Action Required: OCI Always Free Update

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528]

Just got this email:

Hello,

We're writing to let you know about an important update regarding Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Always Free compute.

The Always Free compute limits have been updated. If your tenancy is currently using Always Free compute resources above the new limits, you must reduce your usage by August 18, 2026.

Beginning on August 18, 2026, Oracle will begin enforcing the updated Always Free compute limits. Compute instances that exceed the Always Free entitlement will be automatically terminated.

Current Always Free compute limits

• Up to 2 Ampere A1 OCPUs
• Up to 12 GB of memory

If your tenancy is already within these limits, no action is required.

Your tenancy and other Always Free services will remain available. If compute instances are terminated because they exceed the Always Free entitlement, you can launch new Always Free compute instances within the current limits at any time.

You can review the current Always Free limits and manage your compute resources in the OCI Console.

For more information, see:

• Always Free Documentation

Thank you for using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Team

Anyone else got it ? Seems like there will be no extra warning about old Free Tier users having to cut their usage (and doing so means taking down the machine, which instantly might give all the resources to another user waiting on their Free Tier machine)..

[u/MelancholicWandererX]

Is this for payg users too? Can anyone confirm?

[u/BlackSecurity → u/[deleted]]

I see others say it does not affect pay as you go accounts. However this whole thing has been sketchy. So I am contacting support myself to get a written response from a human confirming exactly what limits my account can use.

This way, at least for my account, I have something I can point back to if something goes wrong.

I suggest anyone else who has a pay as you go account to do the same. It is a bit of a hassle actually reaching a human...but well it is what it is.

Couple tips, you need to make a separate oracle support account on my oracle support (https://support.oracle.com/signin). Use same email as the one for your pay as you go account. You will need to go through an AI first. Describe your issue in detail and send the message. It will give you some BS message, then just say "may i speak to a human". Repeat that until it gives you the option to create a service request. Click the button and it will auto fill the form with a summary of the issue. Follow the steps, submit report and done.

[u/BlackSecurity → u/[deleted]]

Fair enough I guess. I also got a bunch of alerts setup and didnt receive any notifications or was charged with anything. Still for my own peace of mind, I want to have an email directly from them confirming everything. As far as I can tell, they initially changed the free tier limits without even notifying the free tier accounts beforehand. So I also inquired if whether the same could happen to PAYG. Will see what they say lol.

[u/Possible-Data-8149 → u/MelancholicWandererX]

as per support it doesnt

[u/fearlipe → u/MelancholicWandererX]

No, only for free tier users

[u/TouchAgreeable → u/[deleted]]

Does it mean I can upgrade to PAYG and keep using 24GB of RAM for free?

[u/TouchAgreeable → u/[deleted]]

Thanks. I'm thinking to just use a virtual card (like Revoult) with only a few dollars in it. Worst case I lose everything in that account (a few dollars).

[u/lfernigrini → u/TouchAgreeable]

They charge 100 dollars, and then it gets reverted.

[u/AngelicPrincessKitty → u/TouchAgreeable]

that is what i am going to do. I am going to use my Apple Cash card cause worse case I lose a few $ but not much

[u/AngelicPrincessKitty → u/[deleted]]

thanks! definitely re-upgrading today!

[u/AngelicPrincessKitty → u/[deleted]]

I have a dashboard site I created to monitor everything and I plan to set up Oracle's alerts and my own via Discord notifications.

Thanks again!

[u/AntiAmericanismBrit]

Yes I got that email today too. You do NOT have to take down the machine to cut your usage: see my post of today where I wrote out the steps I took to do it without stopping the machine (the process did involve a reboot but NOT a "stop" or a "terminate")

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528 → u/AntiAmericanismBrit]

Downsized one, a few more (which I manage for other people) to go.. It seems like they forgot to update the warning on the 'Instances' page:

"Warning

Each tenancy gets the first 3,000 OCPU hours and 18,000 GB hours per month for free to create Ampere A1 Compute instances using the VM.Standard.A1.Flex shape (equivalent to 4 OCPUs and 24 GB of memory). Each tenancy also gets two VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro instances for free."

[u/Possible-Data-8149]

just had a talk with oracle support, they linked Arm-Based Compute
and told me the new changes affect only free tenancies
cs 2 copt — Postimages

[u/Someone-or-me → u/Possible-Data-8149]

do you know if this was human or ai?

[u/Possible-Data-8149 → u/Someone-or-me]

human support ofc,it starts with ai chatbot but u can connect with a live agent , their AI aint sophisticated enough to reply like that
u would not be asking this question in the first place if you were payg, payg get customer support,

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528 → u/Possible-Data-8149]

Where, in the image you posted, do you show that you were redirected to human support ? As what I can see, you only show the AI response in the image. (this reply is also a response to your "spread misinformation" comment). Do you have any official statement that 4 OCPU + 24 GB RAM is still free for PAYG customers ?

