AWS billing portal bug shows some customers billion-dollar estimates
Some Amazon Web Services customers saw billing estimates in the millions or billions of dollars on Friday morning despite not using that level of cloud capacity. Amazon confirmed the issue stems from a bug in the AWS billing portal and said the inflated estimates do not reflect actual usage or charges.
What happened with the AWS billing portal?
According to Amazon’s status page, the company began seeing inaccurate billing data late on Thursday. An initial attempt to roll back a recent change failed to resolve the problem, and Amazon said it was still working on a fix on Friday.
Screenshots shared by AWS customers on Reddit showed a wide range of inflated figures. One user reported an estimate close to $2.5 billion for the month’s AWS usage. Others reported alerts ranging from a few million dollars to hundreds of millions.
What is Amazon saying about the billing bug?
Amazon attributed the issue to its billing computation subsystem, the part of the billing portal that calculates cost estimates. The company told affected customers that the numbers shown are estimates and do not represent real charges.
Amazon spokesperson Aisha Johnson did not answer additional questions when contacted by email and referred inquiries to the status page. The company also declined to say whether any AWS accounts had been suspended or paused because of the bug.
How long will the AWS billing issue last?
Amazon’s status page indicated the issue would continue for several more hours after the initial update. The company has not publicly shared a detailed timeline for a complete fix.
What should affected AWS customers do?
- Check the AWS service health dashboard for the latest updates on the billing incident.
- Avoid taking action based on the inflated estimate, since Amazon has stated it does not reflect real usage.
- Continue to monitor actual usage and billing through standard AWS cost reporting tools once normal service resumes.
- Contact AWS support if an account has been paused or restricted.
FAQ
Why are some AWS customers seeing billion-dollar billing estimates?
Amazon said a bug in the AWS billing portal’s billing computation subsystem is producing inflated cost estimates that do not reflect actual usage or charges.
Has Amazon fixed the AWS billing portal bug?
No. Amazon’s status page said the company began seeing inaccurate billing data late Thursday, an initial rollback failed, and it was still working on a fix on Friday with the issue expected to continue for several more hours.
Should AWS customers take action on the inflated billing estimates?
No. Amazon told affected customers the numbers are estimates and do not represent real charges. Customers should monitor the AWS service health dashboard and contact AWS support only if an account has been paused or restricted.
This article summarizes reporting from techcrunch.com, techcrunch.com.