- ‘Payment Not Completed’ Recharge and Network Issues
- Broken NFC or Bricked iPhone
- Transfer to new iPhone issues
- Plastic card fails to transfer
- Transit gate issues
- Support topic links
Troubleshooting checklist
Before you begin, check the following: (1) make sure iPhone has a robust network connection, public wifi spots often cause connectivity problems (2) Location Services are turned on for Wallet, (3) you are outside of the nightly 2 am~4 am JST system maintenance downtime when setting up Suica in Apple Wallet or adding money to Suica with Apple Pay, (4) Apple Pay system status andMobile Suica status for any service disruptions (5) check your card issuer for temporary fraud prevention blocks, some VISA foreign issue cards only allow Apple Pay to add money to Suica when your iPhone is located in Japan.
‘Payment Not Completed’ Recharge and Network Issues
A ‘Payment Not Completed’ error when trying to add money to Apple Pay Suica can mean 2 things: (1) your card was blocked by the card payment network or (2) the recharge failed due to poor network connection.
Non-JP issue VISA card payment block
Some payment card networks, especially VISA, block Suica recharge in Wallet app when the iPhone is located outside of Japan. Location blocked payment cards show a Payment Not Completed error when attempting to add money in Wallet. Location Services must be turned on to use Apple Pay payment cards to add money to Suica but for some cards you may have to wait until you are in Japan to add money to Suica with a location blocked card. The same applies for problems when issuing Suica in Wallet app. If you are unable to issue a Suica before entering Japan, try again after entering the country with Location Services turned on. Make sure you use iOS 17.2 (or later). Non-JP VISA cards do not work for direct Suica recharge on Apple Watch. Work around this limitation by recharging the Suica on Apple Watch with iPhone Watch app.
Poor network connection recharge failure
1. Cancel a stalled recharge by clicking the sleep button.
2. Turn off WiFi (do not use free WiFi spots) then toggle Airplane Mode off/on to reset the mobile connection.
3. Try recharge again after you have confirmed a robust network connection.
Don’t panic if you see multiple failed recharge attempts in your card or bank app
These are temporary charges not charged to your card, automatically removed by the Mobile Suica system during the next 2 am ~ 4 am JST nightly system maintenance period. Removed temporary charges don’t always immediately disappear from your bank app as their systems may take time to update. Contact your bank or card issuer to confirm.
If you still have recharge hang problems do this:
- Make sure you have the latest iOS installed and Location Services are turned on for Wallet app, also confirm the Apple Pay card billing address in card details matches the address of your issued card in the bank app. Payment cards using Apple Pay Enhanced Fraud Prevention (all VISA issue cards) may block certain transactions if Location Services are turned off or your device location is not the same country of the online transaction merchant (such as recharge attempts outside of Japan).
- Check Apple’s iCloud System Status page to make sure Apple Pay & Wallet services are online and not experiencing local region issues
- Restart iPhone.
If you still have recharge hang issues follow these additional steps (note that you cannot do these steps if you are in transit and have not tapped out at your final destination):
- Confirm that you are logged into the same Apple ID used to add Suica
- Open Wallet > select the Suica card > tap the details button ‘…’ > scroll to the bottom of the card > tap ‘Remove this card’.
- Wait 5 minutes.
- Tap add card ‘+’ in Wallet, tap Previous Cards in Add to Wallet screen
- Select your Suica in the Previous Cards screen, tap Continue.
- In Add Card the Suica you removed from Wallet should be showing with the balance, tap Next to complete.
If recharge still fails, download and open Suica App. If it displays a red exclamation mark and error code number, tap the red explanation mark, then tap ‘OK’.
This operation will clear most error problems. Give it 10 minutes or so to clear the problem.
When the card remove operation appears hung
If the Suica card appears hung “Removing/Deleting” in the iCloud device list, or if Wallet says the card cannot be removed because it is “In Transit”, sign out of Apple ID on your iPhone, restart the device, then login with the same Apple ID.
Card Unavailable Message
In some cases you may get a Card Unavailable screen when attempting to re-add Suica in Wallet:
This means there is a problem that the Mobile Suica system will clear during the nightly maintenance period. Wait for the end of the next 2 am~4 am JST maintenance window, then re-add the card.
**Troubleshooting notice for Apple Pay Commuter Suica users: Suica App re-adding Commuter Suica cards: there are cases when re-adding a Commuter Suica to Wallet the stored fare balance will show 0. Don’t panic if this happens. The stored fare balance is not lost and will be restored within 24 hours. This is done so that commuter passes can be re-added and used immediately even if there are remaining stored fare issues that will be fixed during the next Mobile Suica nightly maintenance reset. When the balance restore is ready it will show up as a Suica App notification. Restore the balance in Suica App via the Suica Pocket menu.
Broken NFC or bricked iPhone
If your iPhone repeatedly fails to work for all Apple Pay Suica transactions or all reader devices fail to respond to tapping, your device NFC may be broken or faulty, rare but it happens. Go to the nearest station manned gate counter and ask the station staff to check if your Suica is OK. Put the Suica in Service Mode by tapping ‘Service Mode’ in Suica card details and put iPhone on the Suica reader. If the result if NG, you need to contact Apple Support or go to the nearest Apple Store Genius Bar where they can run a detailed device diagnostic and outline repair options.