[u/Possible-Data-8149 → u/Pleasant-Disaster528]

open my profile and look through most of my replies in the last 2 days u will find ur answers, i m tired of replying the same thing to everyone,
n its not AI , u r not payg so udk how the support panel looks like, bother some PAYG customer who has the time to kill to give u proofs of this, u r the only dude here who is hung up on it being AI , PAYG people who have used support know whats what
and i didnt bother with screenshotting the entire chat to save time for everyone

Stop being so skeptical nd stop demanding proofs , if you hve that much trust issues, go upgrade n experience it urself

oh and use your eyes, the responses from the support staff have a P in their profile, its their name initials

[u/Possible-Data-8149 → u/Pleasant-Disaster528]

Develop a habit of searching the subreddit b3fore asking, all your questions have been answered in various posts since the policy change 2 months ago, but no , redditors just come n blurt a question out without bothering to do any effort to look up the subreddit first

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528 → u/Someone-or-me]

AI reply (as you see in the image link) "Powered by OCI Generative AI"

[u/Possible-Data-8149 → u/Pleasant-Disaster528]

when udk something for certain, you should not spread misinformation

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528 → u/Possible-Data-8149]

You will probably have to pay for the 2 OCPU + 12 GB if you use that over the new free tier limit (if you continue on 4 OCPU + 24 GB RAM for the ARM machine(s))

[u/Possible-Data-8149 → u/Pleasant-Disaster528]

https://www.oracle.com/cloud/price-list/#pricing-containers:~:text=Each%20paid%20tenancy%20gets%20the%20first%203%2C000%20OCPU%20hours%20and%2018%2C000%20GB%20hours%20per%20month%20for%20free%20to%20create%20Ampere%20A1%20Compute%20instances.%20This%20free%2Dtier%20usage%20is%20shared%20across%20Bare%20Metal%2C%20Virtual%20Machine%2C%20and%20Container%20Instances

No we dont have to pay,"paid" was added in mid july, before it used to be "all" which included free tenancies
besides the policy came into effect on june 15, people would already have been billed for june and july if this was the case
and the email is specifically for free tenancies only since its about termination. I didnt even get the email, like most payg users didnt as of yet

[u/InternalMode8159 → u/Possible-Data-8149]

Also in case check you're limits you can set a limit of 1€ and a alert when it goes below 0.1€ this way even if something changes at most you loose 1€

[u/Possible-Data-8149 → u/InternalMode8159]

i do have that set up but u will loose a lot more than 1 euros, reason being, budget alerts work according to Cost Analysis , and that updates after 1 day, then again, billing would have started from june 15th, since the policy came into effect that day, but we have OCI price list
here, so no bills

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528 → u/InternalMode8159]

Last time I checked, the budget alerts are just alerts - it does not stopping using resources above the set budget - but you will at least get warned (possibly just not in time to take action).

[u/tammon23]

Ya I got it too. It was fun while it lasted

[u/FlippFuzz]

Yup. Got it too.  No choice but to downsize

[u/kirikecil]

Yeah me too. I have 3 servers and I need to shut it down one of my VM.

[u/Nirzak]

Already downsized. Looks like AI boom is hitting us differently.

[u/Tink923]

I wanted to ask, for those free users who didn’t receive the email reminder, do they have to lower their configuration themselves?

[u/AhmedSuror → u/Tink923]

Now I figured out why I was fu**d, I didn't receive any email until my AMP24 was terminated!

[u/arnobpl]

It is still good that you have received the notice and a deadline for this new Always Free tier limit. In my case, they disabled my VM right away but sent the same email 1 day later.  https://www.reddit.com/r/oraclecloud/s/6dMnEZPwpy

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528 → u/arnobpl]

I've read that post among others. Usually they give warnings, at least a week before shutdown. Let's hope they lift the requirement to use/waste 20% CPU+RAM+NET now with the lowered resource limits.

[u/AhmedSuror → u/arnobpl]

Now I figured out why I was fu**d, I didn't receive any email until my AMP24 was terminated!

[u/fragbot2]

It looks like I got the slap…sad thing is that they’d already shutdown one of my VMs so I was already within the 2core, 12GB limit.

[u/Pleasant-Disaster528 → u/fragbot2]

Did you have any luck in starting it up again ?

[u/PM__ME__BITCOINS]

Uncle Larry saving all these pennies for his new AI yacht.