How long to Octopus cards work?
 

I know that they deactivate automatically 1000 days after the last reload, but if that happens, you just go to a service counter and when they scan it with an online scanner, it will reactivate, including restoring the old balance.

My question is not about that, but about how long the cards themselves will continue to work. I thought the answer was "indefinitely," but during a recent trip, an interesting thing happened. Among my group, we had a card for each of us left over from a previous trip. One of them had not been used for 10-12 years. It was reactivated without trouble, but each time it was used, the turnstile (or reader on a bus) would make an unusual sound that other cards didn't, even though it otherwise worked. It was not a student, senior, or any other kind of concessionary card. When held against the "check your balance" machine in an MTR station, instead of displaying the balance and transaction history, it just displayed a message in Chinese. Google Translate said that it said "Replace card," but since it was otherwise working, we didn't bother.

So, how long will they continue to work before you must replace them? And, what is causing them to be "too old" such that this special beep is made by the readers? Is it some notion of component aging whereby they recommend replacement after a certain fixed period of time, or is it that there have been security enhancements over time and they want you on a later revision, or something else?

I still have one from the original lot in 1997 that's almost 20 years old now. It would be fun to be able to keep using it.

When I was in HK in May, my mother had urged me to get my Octopus card replaced. Since I didn't experience any trouble with mine, along with the fact that I was only home for thirty hours, I passed on doing so. I think someone on the ground in Hong Kong would have more information but I think this is all related to an actual program to get users to update their Octopus cards.

You mention that one of your party hadn't used their card in at least a decade, which would lead me to believe that his/her card is considered an on-loan/anonymous card (I have one too, FWIW), which would qualify for a replacement.

http://www.octopus.com.hk/cardreplacement/en/index.html
http://www.octopus.com.hk/cardreplac.../en/index.html

Ah, those links provide a complete answer - thanks! It looks like I still have some more time to milk additional life out of my 1997 card.

Has anyone ever had trouble with using or resurrecting the proper $ amount left on an Octopus card, after not using it for a year or something like that?

I visit HKG every year. Because I'm so worried that the left-over value may not reappear correctly after not using the card for a year, I always turn in my card at the end of the trip. But am I worrying about nothing? I'd rather not have to line up to get a card and to turn in the card and then lose 9HKD or whatever each trip.

I don't keep meticulous records but I've been using the same Octopus card since 2012 with a 1+ year gap in there and there was at least some money left on it.

Maybe I'll take a chance next time and keep mine and see what happens.

evergrn - You should definitely just keep the card. If it requires reactivation, so be it. Otherwise, you'll still need to go to the counter and purchase a new one anyways. And, never heard of anyone "losing" money on a dormant card.

Okay. Will definitely take your advice.

Once upon a time, my Japanese public phone card didn't work after ~6month hiatus. Had no way of recouping whatever value was left on it. This was a flimsy card with magnetic stripe, though. So Octopus card should be a different matter.

Just chiming in with another data point here.

I go home to HK on average about once a year and have kept my same Octopus card since I got mine some time in the early 2000s. I always leave some value on it as I don't like to fuss about with getting it loaded while at HKIA and I have never had trouble using the same card over and over.

FWIW, same sort of thing with my Suica IC card for use on all the major Japanese public transport systems. I've never had a problem with that one either.

As I mentioned in the OP, I recently used an Octopus card that hadn't been used in over 10 years - no problem.

The rules for Suica are different. Octopus automatically deactivates after 1000 days, but can be instantly reactivated at a service desk. Suica deactivates after 10 years of non-use, but the value is gone at that point.

Okay, I should stop turning in my Suica also.

Aren't Suica and Octopus card same technology as hotel room entry cards (tap kind, not the swipe)? If so, then I wonder what's to keep Suica and Octopus from going bad when the hotel ones crap out all the time.

The JR East website indicates that one can still get value from an inactive card.

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/suica.html#category07

I've had them go bad before.

If your Octopus card goes bad, then you take it to a service centre in any MTR station. They'll give you a receipt, and you'll need to return in a few days to get your refund. (Even if the chip is completely bust, there's a blind stamped serial number on the card, so they can determine the unused amount on that card from their usage records.)

Yes. The process is pretty simple, and replacement cards tend to be more robust than their old school predecessors.