bocastephen

Try this:

1. delete SUICA
2. put the phone into the Japan region
3. reboot
4. re-add the SUICA app
5. re-add SUICA to your wallet
6. see if the balance comes back
7. put your phone back to the US region

freecia

Is it stuck activating? Have you tried waiting one calendar day? Failed to add saved Suica from the server to Walle | Suica Apple Pay ???????

socalgecko

socalgecko

bocastephen

Have you checked the account numbers? It looks like it might be adding the wrong one - maybe select the one with Y0 and it might add the one with the cash balance

socalgecko

The plot thickens! I get a new account number (with a 0 balance) each time I try to add the card with the 2091Y balance. When I tried adding the card with the 0 balance from the Add Cards screen instead, the same thing happened.

I'm beginning to think I may just have to write this card off as a loss...

bocastephen

I would just wait until you get to Japan and have someone at the JR ticket station try and fix it for you. You won't be needing the SUICA card until you get back there anyway.

blitzen

Hi,

Just started setting up Apple Pay with my CSR and then downloaded the SuicaEng app and created my Suica Card with Yen1000 which all worked fine. Then I added another Yen 1000 as a top up.
While this shows in Apple Pay and on Chase as Pending it doesn't reflect on the Suica card which still shows with Yen 1000 balance.

Does it just take time (that would be inconvenient if I need to refill on the spot in the future).

blitzen

Just solved the problem ..... I put the card into service mode and the Yen 1000 were added instantly. Hopefully this only needed to be done once and from tomoorow onwards all works fine (and my Suica ID is shown somewhere so I can use it with SmartEx if needed)

lsquare

I'm most likely going to be doing this going forward, but is there any protection for a user's balance? Given the language barrier, what do I do if my balance "disappears" or there are any discrepancies? I want to feel secured knowing that no matter how much money is in my account, it'll be protected.

freecia

Do you mean protected from fraudulent use? Or from tech bugs which results in it not appearing loaded like above and not able to retrieve it?

You can register a mobile card to a MySuica account which should allow Suica Tech Support to look up the balance and re-issue it, similar to a named suica IC card. A mobile suica (unnamed and MySuica) gets registered to your Apple Wallet.

Now, if you happen to lose your phone and don't mark the suica as lost in iCloud, someone could use Mobile Suica as the value is stored on the device. The device with Suica has been lost. | Suica Apple Pay ??????? Keep your iCloud account secure.

lsquare

How secured is the mobile card anyways? I quickly read some of the posts above mine, but I was in NYC so I don't remember the details, but didn't someone lost their balance? I always upgrade to the latest iPhones so I want to make sure that when I migrate I won't have any issues moving the mobile card to the new phone. Is the Suica website in English?

freecia

Their resolution is probably pending a visit to the JR office. Card balance looks available but it isn't loading to the wallet properly.

Apple Wallet is fairly secure when used properly and publishes a guide around this, which is a darn lot better than some wallets/payment systems. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203027

The Suica website is mostly in Japanese with the exception of a few help questions in English English | Suica Apple Pay ??????? I've been able to move my card & MySuica account but it can take a little finagling + ~ 5:00 am reset.

I don't keep a ton of cash loaded on a mobile suica between trips. If you're an occasional repeat visitor you also deal with variable forex anyhow and it is less risky to spend down the balance rather than load more on before leaving.

I might try loading some of extra coins onto mobile/spare IC on a Tokyo Metro machine next time. Probably IC as cards only go dormant after 10 years of non-use vs Mobile Suica getting locked after 6 months. It keeps a backup card active, too, as not all regions have IC receptacles on ticket machines which fit a watch or phone**. Some JR regions still just fit a card (Suica is JR East after all) and probably will be like that until Super Suica unifying all JR IC is fully rolled out.
** I tend to go to the outside major cities/stations to the country which can be cash fares only, unstaffed, and/or older "standard" fare machines. I'm not worried that my mobile suica would stop working but I do want a backup card which will work without a recharge in case of emergency or device loss/malfunction.

lsquare

If a resolution is a visit to the JR office, that could be problematic for someone that doesn't speak Japanese or is based overseas right?

Sorry for these stupid questions, but obviously my understanding of this isn't at the same level as you. My understanding was that my balance can never truly disappear especially if this is a technical related issue. I would prefer mobile Suica since I can reload with a credit card and not have to find a machine to reload. I tried reloading my Pasmo in Tokyo in May and I have to admit, the machine seems a bit complex and not very user friendly, but that's me.

What is this Super Suica that you were referring to?

I thought it was not possible to have mobile Suica and a physical Suica linked together. Are you saying that is possible? I wouldn't mind having a backup option. I also would prefer a card that can be used throughout Japan rather than just in Tokyo.

Thx a lot for taking the time to help educate me on this.

blitzen