Release a public IP

_{Updated May 8, 2026} Releasing a reserved IP stops the billing and returns the address to the regional pool. After release, the IP is gone from your account; you can’t get it back. Someone else may auto-assign or reserve the same address moments later. This page is for reserved IPs only. Auto-assigned IPs are released automatically when you remove them from a VM (or delete the VM) — there’s nothing extra to do, and no separate “release” action exists for them.

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Before you release

Three things to confirm before clicking:

1. The IP is no longer attached to a VM. Detach it first from the VM detail page or the row menu.
2. No DNS records or partner whitelists point at this IP. Once released, anyone may end up holding this address; if you have a record pointing at it, traffic could land somewhere unexpected.
3. You don’t expect to need this exact address again. Release is irreversible. If you only want a brief pause, detach and leave it reserved instead — $3/month is the price of keeping the address yours.

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1. Open the Public IPs tab

In Networking → Public IPs, find the IP. The Assigned To column should show — (unassigned) — if it shows a VM name, detach it first.

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2. Click Release

On the IP’s row, click the ⋮ menu → Release IP. A confirmation dialog opens describing what’s about to happen — the address goes back to the pool, billing stops, and the change is permanent. Type the IP address (or click confirm — depending on the dialog version) to proceed.

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3. Confirm and move on

The release completes in seconds. The IP disappears from your Public IPs list. The Reserved stat at the top decrements. The Available in pool count increments by one for that region. Billing for the IP stops at the release timestamp. The unused days of the current month are credited back to your account balance — same prorated-on-delete model as VMs and volumes.

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What if the IP is currently attached?

The Release action is disabled while a VM holds the IP. The dashboard shows the row’s status as Active and the menu’s Release item is greyed. To release an attached IP, you have two paths: For auto-assigned IPs the choice is moot — they release automatically on detach or VM delete with no separate action.

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Pool re-allocation timing — and why there is no recovery path

Once released, an IP is immediately eligible for re-allocation to any other Raff customer (or back to the same account, but with no preference for “you released it last”):

• There is no cooldown. The address goes straight from your account into the available pool.
• The next auto-assign or reserve call from any customer in the same region — possibly within seconds — can pick up that exact IP.
• Once it’s been allocated to a different tenant, it is not recoverable to your account. There is no support escalation that pulls the IP back from the new holder.

Practical implication: only release when you’re certain the address is no longer in use anywhere — DNS records, partner allow-lists, hard-coded client configs, monitoring targets. If you find out 10 minutes later that something still pointed at it, the recovery options are: This is why the comparison below — detach (keep reserved) vs release — usually tilts toward keeping reserved at $3/month. The cost of reclaiming a released address can be far higher than 12 months of holding it.

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Difference from “detach”

It’s worth re-stating because it confuses every new Raff user: If you might need the address again, detach and keep reserved. $3/month is cheap insurance against the IP being grabbed by someone else.

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