# Terminate Amazon EC2 instances
**Warning**
**Terminating an instance is permanent and irreversible.**
After you terminate an instance, you can no longer connect to it, and it can't be recovered. All attached Amazon EBS volumes that are configured to be deleted on termination are also permanently deleted and can't be recovered. All data stored on instance store volumes is permanently lost. For more information, see [How instance termination works](how-ec2-instance-termination-works.md).
Before you terminate an instance, ensure that you have backed up all data that you need to retain after the termination to persistent storage.
You can delete your instance when you no longer need it. This is referred to as *terminating* your instance. As soon as the state of an instance changes to `shutting-down` or `terminated`, you stop incurring charges for that instance.
You can't connect to or start an instance after you've terminated it. However, you can launch new instances using the same AMI.
If you'd rather stop or hibernate your instance, see [Stop and start Amazon EC2 instances](Stop_Start.md) or [Hibernate your Amazon EC2 instance](Hibernate.md). For more information, see [Differences between instance states](ec2-instance-lifecycle.md#lifecycle-differences).
**Topics**
+ [How instance termination works](how-ec2-instance-termination-works.md)
+ [Methods for terminating an instance](instance-terminate-methods.md)
+ [Terminate an instance with a graceful OS shutdown](#terminating-instances-console)
+ [Terminate an instance and bypass the graceful OS shutdown](#terminating-instances-bypass-graceful-os-shutdown)
+ [Troubleshoot instance termination](#troubleshoot-instance-terminate)
+ [Change instance termination protection](Using_ChangingDisableAPITermination.md)
+ [Change instance initiated shutdown behavior](Using_ChangingInstanceInitiatedShutdownBehavior.md)
+ [Preserve data when an instance is terminated](preserving-volumes-on-termination.md)
## Terminate an instance with a graceful OS shutdown
You can terminate an instance using the default terminate method, which includes an attempt at a graceful OS shutdown. For more information, see [Methods for terminating an instance](instance-terminate-methods.md).
------
#### [ Console ]
**To terminate an instance using the default terminate method**
1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/](https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/).
1. In the navigation pane, choose **Instances**.
1. Select the instance, and choose **Instance state**, **Terminate (delete) instance**.
1. Choose **Terminate (delete)** when prompted for confirmation.
1. After you terminate an instance, it remains visible for a short while, with a state of `terminated`.
If termination fails or if a terminated instance is visible for more than a few hours, see [Terminated instance still displayed](TroubleshootingInstancesShuttingDown.md#terminated-instance-still-displaying).
------
#### [ Amazon CLI ]
**To terminate an instance using the default terminate method**
Use the [terminate-instances](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/ec2/terminate-instances.html) command.
```
aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0
```
------
#### [ PowerShell ]
**To terminate an instance using the default terminate method**
Use the [Remove-EC2Instance](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/powershell/latest/reference/items/Remove-EC2Instance.html) cmdlet.
```
Remove-EC2Instance -InstanceId i-1234567890abcdef0
```
------
## Terminate an instance and bypass the graceful OS shutdown
You can bypass the graceful OS shutdown when terminating an instance. For more information, see [Methods for terminating an instance](instance-terminate-methods.md).
------
#### [ Console ]
**To terminate an instance and bypass the graceful OS shutdown**
1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/](https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/).
1. In the navigation pane, choose **Instances**.
1. Select the instance, and choose **Instance state**, **Terminate (delete) instance**.
1. Under **Skip OS shutdown**, select the **Skip OS shutdown** checkbox. If you don't see this option in the console, it's not yet available in the console in the current Region. You can, however, access this feature using the Amazon CLI or SDK, or try another Region in the console.
1. Choose **Terminate (delete)**.
1. After you terminate an instance, it remains visible for a short while, with a state of `terminated`.
If termination fails or if a terminated instance is visible for more than a few hours, see [Terminated instance still displayed](TroubleshootingInstancesShuttingDown.md#terminated-instance-still-displaying).
------
#### [ Amazon CLI ]
**To terminate an instance and bypass the graceful OS shutdown**
Use the [terminate-instances](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/ec2/terminate-instances.html) command with `--skip-os-shutdown`..
```
aws ec2 terminate-instances \
--instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0 \
--skip-os-shutdown
```
------
#### [ PowerShell ]
**To terminate an instance and bypass the graceful OS shutdown**
Use the [Remove-EC2Instance](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/powershell/latest/reference/items/Remove-EC2Instance.html) cmdlet with `-SkipOsShutdown $true`..
```
Remove-EC2Instance `
-InstanceId i-1234567890abcdef0 `
-SkipOsShutdown $true
```
------
## Troubleshoot instance termination
The requester must have permission to call `ec2:TerminateInstances`. For more information, see [Example policies to work with instances](ExamplePolicies_EC2.md#iam-example-instances).
If you terminate your instance and another instance starts, most likely you have configured automatic scaling through a feature like EC2 Fleet or Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling. For more information, see [Instances automatically launched or terminated](TroubleshootingInstancesShuttingDown.md#automatic-instance-create-or-delete).
**Note**
You can't terminate an instance if termination protection is turned on. For more information, see [Change instance termination protection](Using_ChangingDisableAPITermination.md).
If your instance is in the `shutting-down` state for longer than usual, you can attempt to force terminate it. If it remains in the `shutting-down` state, it should be cleaned up (terminated) by automated processes within the Amazon EC2 service. For more information, see [Delayed instance termination](TroubleshootingInstancesShuttingDown.md#instance-stuck-terminating).