I can't delete azure container instance, returns internalservererror

Question

I can't delete azure container instance, returns internalservererror

Saulo Paiva 20

(InternalServerError) Encountered an internal server error. The tracking activity id is 'e06070fa-946b-497f-98b7-de91ede6da97', correlation id is '198260a3-1ce1-4b6b-93f1-67454573361f'.

Code: InternalServerError

Message: Encountered an internal server error. The tracking activity id is 'e06070fa-946b-497f-98b7-de91ede6da97', correlation id is '198260a3-1ce1-4b6b-93f1-67454573361f'.

can't delete azure container instance - I could not find resource locks.

Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-17T18:31:22.03+00:00

Hi @Saulo Paiva,

We understand from your query that you are experiencing an issue while trying to delete ACI.

Verify that all the associated resources (like networking resources, load balancers, storage accounts, etc.) are correctly deleted. Sometimes, the container instances are attached to a load balancer, and if it's still active or improperly configured, it can block the deletion.

also, encounter an internal server error while attempting to delete an Azure container instance with resource locks, begin by checking for any active locks that might be preventing the deletion. To do this, go to the resource group in the Azure portal and review the "Locks" section. If there are any locks, consider removing them before trying the deletion again.

If you have any further queries, do let us know.
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-18T07:55:36+00:00

Hi @Saulo Paiva,

Checking to see whether you have resolved the issue or if you need any further assistance, please let us know. We are happy to help.
Rahul Gupta 245 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-03-18T07:57:32.7633333+00:00
Hi,

f you're encountering an InternalServerError while trying to delete an Azure Container Instance (ACI), it could be due to several potential issues. Here are steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the problem:

Check ACI Status and Dependencies

First, verify the current state of the Azure Container Instance and any dependencies it may have (such as storage accounts, networking, or other Azure services). An InternalServerError can sometimes occur if there are unresolved dependencies or issues in the background.

Check the ACI's status in the Azure portal.

Go to Azure Portal > Container Instances > Select the affected container.

Verify if it is running or in another state (e.g., stopped, restarting).

If the container is running, you may need to stop it first before trying to delete it.

Ensure Proper Permissions

Make sure that your user account or service principal has the necessary permissions to delete the container. Typically, you need Owner or Contributor permissions for the resource group, or the specific ACI, to perform the deletion.

Check your role in the Azure Portal under Access Control (IAM).

Ensure that the account you're using has sufficient permissions.

Use Azure CLI to Delete

Sometimes, the Azure Portal might not respond as expected due to interface issues or API timeouts. You can try deleting the container using Azure CLI instead:

Open a Command Prompt or Azure Cloud Shell.

Run the following command to delete the container instance:f you're encountering an InternalServerError while trying to delete an Azure Container Instance (ACI), it could be due to several potential issues. Here are steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the problem:

Check ACI Status and Dependencies

First, verify the current state of the Azure Container Instance and any dependencies it may have (such as storage accounts, networking, or other Azure services). An InternalServerError can sometimes occur if there are unresolved dependencies or issues in the background.

Check the ACI's status in the Azure portal.

Go to Azure Portal > Container Instances > Select the affected container.

Verify if it is running or in another state (e.g., stopped, restarting).

If the container is running, you may need to stop it first before trying to delete it.

Ensure Proper Permissions

Make sure that your user account or service principal has the necessary permissions to delete the container. Typically, you need Owner or Contributor permissions for the resource group, or the specific ACI, to perform the deletion.

Check your role in the Azure Portal under Access Control (IAM).

Ensure that the account you're using has sufficient permissions.

Use Azure CLI to Delete

Sometimes, the Azure Portal might not respond as expected due to interface issues or API timeouts. You can try deleting the container using Azure CLI instead:

Open a Command Prompt or Azure Cloud Shell.

Run the following command to delete the container instance:

az container delete --resource-group <your-resource-group> --name <your-container-name> --yes

Check Resource Group for Locks

Ensure that there are no resource locks applied to the container or the resource group, as these can prevent deletion.

Go to Azure Portal > Resource Groups > Select your resource group.

Under Settings, click on Locks.

If there is any lock (e.g., ReadOnly or CanNotDelete), remove it by selecting the lock and choosing Delete.

