you're using the most recent version of the AWS CLI.

In the following example, replace i-0123ab456c789d01e with the ID of the instance you're trying to stop:

aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids i-0123ab456c789d01e --output json

Check the State Code and Name in the JSON response:

"State": {
           "Code": 64, 
           "Name": "stopping"
                    },

Resolution

If your instance becomes stuck in the stopping state, then do the following to force stop the instance:

Use the Amazon EC2 console

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console.
2. Select Instances, and then select the stuck instance.
3. Select Instance state, Force stop instance, Stop. Note that Force stop instance is only available in the console if your instance is in the stopping state. If your instance is in another state (except shutting down and terminated), then you can use the AWS CLI to force stop your instance.

Use the AWS AWS CLI

Use the stop-instances command and the --force option as shown in the following example:

aws ec2 stop-instances --instance-ids i-0123ab456c789d01e --force

If, after 10 minutes, the instance hasn't stopped, then post a request for help on AWS re:Post. To help expedite a resolution, include the instance ID, and describe the steps that you've already taken. Alternatively, if you have a support plan, create a technical support case in the Support Center.

For more information,, see Troubleshooting stopping your instance.