EC2 Schedule Reboot

Schedule when your EC2 instances reboot with Server Scheduler. Without writing code.

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Updated 30th September, 2025

How To Schedule EC2 Reboots

Keep your AWS infrastructure healthy and performant with automated EC2 reboot scheduling. Server Scheduler lets you set up recurring reboots across multiple regions, ensuring your instances get the maintenance they need without manual intervention.

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Why Schedule Regular EC2 Reboots?

While EC2 instances can run for months without issues, regular reboots are often necessary for maintaining optimal performance and security. Memory can be exhausted from processes that fail to release it correctly, kernel updates are needed and general maintenance requires a reboot. The old trick of turning it off and on again really does work on occasions!



Scheduled reboots become especially important when you're managing dozens or hundreds of instances across multiple AWS regions. Manual rebooting simply doesn't scale, and forgotten maintenance can lead to performance degradation or security vulnerabilities.

How Server Scheduler Handles EC2 Reboots

Our platform makes EC2 reboot scheduling straightforward with a visual interface that works across all AWS regions. You can set up weekly reboot schedules down to the specific hour and our system will handle the rest automatically.

Server Scheduler checks your instance status before each scheduled reboot. We only reboot running instances, so you won't waste API calls or encounter errors trying to reboot already-stopped servers.

The platform also provides detailed logging for every reboot operation, so you can track when reboots occurred and troubleshoot any issues that might arise.


  • 👉 Automatic instance discovery: across all selected AWS regions with real-time status updates
  • 👉 Smart status checking: only reboots instances that are currently in "running" state to avoid API errors
  • 👉 Weekly scheduling granularity: set specific days of the week and exact hours for maintenance windows
  • 👉 Multi-region coordination: manage reboot schedules across 16+ AWS regions from a single dashboard
  • 👉 Comprehensive logging: every reboot operation is logged with timestamps, instance details, and success/failure status
  • 👉 Visual scheduling interface: no complex configuration files or command-line tools required
  • 👉 Individual or bulk scheduling: apply reboot schedules to single instances or groups of servers

Common Reboot Scheduling Scenarios

Use Case Description
Dev Environment Maintenance Late night reboots for dev servers to clear accumulated memory leaks and apply any pending updates.
Security Updates Coordinate reboots with your patch management schedule to ensure kernel updates and security patches take effect across your fleet.
Performance Optimization Regular reboots help prevent memory leaks in long-running applications and can resolve performance issues that build up over time.
Global Team Coordination Schedule reboots during low-activity periods for different regions, ensuring minimal disruption to your global development teams.

Setting Up Your Reboot Schedule

Getting started with EC2 reboot scheduling is simple. Once you've connected your AWS credentials, Server Scheduler automatically discovers all your EC2 instances across the regions you specify. From there, you can set individual reboot schedules for each instance or apply schedules to groups of servers.

Flexible Timing Options

Choose any day of the week and specific hour for your reboots. Whether you need maintenance windows on weekends or want to coordinate with deployment schedules, you have complete control over timing.

Multi-Region Support

Manage reboot schedules across all AWS regions from a single dashboard. Perfect for organizations with global infrastructure that need consistent maintenance policies.

Beyond EC2 Scheduled Reboots In AWS

Server Scheduler doesn't just handle EC2 scheduled reboots. The same time grid works for scheduled RDS database reboots and scheduled Elasticache reboots. This unified approach means you can coordinate maintenance across your entire AWS infrastructure from one platform.

For teams managing complex environments, this coordination is invaluable. You can ensure database reboots happen before application server reboots, or schedule cache cluster maintenance during known low-traffic periods.

AWS Reboot Instance Automatically

Let our machine do the work! We've built Server Scheduler with reliability as a core principle. The system includes automatic retry logic for failed operations and comprehensive error handling. If a reboot can't be completed due to AWS API issues or instance problems, you'll get detailed logs explaining what happened.

Safety First

Server Scheduler only reboots instances that are currently running. This prevents errors and ensures you're not wasting API calls on instances that are already stopped or in transitional states.

Real-World Impact

Development teams using Server Scheduler report significantly fewer performance issues related to memory leaks and system resource accumulation. By automating what was previously a manual, often-forgotten task, they can focus on building features instead of infrastructure maintenance.

Operations teams particularly value the consistency and predictability that scheduled reboots provide. Instead of reactive maintenance when problems occur, they can proactively maintain system health on a schedule that works for their business.

How to Get Started with Server Scheduler

Getting started is quick and easy. Here’s how you can automate your EC2 Restarts in a few clicks:
  1. 1 Create Your Free Account:
    Visit our registration page and sign up with your email or Google account.
  2. 2 Connect Your Cloud Account:
    After logging in, go to the “Cloud Providers” section in your dashboard. Click “Add Cloud Provider” and select AWS. You’ll be prompted to paste your AWS API key and secret. (We recommend creating a dedicated IAM user with the necessary permissions for security.)
  3. 3 Discover Your EC2 Instances:
    Once connected, Server Scheduler will automatically discover all your EC2 instances. You’ll see them listed in your dashboard, along with their current status.
  4. 4 Set Up Your Schedule:
    Select the instance(s) you want to automate, choose your preferred reboot times and save your schedule. Server Scheduler will handle the rest!

EC2 Reboot vs Stop Start

Before you dive in, you should understand the difference with EC2 Reboot vs Stop Start.


A scheduled reboot restarts the operating system on the same physical host, preserving IPs, the instance ID, and storage, with only minimal downtime.


In contrast, an EC2 scheduled start/stop fully shuts the instance down, may place it on different hardware, changes the public IP (unless using an Elastic IP), but still retains the instance ID and storage, resulting in longer downtime.

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