diff --git a/ann_benchmark_gcp.sh b/ann_benchmark_gcp.sh
index 9e215936..90d275ef 100755
--- a/ann_benchmark_gcp.sh
+++ b/ann_benchmark_gcp.sh
@@ -18,8 +18,23 @@ function cleanup {
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
-echo "sleeping 30s for ssh to be ready"
-sleep 30
+# Busy loop to wait for SSH to be ready with a timeout of 5 minutes
+echo "Waiting for SSH to be ready..."
+SECONDS=0
+timeout=300
+while [ $SECONDS -lt $timeout ]; do
+  if gcloud compute ssh --zone $ZONE $instance --command="echo SSH is ready" &>/dev/null; then
+    break
+  fi
+  echo "SSH not ready, retrying in 5 seconds..."
+  sleep 5
+  SECONDS=$((SECONDS + 5))
+done
+
+if [ $SECONDS -ge $timeout ]; then
+  echo "Timeout: VM is not SSH'able after 300 seconds"
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 gcloud compute scp --zone $ZONE --recurse install_docker_ubuntu.sh "$instance:~"
 gcloud compute ssh --zone $ZONE $instance -- 'sh install_docker_ubuntu.sh'
diff --git a/ann_benchmark_quantization_aws.sh b/ann_benchmark_quantization_aws.sh
index 7ba24abc..9d61d568 100755
--- a/ann_benchmark_quantization_aws.sh
+++ b/ann_benchmark_quantization_aws.sh
@@ -33,12 +33,55 @@ instance_id=$(aws ec2 run-instances --image-id $ami --count 1 --instance-type $M
 echo "instance ready: $instance_id"
 
 function cleanup() {
-  aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids "$instance_id" --region "$region" | jq
-  aws ec2 wait instance-terminated --instance-ids "$instance_id" --region "$region"
-  aws ec2 delete-key-pair --key-name "$key_id" --region "$region" | jq
-  aws ec2 delete-security-group --group-id "$group_id" --region "$region" | jq
+  set +e  # Continue cleanup even if individual commands fail
+
+  if [ ! -z "$instance_id" ]; then
+    echo "Terminating instance $instance_id"
+    aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids "$instance_id" --region "$region" | jq || true
+
+    # Busy loop to wait for instance termination with timeout
+    echo "Waiting for instance to terminate..."
+    SECONDS=0
+    timeout=300
+    while [ $SECONDS -lt $timeout ]; do
+      status=$(aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids "$instance_id" --region "$region" | jq -r '.Reservations[0].Instances[0].State.Name' || echo "error")
+      if [ "$status" = "terminated" ]; then
+        echo "Instance successfully terminated"
+        break
+      elif [ "$status" = "error" ]; then
+        echo "Instance not found - assuming terminated"
+        break
+      fi
+      echo "Instance status: $status"
+      sleep 5
+      SECONDS=$((SECONDS + 5))
+    done
+
+    if [ $SECONDS -ge $timeout ]; then
+      echo "Error: Timeout waiting for instance termination. Please check AWS instances for manual cleanup."
+      exit 1
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  if [ ! -z "$key_id" ]; then
+    echo "Deleting key pair $key_id"
+    aws ec2 delete-key-pair --key-name "$key_id" --region "$region" | jq || true
+    rm -f "${key_id}.pem" || true
+  fi
+
+  if [ ! -z "$group_id" ]; then
+    echo "Deleting security group $group_id"
+    # Add retry loop for security group deletion since it might fail if instance is still terminating
+    for i in {1..6}; do
+      if aws ec2 delete-security-group --group-id "$group_id" --region "$region" | jq; then
+        break
+      fi
+      echo "Retrying security group deletion in 10 seconds..."
+      sleep 10
+    done
+  fi
 }
-trap cleanup EXIT
+trap cleanup EXIT SIGINT SIGTERM ERR
 
 dns_name=
 for i in {1..600}; do
diff --git a/ann_benchmark_quantization_gcp.sh b/ann_benchmark_quantization_gcp.sh
index e17a5624..dd2e5f51 100755
--- a/ann_benchmark_quantization_gcp.sh
+++ b/ann_benchmark_quantization_gcp.sh
@@ -18,8 +18,23 @@ function cleanup {
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
-echo "sleeping 30s for ssh to be ready"
-sleep 30
+# Busy loop to wait for SSH to be ready with a timeout of 5 minutes
+echo "Waiting for SSH to be ready..."
+SECONDS=0
+timeout=300
+while [ $SECONDS -lt $timeout ]; do
+  if gcloud compute ssh --zone $ZONE $instance --command="echo SSH is ready" &>/dev/null; then
+    break
+  fi
+  echo "SSH not ready, retrying in 5 seconds..."
+  sleep 5
+  SECONDS=$((SECONDS + 5))
+done
+
+if [ $SECONDS -ge $timeout ]; then
+  echo "Timeout: VM is not SSH'able after 300 seconds"
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 gcloud compute scp --zone $ZONE --recurse install_docker_ubuntu.sh "$instance:~"
 gcloud compute ssh --zone $ZONE $instance -- 'sh install_docker_ubuntu.sh'