***

title: Instance Stuck in Waiting State
description: >-
Diagnose and resolve NVIDIA Brev instances that remain indefinitely in
"Waiting" state during provisioning.
------------------------------------

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

<Steps>
  ### Confirm instance state

  ```bash
  brev ls
  ```

  Verify that the affected instance shows "Waiting" status.

  ### 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

  ### Retry provisioning

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

  ### 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
</Steps>

## 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](mailto:brev-support@nvidia.com) with:

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