I have a Suica card that’s about 6 years old at this point. It never had any issues before but recently it’s had a few, mostly letting me in despite not actually getting charged (and making me late explaining this to the station attendants and fixing fares at transfer points).
I’m getting a new one soon but I’m curious – is this a natural degradation of these cards? Do they generally only last a few years? I haven’t heard of anyone else’s ‘breaking down’, but I also don’t regularly chat about IC cards at work or social functions. Google is just telling me how long until an unused card is deactivated.
19 comments
Mine has been fine for almost 11 years!
I think as long as you don’t physically damage them they should work.
No there shouldn’t be a problem. I suspect perhaps you are either not tapping in/out properly, or at transfer stations you are going through the wrong route. Another possibility is you have a second IC card too close to that one and they are interfering with each other.
The only time I’ve ever had a problem is when my IC chip was physically bent up in my pocket
I had a 6 year-old Suica that became fickle. I asked JR about it and they immediately gave me a new one. JR dude said fickle is normal.
I’ve been using the same card for some 15-20 years now. The back is worn totally white from constantly slipping it it/out of my wallet, and the corners of the top layer on the front are slightly dog-eared.
I did previously consider swapping to a new card; but figured there was no real need to since it still works.
IC cards are susceptible to damage from heat and static just like any other electronics. IC cards can also have material defects at manufacturing that may cause them to fail prematurely.
Interesting point here because my Suica is now not working, but for some reason you cannot currently get a new one. At the stations it says they’re temporarily not issuing new ones, but you can exchange a broken one for a new one.
This meant I had to buy tickets all the way out to the seaside and back this weekend.
Today I’m going to see if I can exchange my broke one for a working one.
Have a 20 year old one, still working.
I have one of the original ones(from 2000?) that works fine.
On the other hand, I broke the IC cup in my mynumber card
Got a Suica that lasted me almost 10 years. It died because of physical wear, to a point it split in two and the antenna wouldnt work anymore.
Over 10 years for mine. Works great!
They live long and prosper.
There days you can sell a used SUICA for like 3000 yen, lol!
Years ago I had one die after 2 years. Some of them are just shitty sometimes. That’s why I never put tons of money on them. That card was fine. It wasn’t broken, etc. Just decided to completely die one day. All the money I had on it was gone. I think it was about 2,000 yen.
If the card experiences regular flexing or bending, those forces could have finally snapped the antenna/power coils that are embedded inside the plastic. This can even result in the card still sometimes working, and not working other times simply due to small changes/movements of the internal wires.
Suica cards are rated for 10 years of use
That said, mine has been going strong since 2008. Keeping it
in a holder or slim wallet really extends its service life
The IC card in my passport failed randomly. Was very annoying. Also the IC in my number card failed. Again, very annoying.
mine is from 2006-7 and still works ok
I used mine for 9 years until it got stuck in a machine while trying to add money, the staff said to exchange it for a new one. The suica word was rubbed off of it though from use.
13y mine, still working