[How-to] I lost my SSH key for EC2! Steps to get into your instance back

Here you will find several methods to access your EC2 if you lost you SSH key

If the instance is EBS backed:

• Stop the instance, detach the root volume
• Attach the root volume to another instance as a data volume
• Modify the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file with your new key
• Move the the volume back to the stopped instance
• Start the instance and you can SSH into it again

If the instance is EBS (new method 🧙):

• Run the AWSSupport-ResetAccess automation document in SSM

Instance Store backed EC2:

• You cannot stop the instance (otherwise data is lost) - AWS recommends termination
• Use Session Manager access and edit the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file directly

references

• Connect to your Linux instance if you lose your private key.
• AWSSupport-ResetAccess