TroubleshootingInstances & GPUs

Instance Stuck in Waiting State

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This guide helps you resolve instances that fail to transition from “Waiting” to “Running” state during provisioning.

Problem

Newly created instances remain indefinitely in a “Waiting” state on the Brev dashboard and CLI. Attempts to access the instance using brev ssh or brev ls show the instance as pending, and startup logs indicate incomplete provisioning.

Common symptoms include:

  • Instance creation request succeeds but never transitions to “Running”
  • rpc error: code = Internal desc = context deadline exceeded
  • No instance_id or public_ip assigned in CLI output

Prerequisites

  • Access to Brev dashboard and CLI
  • Valid Brev account with sufficient resource quota
  • Organization owner or admin permissions (for quota-related issues)

Solution

1

Confirm instance state

$brev ls

Verify that the affected instance shows “Waiting” status.

2

Check recent activity

  1. Open the instance details page in the Brev dashboard
  2. Navigate to the Activity Logs tab
  3. Look for recent provisioning or startup attempts
  4. Note any error messages or failed operations
3

Retry provisioning

  1. Delete the stalled instance using the dashboard
  2. Wait 30 seconds
  3. Recreate the instance with the same configuration
4

If the issue persists

Collect the following information for support:

  • Logs from the instance details page
  • Timestamps of creation attempts
  • Your organization ID and instance configuration

Verification

After recreating the instance:

  • The newly created instance shows “Running” in both dashboard and CLI
  • SSH access via brev shell <instance-name> is successful
  • The instance has a valid public_ip assigned

Workarounds

If repeated attempts fail:

  • Create with different name: Create a fresh instance under a different name
  • Try alternative region: Switch regions (for example, from aws-us-east-1 to aws-us-west-2)
  • Use existing instances: For critical workloads, use existing running instances until the backend issue is resolved

Getting Help

If the issue persists after trying these solutions, contact support at brev-support@nvidia.com with:

  • Your organization ID
  • Instance name and configuration
  • Timestamps of failed provisioning attempts
  • Screenshots of activity logs showing errors