Enable the image quata for b series

Hello @Chetan Yeole

Why B1s/B1ls Shows as "Unavailable" with Quota = 0 in East US

There are two things going on here:

1. Regional capacity constraints for free-tier subscriptions: Popular regions like East US see very high demand for B-series VMs on free accounts. Microsoft may have quota set to 0 for the Standard B Family in that region for new free subscriptions, which is why the portal shows the size as "Unavailable"

2. B-series v1 is being gradually retired: Standard_B1s and Standard_B1ls (B-series version 1) are in a phased retirement across Azure regions. For newer subscriptions, these sizes may be restricted or unavailable in certain regions, particularly high-demand ones like East US.

The important thing to understand is that free account subscriptions are not eligible for quota increase requests. If you try to submit a quota increase ticket, Azure will reject it at the form level. This is a known platform limitation.

What You Can Do Right Now

Option 1 – Use the Free Services page (not the generic VM creation page)

This is the most common mistake. Creating a VM from the general "Virtual machines" blade in the portal doesn't always pre-select free-tier eligible options. Instead, go directly to the Free Services page:

Azure Portal – Free Services
https://portal.azure.com/#blade/Microsoft_Azure_Billing/FreeServicesBlade

From there, click on the VM free service. This path pre-selects the right size and configuration to keep you within the free tier limits.

Create free services with Azure free account
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/create-free-services

Option 2 – Try a Different Region

The free benefit is available in any region where B-series VMs are offered — you're not locked into East US. If East US is showing unavailable, try:

• West US 2
• Central US
• Canada Central
• Australia East
• Southeast Asia

As Microsoft's docs confirm, you can provision a B1S VM in West Europe and still use your US-based free account benefit — region doesn't affect eligibility, only availability matters.

Azure free account – Products available by region
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/global-infrastructure/products-by-region/

Option 3 – Try the Newer Free-Eligible VM Sizes.

Microsoft has expanded the free tier to include two additional VM types alongside B1s, and these often have better availability in more regions since they're newer:

All three are eligible for 750 free hours per month under the 12-month free account benefit. The B2ats v2 (AMD-based) in particular tends to have good regional availability.

Note: When creating the B2pts v2 (ARM-based), make sure to select Arm64 as the VM architecture in the portal, otherwise it won't appear in the size list.

Create free services – VM options
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/create-free-services

Quota Increases on Free Accounts

Just to set the right expectation: free trial and free account subscriptions are not eligible for quota increases. If you need to request a quota change, you would first need to upgrade to Pay-As-You-Go (no charges apply as long as you stay within free tier limits after upgrading). Once upgraded, you can submit a quota request via:

Increase VM-family vCPU quotas
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/quotas/per-vm-quota-requests

Quick Tip on VM Disk

When creating any of these VMs, use a 64GB Premium SSD (P6) as the OS disk — that's the disk size that falls within the free tier. Using a larger or different disk type will generate charges.

In summary: the fastest path forward for testing and learning is to try creating the VM from the Free Services page in a different region, or swap to B2ats v2 which is also fully covered under your free account.

Thanks,
Manish.

Hi,

The B1s/B1ls are part of B v1 series and are scheduled to be retired in 2028. In preparation for this it is being restricted on new subscriptions and capacity is limited in many regions.

The replacement is to use B2ts_v2 or B2ats_v2 instead. These sizes may or may not be available to you in East US due to capacity constraints and limitations if your subscription is still in initial 30 day trial period. If they are not available in East US you may try different regions.

If you have upgraded your subscription to Pay-As-You-Go you may navigate to Quotas in Azure portal and request quota for these sizes in desired region(s). Below is the link to Quotas:

https://portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Capacity/QuotaMenuBlade/~/myQuotas

Click on Region filter at the top and select your desired region, then click on pencil icon to the right of the series (e.g. Standard Bsv2 Family vCPUs or Standard Basv2 Family vCPUs) you would like to request quota for.

Please click Accept Answer and upvote if the above was helpful.

Thanks.

-TP