Check for Active Connections or Networking Issues

If the container is connected to any external resources (e.g., storage accounts, virtual networks), ensure that those connections are not active or dependent on the container.

Review the networking setup and any active connections in the Azure Portal under Networking and Storage.

If the container is part of a virtual network, ensure that there are no conflicts or issues that prevent the deletion.

Wait and Retry (or Use Retry-Logic)

Sometimes, Azure resources experience transient issues, and the deletion might fail due to internal service errors or background processes. It can help to wait a few minutes and retry the deletion.

Check Resource Group for Locks

Ensure that there are no resource locks applied to the container or the resource group, as these can prevent deletion.

Go to Azure Portal > Resource Groups > Select your resource group.

Under Settings, click on Locks.

If there is any lock (e.g., ReadOnly or CanNotDelete), remove it by selecting the lock and choosing Delete.

Check for Active Connections or Networking Issues

If the container is connected to any external resources (e.g., storage accounts, virtual networks), ensure that those connections are not active or dependent on the container.

Review the networking setup and any active connections in the Azure Portal under Networking and Storage.

If the container is part of a virtual network, ensure that there are no conflicts or issues that prevent the deletion.

Wait and Retry (or Use Retry-Logic)

Sometimes, Azure resources experience transient issues, and the deletion might fail due to internal service errors or background processes. It can help to wait a few minutes and retry the deletion. az container delete --resource-group <your-resource-group> --name <your-container-name> --yes --no-wait
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-03-18T11:30:52.89+00:00

Dear Rahul,

There are no resource blocks and I also let it sit through the weekend. Using Azure CLI returns exact internal server error message.
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-03-18T11:32:01.8866667+00:00

the container is also not running
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-03-18T11:32:34.7666667+00:00

permissions: I am owner of the account.
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-19T13:09:45.55+00:00

Hi @Saulo Paiva,

Can we take this discussion on the Private message.

Thank You!
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-09T12:33:51.9066667+00:00

Hi Nikhil,

I've reviewed all resource locks - nothing to see. It's a very simple container setup with not much connected to it at all. I still get the following error:

Failed to delete the container instances in container group 'xxx'. Error: Encountered an internal server error. The tracking activity id is 'bee0ae7a-9806-4b49-8e65-8eecd26da2de', correlation id is '9a775b5e-5d8f-4efd-9a5a-5e007c97e5a7'.
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-12T10:10:21.1+00:00

@Nikhil Duserla I can't figure out how to send a private message! XD
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-12T10:58:26.34+00:00

@Saulo Paiva Please look into this image and navigate to private message.
Arko 4,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-16T05:59:29.8966667+00:00

Following up on this Saulo Paiva Hope you got a chance to check my above suggestion. Let me know your findings
Arko 4,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-17T03:30:33.6966667+00:00

Following up on this. Hope your issue is resolved Saulo.
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-19T11:22:55.98+00:00

az rest --method delete --url "https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/xxxxx/resourceGroups/devtchcluster1/providers/Microsoft.ContainerInstance/containerGroups/xxxxx?api-version=2023-05-01"

Internal Server Error({"error":{"code":"InternalServerError","message":"Encountered an internal server error. The tracking activity id is 'xxxx', correlation id is 'xxxx'."}})

same error as web ui
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-19T12:07:48.1266667+00:00

and network profile returns blank

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Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-17T18:31:22.03+00:00

Hi @Saulo Paiva,

We understand from your query that you are experiencing an issue while trying to delete ACI.

Verify that all the associated resources (like networking resources, load balancers, storage accounts, etc.) are correctly deleted. Sometimes, the container instances are attached to a load balancer, and if it's still active or improperly configured, it can block the deletion.

also, encounter an internal server error while attempting to delete an Azure container instance with resource locks, begin by checking for any active locks that might be preventing the deletion. To do this, go to the resource group in the Azure portal and review the "Locks" section. If there are any locks, consider removing them before trying the deletion again.

If you have any further queries, do let us know.
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-18T07:55:36+00:00

Hi @Saulo Paiva,

Checking to see whether you have resolved the issue or if you need any further assistance, please let us know. We are happy to help.
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-03-18T11:30:52.89+00:00

Dear Rahul,

There are no resource blocks and I also let it sit through the weekend. Using Azure CLI returns exact internal server error message.
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-03-18T11:32:01.8866667+00:00

the container is also not running
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-03-18T11:32:34.7666667+00:00

permissions: I am owner of the account.
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-19T13:09:45.55+00:00

Hi @Saulo Paiva,

Can we take this discussion on the Private message.

