Summary

This guide is designed for customers with Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances (RIs) that will no longer be available for new purchase or renewal starting July 1, 2026 for select VM series. It helps you understand the impact of these changes and plan next steps to maintain cost predictability and avoid lapses in commitment-based savings.

The guidance focuses on RIs associated with impacted VM series and explains the options available as existing reservations approach expiration, including transitioning to alternative cost-saving constructs such as Azure savings plans for compute, or migrating workloads to newer VM series where appropriate. Existing RIs will continue to provide reservation discounts for the remainder of their purchased term.

This guide covers:

• Impacted VM series and what changes on July 1, 2026
• Recommended options to plan for RI expiration
• Guidance on avoiding unexpected pay‑as‑you‑go charges

By proactively planning for these RI availability changes, you can continue optimizing costs while aligning your workloads with Azure’s current pricing and savings options.

What is changing?

Starting 1 July 2026, purchases and renewals will no longer be available for the following Azure Reserved VM Instances (RIs):

• One-year RIs for the VM series Av2, Amv2, Bv1, D, Ds, Dv2, Dsv2, F, Fs, Fsv2, G, Gs, Ls, and Lsv2.
• One-year and three-year RIs for the VM series Dv3, Dsv3, Ev3, and Esv3.

How to identify if you are impacted:

Step 1: Review Reservations Inventory

1. Sign in to the Azure portal
2. Navigate to Reservations
3. Filter by Product type: Virtual Machines
4. Review VM family and Reservation expiration date

You are impacted if:

• The VM family matches the list above.

Learn more here: View Azure Reservation purchase and refund transactions - Microsoft Cost Management | Microsoft Learn

Step 2: Validate Usage Dependency

In Cost Management + Billing:

1. Navigate to Reservations
2. Review utilization and active usage
3. Confirm whether workloads will continue beyond the RI expiration date.

Learn more here: View Azure reservation utilization - Microsoft Cost Management | Microsoft Learn

What actions to take and when:

Decision Guide: RIs Expiring Before July 1, 2026

If you have an RI that is expiring prior to July 1, 2026 - you have a time‑bound decision window.

Option 1: Evaluate Azure savings plan for compute as an alternative

Instead of renewing RIs, you can choose to:

• Trade-in current RIs to Azure savings plan for compute, which:
• Provides commitment‑based savings without tying to a specific VM family or region.
• Covers broader compute usage, including future VM changes.

You should:

• Estimate expected hourly spend eligible for Savings plans.
• Determine appropriate commitment term (1‑ or 3‑year).
• Compare Savings plan coverage vs. existing RI utilization.

 Best fit for customers who:

• Expect VM changes, scaling, or modernization.
• Want flexibility across VM families and regions.
• Prefer spend‑based optimization over instance‑specific locking.

Learn more here: Self-service trade-in for savings plans - Microsoft Cost Management | Microsoft Learn

Option 2: Consider modernization alongside commitment decisions

As you evaluate your long‑term strategy:

• Assess whether workloads running on the affected VM series should migrate to newer VM SKUs.
• Modernization can:
• Improve price‑performance.
• Extend access to commitment‑based savings via savings plan and reserved instances.
• Reduce future disruption as older generations continue to age out.

Best fit for customers who:

• Have upcoming application refresh cycles.
• Want to improve performance or efficiency.
• Plan to stay optimized beyond the current RI term.

Learn more here: Retired VM Sizes Migration Guide - Azure Virtual Machines | Microsoft Learn.

Option 3: Decide whether to renew RIs before July 1, 2026

If you’d like to continue using these VM series and prefer instance‑specific commitments, you may choose to:

• Renew a 1‑year or 3‑year RI before July 1, 2026, knowing that:

o   This is the final opportunity to renew RIs for impacted legacy VM series.

o   Renewed RIs will be honored for their full term, even after July 1, 2026.

o   Post‑July 1, no additional renewals or purchases will be allowed.

o   Review VM Migration guide to confirm VM retirements date

Best fit for customers who:

• Run stable, predictable workloads on the affected VM series.
• Do not plan near‑term modernization.
• Prefer fixed, VM‑specific savings over flexibility.

Learn more here: Buy an Azure reservation - Microsoft Cost Management | Microsoft Learn

Decision Guide: RIs Expiring After July 1, 2026

If you have an RI that is expiring after to July 1, 2026 - you decide on a long‑term optimization strategy before expiration.

Option 1: Transition to Azure savings plan for compute

Customers can:

• Purchase an Azure savings plan for compute that covers eligible compute spend, including workloads currently covered by RIs.
• Maintain commitment‑based savings without relying on VM‑specific RIs.
• Gain flexibility to change VM sizes, families, or regions over time.

 Best fit for customers who:

• Want a smooth transition when RIs expire.
• Expect infrastructure changes or scale variability.
• Prefer a single, flexible commitment model.

Learn more here: Buy a savings plan - Microsoft Cost Management | Microsoft Learn

Option 2: Modernize workloads before RI expiration

Customers may decide to:

• Migrate workloads from legacy VM generations (v1/v2/v3) to newer VM SKUs.
• Combine modernization with Savings Plans for better price‑performance.
• Reduce long‑term exposure to legacy infrastructure timelines.

 Best fit for customers who:

• Have upcoming application refresh cycles.
• Want to improve performance or efficiency.
• Plan to stay optimized beyond the current RI term.

Learn more here: Retired VM Sizes Migration Guide - Azure Virtual Machines | Microsoft Learn.

Option 3: Take no action and accept pay‑as‑you‑go pricing

If customers do nothing:

• Workloads will continue running normally.
• Costs may increase once RI coverage ends.
• Optimization opportunities may be missed.

This should be a conscious decision, not an accidental outcome.

Best practices: Time the transition intentionally

Customers should:

• Align RI expiration timing with:
  • Savings Plan purchase windows, or
  • Application modernization milestones.
• Coordinate with their Microsoft account team to model cost outcomes.

Key Takeaways

• July 1, 2026 does NOT terminate existing RIs
• RIs remain valid until their individual expiration dates
• Action must be taken on impacted RI to avoid pay-go rates and continue cost optimization
• There is no disruption to running workloads; RIs are billing construct only.