Why do I get the error "The snapshot is currently in use by an AMI" when I try to delete my EBS snapshot?

Resolution

Note: If you receive errors when you run AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) commands, then see Troubleshoot AWS CLI errors. Also, make sure that you're using the most recent AWS CLI version.

EBS-backed Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) include EBS snapshots. If you try to delete an EBS snapshot that's associated with an active AMI, then you receive this error.

Note: You can't delete public snapshots. If you try to delete a public snapshot, you receive an "unknown error occurred" message.

If you don't need the EBS snapshot or its associated AMI, then use the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) console to deregister the AMI. After you deregister the AMI, use the Amazon EC2 console or AWS CLI to delete the EBS snapshot.

Complete the following steps to delete the EBS snapshot:

1. Note the AMI ID in the error message.
2. Open the Amazon EC2 console, and from the navigation pane, choose AMIs.
3. Choose the AMI that you noted in the error message, open the Actions menu, and then choose Deregister AMI.
   Note: If the AMI isn't active, then it doesn't appear in the default view. For more information, see Describe disabled AMIs. If the AMI isn't active and you still don't see the AMI, then check the other AWS Regions that you use.
4. Use the EC2 console or the AWS CLI to delete the EBS snapshot.

Related information

Deregister (delete) an AMI