Thank You!
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-09T12:33:51.9066667+00:00

Hi Nikhil,

I've reviewed all resource locks - nothing to see. It's a very simple container setup with not much connected to it at all. I still get the following error:

Failed to delete the container instances in container group 'xxx'. Error: Encountered an internal server error. The tracking activity id is 'bee0ae7a-9806-4b49-8e65-8eecd26da2de', correlation id is '9a775b5e-5d8f-4efd-9a5a-5e007c97e5a7'.
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-12T10:10:21.1+00:00

@Nikhil Duserla I can't figure out how to send a private message! XD
Nikhil Duserla 7,935 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-12T10:58:26.34+00:00

@Saulo Paiva Please look into this image and navigate to private message.
Arko 4,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-16T05:59:29.8966667+00:00

Following up on this Saulo Paiva Hope you got a chance to check my above suggestion. Let me know your findings
Arko 4,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-17T03:30:33.6966667+00:00

Following up on this. Hope your issue is resolved Saulo.
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-19T11:22:55.98+00:00

az rest --method delete --url "https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/xxxxx/resourceGroups/devtchcluster1/providers/Microsoft.ContainerInstance/containerGroups/xxxxx?api-version=2023-05-01"

Internal Server Error({"error":{"code":"InternalServerError","message":"Encountered an internal server error. The tracking activity id is 'xxxx', correlation id is 'xxxx'."}})

same error as web ui
Saulo Paiva 20 Reputation points

2025-05-19T12:07:48.1266667+00:00

and network profile returns blank

Answer 1

Hello Saulo Paiva,

The issue has now been resolved. The container group that was previously returning InternalServerError during deletion has been successfully removed by the Azure engineering team from the backend.

The root cause was a metadata inconsistency within the Azure Container Instances platform. A manual backend purge was necessary to remove it.

It was a backend fault within the Azure Container Instances platform. From what I can understand is the issue here is that the ACI resource is failing to delete due to an internal platform error, which Azure surfaces as an InternalServerError. This could happen when there is a backend inconsistency or corruption in the container group metadata, or when orphaned dependencies like network profiles, DNS links, or virtual network attachments are incorrectly marked as still in use by the platform, even though the container itself is stopped and no locks are present. These stale references block the deletion operation and cannot always be resolved through the normal az container delete command or the Azure Portal.

From what I can see in the entire conversation so far is you've confirmed there are no resource locks on the container or resource group. You mentioned the container is not running and does not have any active services. You tried deleting through the Azure CLI and got the same internal server error. You waited over the weekend to rule out transient backend issues and you confirmed that you are the owner of the subscription and thus have full permissions.

At this point, my suggestion would be to try to bypass the CLI and portal layers and instead directly trigger the deletion through ARM REST API. You can use the az rest command in Cloud Shell or your local terminal and you'll need to construct the full REST URL to the container group and call the DELETE method against it.

Something like this-

az rest --method delete --url "https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/<your-subscription-id>/resourceGroups/<your-rg>/providers/Microsoft.ContainerInstance/containerGroups/<container-group-name>?api-version=2023-05-01"

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/use-azure-cli-rest-command?view=azure-cli-latest&tabs=bash#use-delete-to-delete-your-azure-container-registry

This command calls the Azure ARM API directly and often resolves deletion issues by forcing a backend cleanup.

If this still fails, I recommend checking whether your container instance has an attached network profile by running

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/container?view=azure-cli-latest#az-container-show-examples

az container show --resource-group <your-rg> --name <container-group-name> --query "properties.networkProfile.id"

If a network profile is listed, it may be holding onto a virtual network reference that’s blocking the deletion. In that case, try deleting the network profile directly with

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/network/profile?view=azure-cli-latest#az-network-profile-delete

az network profile delete --ids <network-profile-id>

After removing it, retry the container group deletion. Let me know your findings. Based on that we can accordingly take next course of action. Thanks

Arko 4,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-22T11:47:55.38+00:00

Hello Saulo Paiva, please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

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I can't delete azure container instance, returns internalservererror

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