When you need to stop data communication for a device, Soracom Air offers three primary statuses: Inactive, Suspended, and Terminated. While all three effectively disable data communication, they differ significantly in their intended use cases, technical behaviors, and associated fees.
For a comprehensive overview of all available states, please refer to the Subscriber Status documentation.
Inactive Status
The Inactive status is ideal for short-term pauses, such as during device shipping, maintenance, or brief troubleshooting.
- Basic Fees: The standard basic daily or monthly fee continues to apply, depending on your plan, just as if the device were Active.
- Reactivation Fees: There is no cost to transition an IoT SIM between the Active and Inactive statuses.
- Technical Behavior: SIMs in the Inactive status do not return a permanent rejection to devices when sessions are denied. Devices with aggressive retry mechanisms may attempt to reconnect repeatedly, which can potentially create signaling storms.
Because there are no status change fees, Inactive is the most cost-effective option when you only need to disable a device temporarily.
Suspended Status
The Suspended status is intended for long-term storage or extended periods of disuse.
- Basic Fees: Neither daily nor monthly basic fees are incurred while the SIM is suspended.
- Reactivation Fees: While changing a SIM to Suspended is free, a reactivation fee is charged when transitioning the IoT SIM back to the Active or Inactive status.
- Renewal Fees: If an IoT SIM remains in the Suspended status for an extended period, a renewal fee may apply to maintain the line (the exact timing depends on your specific plan).
- Technical Behavior: SIMs in the Suspended status return a permanent rejection when sessions are denied. This generally prevents devices from attempting to create additional sessions until they are rebooted.
Devices will typically need to be rebooted after the SIM returns to Active status before they can resume communication.
If a device ignores the permanent rejection and repeatedly attempts to reconnect while the SIM is Suspended, it generates repeated signaling to the cellular base station. If this behavior continues, Soracom may reactivate the SIM without notice, and normal fees will apply. For more details, see the Subscriber Status documentation.
Although reactivating a Suspended SIM incurs a one-time fee, the complete waiver of daily and monthly basic fees makes this the most economical choice for long-term pauses.
Terminated Status
If you no longer need your IoT SIM, you can Terminate it to stop all fees immediately.
Terminating an IoT SIM is a permanent action and cannot be undone. Once terminated, an IoT SIM can never be re-activated.
This status is strictly for permanent cancellation.
Comparison Summary
The following table provides a quick overview of the differences between the three statuses:
| Feature | Inactive | Suspended | Terminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intended Use | Short-term (shipping, maintenance) | Long-term storage | Permanent cancellation |
| Can be re-activated? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Basic Fees | Standard Daily/Monthly Fee | Waived | None |
| Reactivation Fee | None | Yes | N/A |
| Data Usage Fees | None | None | None |
For detailed costs regarding reactivation, suspension, and daily or monthly rates for your specific plan, please review the Pricing documentation.