When you need to stop data communication for a device, Soracom Air offers three main statuses: Inactive, Suspended, and Terminated. Functionally, all three disable data communication, but they differ in fees incurred, technical behavior, and intended duration.
For a complete overview of all states, please refer to the Subscriber Status documentation.
Inactive Status
The Inactive status is designed for short-term pauses, such as during device shipping or brief troubleshooting.
- Basic Fee: The standard basic daily fee continues to apply, just as if the device were Active.
- Reactivation Fee: There are no fees to change an IoT SIM between the Active and Inactive statuses.
- Technical Behavior: SIMs in Inactive status do not return a permanent rejection to devices when sessions are denied. Devices with aggressive retry behavior may attempt to reconnect repeatedly, potentially creating signaling storms.
Because there is no cost to change the status, Inactive is best used if you only need to disable your device for a short period.
Suspended Status
The Suspended status is designed for long-term storage or extended periods of disuse.
- Basic Fee: Depending on your plan (e.g., plan01s, plan-US), the basic daily fee is either waived or significantly reduced.
- Reactivation Fee: While changing to Suspended is free, a reactivation fee is incurred when changing the IoT SIM back to Active or Inactive status.
- Renewal Fee: If an IoT SIM remains in the Suspended status for an extended period (e.g., more than one year for plan01s), a renewal fee may apply to maintain the line.
- Technical Behavior: SIMs in Suspended status return a permanent rejection when sessions are denied. This 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 will resume communication.
Although reactivating a Suspended SIM incurs a one-time fee, the waiver of the daily basic fee makes this option more economical for extended periods.
Terminated Status
If you no longer need your IoT SIM, you can Terminate it to stop all fees immediately.
Terminating an IoT SIM is permanent and cannot be undone. Once terminated, an IoT SIM cannot be re-activated.
Comparison Summary
The following table provides an overview of the differences:
| 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 Fee | Waived or Reduced | None |
| Reactivation Fee | None | Yes | N/A |
| Data Usage Fees | None | None | None |
For specific costs regarding reactivation, suspension, and daily rates for your specific plan, please check the Pricing documentation.