diff --git a/deploy/awstools/awstools.py b/deploy/awstools/awstools.py
index 18b98621..bb4e1058 100755
--- a/deploy/awstools/awstools.py
+++ b/deploy/awstools/awstools.py
@@ -50,6 +50,22 @@ def get_f1_ami_name() -> str:
             print("Unknown $USER (expected centos/amzn). Defaulting to the Centos AWS EC2 AMI.")
         return "FPGA Developer AMI - 1.12.2-40257ab5-6688-4c95-97d1-e251a40fd1fc"
 
+def get_incremented_f1_ami_name(ami_name: str, increment: int) -> str:
+    """ For an ami_name of the format "STUFF - X.Y.Z-hash-stuff",
+    return ami_name, but with Z incremented by increment for auto-bumping
+    the AMI on hotfix releases. """
+    base_name = get_f1_ami_name()
+    split1 = base_name.split(" - ")
+    prefix = split1[0] + " - "
+
+    split2 = split1[1].split("-")
+    suffix = "-" + "-".join(split2[1:])
+
+    version_number = list(map(int, split2[0].split(".")))
+    version_number[-1] += increment
+    version_number_str = ".".join(map(str, version_number))
+    return prefix + version_number_str + suffix
+
 class MockBoto3Instance:
     """ This is used for testing without actually launching instances. """
 
@@ -286,13 +302,23 @@ def awsinit() -> None:
     else:
         rootLogger.info("You did not supply an email address. No notifications will be sent.")
 
-
 # AMIs are region specific
 def get_f1_ami_id() -> str:
     """ Get the AWS F1 Developer AMI by looking up the image name -- should be region independent.
     """
     client = boto3.client('ec2')
-    response = client.describe_images(Filters=[{'Name': 'name', 'Values': [get_f1_ami_name()]}])
+    # Try up to MAX_ATTEMPTS additional hotfix versions of an AMI if the
+    # initial one fails.
+    MAX_ATTEMPTS = 10
+    for increment in range(MAX_ATTEMPTS):
+        ami_search_name = get_incremented_f1_ami_name(get_f1_ami_name(), increment)
+        if increment > 0:
+            rootLogger.warning(f"AMI {get_f1_ami_name()} not found. Trying: {ami_search_name}.")
+        response = client.describe_images(Filters=[{'Name': 'name', 'Values': [ami_search_name]}])
+        if len(response['Images']) >= 1:
+            if increment > 0:
+                rootLogger.warning(f"AMI {get_f1_ami_name()} not found. Successfully found: {ami_search_name}.")
+            break
     assert len(response['Images']) == 1
     return response['Images'][0]['ImageId']
 
diff --git a/docs/Getting-Started-Guides/AWS-EC2-F1-Tutorial/Initial-Setup/Setting-up-your-Manager-Instance.rst b/docs/Getting-Started-Guides/AWS-EC2-F1-Tutorial/Initial-Setup/Setting-up-your-Manager-Instance.rst
index 950ac747..88593c89 100644
--- a/docs/Getting-Started-Guides/AWS-EC2-F1-Tutorial/Initial-Setup/Setting-up-your-Manager-Instance.rst
+++ b/docs/Getting-Started-Guides/AWS-EC2-F1-Tutorial/Initial-Setup/Setting-up-your-Manager-Instance.rst
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ To launch a manager instance, follow these steps:
    ``FPGA Developer AMI - 1.12.2-40257ab5-6688-4c95-97d1-e251a40fd1fc`` and
    select the AMI that appears under the **Community AMIs** tab (there
    should be only one). **DO NOT USE ANY OTHER VERSION.** For example, **do not** use `FPGA Developer AMI` from the *AWS Marketplace AMIs* tab, as you will likely get an incorrect version of the AMI.
+   If you find that there are no results for this search, you can try incrementing the last part of the version number in the search string, e.g., ``1.12.2 -> 1.12.3``. Other parts of the search term should be unchanged.
 #. In the *Instance Type* drop-down, select the instance type of
    your choosing. A good choice is a ``c5.4xlarge`` (16 cores, 32 GiB) or a ``z1d.2xlarge`` (8 cores, 64 GiB).
 #. In the *Key pair (login)* drop-down, select the ``firesim`` key pair we setup earlier.
@@ -72,6 +73,23 @@ To launch a manager instance, follow these steps:
 
 #. Click the orange *Launch Instance* button.
 
+
+.. warning::
+    Recently, some AWS users been having issues with the launch process (after
+    you click ``Launch Instance``) getting stuck trying to "Subscribe" to the
+    AMI even when the account is already subscribed. We have been able to
+    bypass this issue by going to the FPGA Developer AMI page on AWS
+    Marketplace, clicking subscribe (even if already subscribed), then clicking
+    "Continue to Configuration", then verify the correct AMI version and 
+    region are selected and click "Continue to Launch". Finally, change
+    the dropdown that says "Launch from Website" to "Launch through EC2" and
+    click "Launch". At this point, you will be brought back to
+    the usual launch instance page, but the AMI will be pre-selected and you
+    will be able to successfully launch at the end, after updating the rest
+    of the options as noted above.
+
+
+
 Access your instance
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~