When the gate rejects your card
The gate beeps, the flaps shut and there is a queue behind you. Step aside — nobody minds — and work down this list. Five of the six causes take seconds to fix without talking to anybody.
- Two cards at once. If your Suica shares a wallet with another IC card or a contactless bank card, the gate reads both and refuses. Take the Suica out and tap it alone.
- Not enough balance. The gate needs the minimum fare on the card before it lets you in. Top up at the machine beside the gates.
- You are hovering. FeliCa wants contact, not proximity. Lay the card or phone flat on the panel for a full second.
- Wrong phone face. Tap the top rear of the phone against the reader; the antenna is not under the screen.
- You crossed an IC area boundary. A journey has to begin and end inside the same IC area — Tokyo to Sendai on local lines does not qualify. Go to the window with the card.
- You entered on a different card. Whatever tapped in has to tap out. Using a phone in and plastic out will always fail.
The battery question
A phone that has run flat may still tap for a few hours in power reserve on recent iPhones, but a fully dead battery is a dead card. If the phone will not wake at all, buy a paper ticket and settle up at the destination.
When it is genuinely the card
A physical card that has not been used in ten years is deactivated, and a Welcome Suica past its 28-day validity or a Welcome Suica Mobile past 180 days simply stops working. In these cases the window is the only route.
Regions that left the scheme
Local operators in Kumamoto withdrew from the nationwide mutual-use scheme in November 2024, so a Suica does not pay for their buses and local trains. A handful of other regional operators have never joined. Check the operator’s own signage.
All guides
- Adding Suica to Apple Wallet
- Setting up Welcome Suica Mobile
- When your card is refused at the Suica top-up
- Topping up with cash
- Buying a physical IC card
- Refunds and leftover balance
- How long each card lasts
Frequently asked questions
The gate said "insufficient balance" but I have money on the card.
The gate checks against the minimum fare from that station, not against zero. A balance of 100 yen is money, but it is not enough to be let in.
Can I use one Suica for two people?
No. One card admits one person through the gate. A group needs one card each, or paper tickets.
I tapped in but forgot to tap out. What now?
Go to the window at the station you are at and explain. Staff can clear the open journey. Leaving it unresolved will make your next tap fail.
Sources
- Suica (JR East, English) — JR East (Last checked 2026-09-09)
- Welcome Suica Mobile (JR East) — JR East (Last checked 2026-09-09)