If your iPhone or Apple Watch becomes bricked due to damage the first step is following the same steps for a lost or wiped device: login to your Apple ID account on the web or from another trusted Apple ID device and remotely delete the Apple Pay cards from the bricked device.
Restoring Suica etc. is exactly the same as transferring Suica to a new iPhone. Once you successfully delete the card on the bricked device and are ready to restore the card to a new device, simply add the card using the iOS 15 or later Wallet app Previous Cards category.
Mobile Suica account users also have the option to reissue the Suica from a bricked device via the Mobile Suica members site. Once signed in you can check the online status and balance of the Suica card. Select the reissue option and follow the instructions. Users can also quit Mobile Suica and refund the remaining card balance to a Japanese bank account with a ¥220 handling fee.
Trouble transferring Suica to new iPhone
If you have problems with transferring Suica to a new iPhone see Move Suica to new iPhone or Recover Suica from a lost or wiped iPhone.
Trouble transferring plastic Suic to Wallet
If you have problems transferring a plastic Suica card to Wallet there are documented tips on the Apple Support page If you can’t transfer Suica, PASMO or ICOCA cards to your iPhone or Apple Watch.
In Progress transit gate issues
If a Suica user fails to tap out correctly when exiting the final gate and continues on despite the gate alarm, the Suica card status remains in a transit fare unpaid ‘in-progress‘ state. A ‘in-progress’ Suica card cannot be used for a new transit trip until the unpaid in-progress transit fare is settled by a station attendant. If you try to enter, the transit gate will close and flash red with an alarm sound. Take your iPhone to the station attendant and they will deduct the fare and reset the card. Be aware that you need to do this at a station of the same transit company of your the last trip.
If you enter a transit gate with Suica but exit outside of the Suica/PASMO region, you will have to pay cash fare for the entire trip. The station attendant will give you a paper receipt validating that you paid the fare. When you are in the Suica/PASMO region again, give the receipt and iPhone to a station attendant and they will reset it for you.
EX QR Ticket gate problem
EX and Eki-Net Shinkansen eTicket services are designed to be used with linked Transit IC cards for easy local transit to Shinkansen gate transfers by just tapping Apple Pay Suica (or PASMO / ICOCA) and work best that way. EX QR mobile tickets are designed for plastic Transit IC cards use only. Apple Pay Suica users cannot use EX QR tickets added to Wallet and Apple Pay Suica because the EX Shinkansen gate has a all-in-one combo NFC+QR reader. Print out paper QR EX tickets from a EX ticket machine if you are using Apple Pay Suica for local transit to Shinkansen gate.
JR East
Mobile Suica Support Portal
Apple Support
Add a Suica PASMO or ICOCA card to Apple Wallet
Using Suica, PASMO or ICOCA in Japan
If you can’t transfer plastic Suica, PASMO or ICOCA cards to your iPhone
If your transit card balance doesn’t update in Apple Wallet
Support Tips by Topic
General
Basic Suica Troubleshooting
Fare adjustments, In Progress transit and gate alerts
Reactivate a locked Suica
Suica recharge tips
Transfer • Recover • Remove
Move Suica to a new iPhone or Apple Watch
Recover Apple Pay Suica from Lost or Wiped iPhone
Remove Suica from Wallet but not lose them
Commute Plan Renewal • Purchase • Use
Apple Pay Suica Commute Plan Guide
Apple Pay Suica commute plan use when transfer protocol is in effect
Notifications and Sounds
Suica Notification and Reminder Settings
Suica Gate Sounds and What They Mean
Suica App
Unlocking Suica App Security Lock
Apple Pay Suica Paper Receipts
Mobile Suica Withdrawal Refund with fee
Mobile Suica Withdrawal for free
Other Topics
Fixing Suica Lockout
Apple Pay Suica Battery FUD
Suica Inbound Battery Strategies
Apple Pay Express Mode with power reserve
Apple Pay Express Mode Tips
iPhone X NFC Problem
Mobile Suica Service Hours (24 hour format)
Mobile Suica credit card recharge and other services run 22 hours daily from 4:00 (am) to 2:00 (am) Japan Standard Time (JST). Services have a 2 hour system downtime maintenance window or a little longer depending on the service. Using Mobile Suica use for payment and cash recharge is not affected by system maintenance and is always available.
Account Registration
04:00~02:00 Create new Mobile Suica account
05:00~00:50 Register and transfer Suica commuter pass to Mobile Suica account
Stored Fare Balance
04:00~02:00 Wallet App or Suica App recharge*
*(Cash recharge at stations, 7-11 ATMs, convenience stores is always available 24/7)
04:00~02:00 Auto-Charge registration/change settings/cancel (VEIW CARD)
05:00~00:50 View transaction history in Suica App
05:00~00:50 Download PDF receipts from Mobile Suica members site
Suica Commute Plans
05:00~23:45 Purchase, renew, refund or change commute plan route
Suica Green Car Tickets
04:00~00:50 Purchase Green Car Tickets in Suica App
05:00~00:50 Refund Green Car Tickets in Suica App
Suica Day Pass
04:00~23:45 Purchase Day Pass in Suica App
05:00~23:45 Refund Day Pass in Suica App
Other
05:00~23:45 Mobile Suica reissue
04:00~02:00 Transfer Suica to new device
05:00~23:45 Suica withdrawal refund
Last update: 2025-04-02
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