How do I pause or freeze a server without deleting it or losing data?

Yes, you can: use Freeze your world instead of cancelling. Your server runs as normal until the time you've paid for ends. Then we save your world to our backup server and keep the server for you, switched off, for 12 months. It isn't billed while it's frozen. When you come back, your world is restored into the same server, with the same address.

How freezing works

• Your world is saved first. Everything in your server goes to our backup server, and nothing is deleted before that copy checks out.
• The server stays yours. Its address, mods, settings, sub-users and databases wait for you.
• Not billed while frozen. No renewals go out until you come back.
• Download your world any time while it's frozen, as one file from the server's page. A world over 2 GB is downloaded folder by folder from its Backups page.
• Paused while frozen: the console, files, schedules and backups. The server is off until you bring it back.

It works for every game server and for Discord bots (for a bot, its files and settings are kept). A VPS can't be frozen. You can freeze up to 2 servers in 12 months.

How to freeze a server

1. In the client area, open the server's Billing page and press Freeze. If you start a cancellation and choose “We stopped playing for now” or “I only needed it for a short time”, you're offered the freeze there too.
2. Pick one of the two ways (below). Both say Kept 12 months.
3. Press Freeze my server, or Pay $X and freeze if you chose to pay now. You'll see Freeze booked.

Keep playing until the date shown: the server freezes when its paid time ends. A server that's already overdue freezes the same day, and its unpaid bill is cancelled. Changed your mind before then? Press Unfreeze on the service page and it carries on and renews as usual.

Note: Freeze is offered for an active server billed every month (or every few months) that has no cancellation requested. If the button says the server can't be frozen, message us and we'll help.

The two ways and what they cost

• Freeze free, pay when you come back ($0 now). Coming back is free for the first 2 months after it freezes, then $1 for each extra month away, at most $6. The offer shows it month by month ($0, $0, $1, $2 … $6).
• Pay $X now, come back free, where $X is one month of your plan (at least $5): first month back included, kept 12 months. The $X goes into your account wallet: it pays your first month back, and you can use it for other services too. This way is offered only on your last server with us.

Either way, coming back means your plan is billed again from the day you return, as before. The fee is the only extra, and only on the free way.

Coming back

1. Press Come back on the server's card on your dashboard, or on the server's page.
2. Choose the RAM and location (your old ones are picked first).
3. Pay the bill: your plan's first period back, plus the fee if there is one. Account credit is used first.

Your world is restored into the same server and it starts by itself when the world is back. If you picked another location, it moves there after the restore.

After 12 months

After 12 months you get one last month to download your world, then the server is deleted. We email you before your free months end, a month before the 12 months are up, and the week before deletion.

Other options

• Just stop the server (still billed): open the Console and press Stop. It stays yours and starts when you're back, but the service bills as normal.
• Keep your own copy and cancel: download a full backup first (from the Backups page, or via Files/SFTP), then press Request cancellation on the server's Billing page. Later, order a new server and re-upload your backup.

Warning: Cancelling deletes the server's files. Always download a full backup before you cancel if you plan to come back, or freeze the server instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a hibernate or freeze feature? Yes: Freeze your world. Press Freeze on the server's Billing page. The server is kept for 12 months and isn't billed while it's frozen.

What does freezing cost? Nothing now with “Freeze free, pay when you come back”: coming back is free for 2 months, then $1 a month, at most $6, on top of your plan. Or “Pay $X now, come back free”: one month of your plan (at least $5) goes into your account wallet and pays your first month back.

Can I still get my world while it's frozen? Yes. Download your world any time while it's frozen, from the server's page in the client area.

What happens after 12 months? You get one more month to download your world, then the server is deleted. We email you before that happens.

Does stopping the server save money? No. The service bills as normal while stopped. Stopping only frees the server's resources; it stays yours. Freeze it if you want to stop paying.