Our service is down because cloudsql instance is stuck in "update being in process"

[chp]

This is the most horrible experience I had in ten years of cloud computing.

My staging and production databases are all simultanously in "instance being updated". There is nothing I can do. All buttons are greyed out.

I'm not able to contact support or escalate it as I'm in the basic tier (i don't want support I want a but fixed) and i can't even upgrade the basic tier to get support because that is all greyed out as well.

This feels like a digital kafka novel. What can I do?

[mcbsalceda]

Hi @chp,

Welcome to Google Cloud Community!

I understand how frustrating it is to face a critical Cloud SQL issue without the access or support you need, especially on the basic tier. You may try these options:

• Try to Create a Temporary Replacement (if needed) - If downtime is unacceptable, consider creating a temporary replacement by spinning up a new Cloud SQL instance (Possibly in another region) and try restoring from the latest backup if available. Or exporting data using gcloud sql export sql if the old instance is still accessible, then pointing your app to the new instance temporarily.
• You can check the Google Cloud Status Dashboard for any Cloud SQL incidents, especially in your region (like us-central1 or europe-west1), as issues are sometimes posted there before appearing in the Console. If you find an active incident, consider subscribing for updates and save the incident ID for reference. Also, review the historical status to see if this is a recurring issue or tied to broader outages—it might provide helpful context.
• Stuck Backup: If your instance has been running for hours and can't be canceled, it could be due to the database size. While long backups can be normal, and you really need to cancel it, you may need to contact Google Cloud Support to request a forced restart.

To keep your Cloud SQL instance secure and up to date, check the Maintenance & Updates documentation. If you’re facing ongoing issues, consider reaching out to Google Cloud Support for help reviewing your setup. 

Was this helpful? If so, please accept this answer as “Solution”. If you need additional assistance, reply here within 2 business days and I’ll be happy to help.