Soracom Air for Cellular

Test Mode

Test Mode is a feature that exempts data communication and SMS usage fees within predefined usage and time limits. It is designed to verify that products using Soracom Air cellular-IoT SIMs operate correctly during quality control.

When a SIM is in Test Mode, its status appears as Testing on the SIM Management screen.

Overview

Test Mode has the following features:

Applying for Test Mode

To use Test Mode, you must apply in advance. Contact us us with the information outlined in the table below when submitting your application. Test Mode will be available only after Soracom has reviewed and approved your request.

Information Required Details to Provide
Operator ID(s) to enable Test Mode for Specify the Operator ID(s) that require Test Mode enablement.
Subscription(s) for Test Mode usage

Specify which subscription(s) you plan to use with Test Mode. Select from the eligible subscriptions below (multiple selections allowed):

Coverage Type Subscription Eligibility
Global Coverage plan01s, plan01s – Low Data Volume, planX1, planX3 (X3-5 MB), planP1, plan-US ✓
Global Coverage planX2, planX3-EU –
Japan Coverage All Subscriptions –

If you require Test Mode on an add-on plan, apply under its primary plan. For example, when adding planX3 or plan-US-max to plan01s, you need to apply for plan01s (even if you select the add-on plan, Test Mode will only apply to the primary plan).
Preferred testing limits

Specify your preferred limits. All standard fees will apply for the IoT SIM as soon as any of the following conditions are met. Some examples of preferred limits include:

  • Data traffic - Up to 30 MiB per SIM
  • SMS sent or received - Up to 3 per SIM
  • Time since switching to Test Mode - Up to 1 week

Note that you cannot specify upload vs. download data separately, nor sent vs. received SMS transmissions separately.

After any limit is reached, the SIM(s) will automatically transition to Active status.
Desired SIM status after testing ends

Specify which status the SIM should automatically change to when exemption limits are reached:

  • Active (default)
  • Standby
  • Suspended

The default status is Active.

For more information, see the Statuses documentation.

IoT SIM Status

Subscriptions with Test Mode enabled will show Testing as their status for eligible SIMs on the SIM Management screen.

A diagram illustrating the lifecycle of a SIM card's status, highlighting the transition from Ready to Testing upon first use, and from Testing to Active, Standby, or Suspended after the test period ends

To clearly illustrate the differences between "Testing" status and other statuses, this diagram shows representative subscriptions and statuses as examples. The actual available statuses vary depending on the subscription.

Base fees vary based on subscription types. Contact us for pricing details.

Changing a SIM's Status

You can change the status of IoT SIMs (for subscriptions with Test Mode enabled) to Testing status, or change SIMs from Testing status to other statuses.

Changing a SIM's Status to Testing

When an IoT SIM in Ready status communicates with Soracom for the first time, the status will automatically change to Testing.

Note that you cannot change a SIM's status to Testing manually. For example:

  • If you attempt to communicate in areas where the IoT SIM cannot connect, the SIM's status will not change to Testing because it cannot communicate with Soracom.

  • You cannot change a SIM's status to Testing via the User Console or API.

See Subscriber Status for further information on status definitions.

Changing a SIM's Status from Testing to Another Status

An IoT SIM that with the Testing status can be changed to the following statuses using the Soracom User Console or Soracom CLI / API.

See Changing a Subscription Status for instructions.

If you plan to manually change your SIM’s status after using Test Mode, wait until after 00:00 UTC the next day to make the change.

Soracom calculates data usage based on the SIM's status at 00:00 UTC each day. If you switch the status earlier, any data used that day will be billed under the new (non-Testing) status.

Example: If you switch to Standby at 14:30 UTC on June 2, any data sent between 00:00 UTC June 2 and 00:00 UTC June 3 will be recorded as Standby usage and will not be exempt from charges.

Note that it is not possible to change your SIM's status to Inactive.

Adding Additional Subscriptions in Test Mode

If you add additional subscriptions to an IoT SIM with Testing status active, you can continue to use it as a Test Mode enabled SIM. For more information about additional subscriptions, see Subscription Containers.

In addition, data communication and SMS transmission / reception using additional subscriptions will also be exempt from the usage fee as Test Mode applies. For example, if you add planX3 to plan01s, which is in Testing status, data communication using planX3 will also be exempt from charges.

A Soracom Arc Virtual SIM can be added as a secondary subscription to an IoT SIM with Testing status. However, Test Mode does not apply to Virtual SIM, so their base fees and data usage are billed at standard rates. Additionally, data communication with a Virtual SIM does not consume your remaining Test Mode data allowance.

When you add an additional subscription, the remaining limits for the testing period (such as data volume, number of SMS messages sent/received, and duration) will not reset. The usage from the primary subscription will continue to count against the same limits.

When adding additional subscriptions to your IoT SIMs with the Subscription Containers feature, the additional subscriptions are delivered to your IoT SIM via several SMS messages. The SMS messages sent during this process will not count towards the Test Mode SMS message limit.

Checking Remaining Test Mode Usage

For IoT SIMs that are in Test Mode, you can check the remaining Usage (data communication volume, number of SMS transmissions sent and received, remaining Test Mode duration).

You can only view your remaining Test Mode data while your IoT SIM is in Testing status. Once Test Mode ends and the SIM automatically transitions to the next status, the remaining usage capacity can no longer be viewed.

You can use the Status Update History feature to determine when your SIM exited Testing status.

  1. Login to the User Console and switch the Coverage Type to match the IoT SIM whose Test Mode capacity you want to view.

    Example: To check plan01s, set the Coverage Type to Global.
    For more information, see Coverage Type.

  2. Navigate to SIM Management: From the Menu, open the SIM Management screen.

    The SIM Management screen will appear.

  3. Click the next to a SIM, then click the Details button.

    Screenshot of the Soracom User Console's SIM Management screen, with a SIM card selected and the 'Details' button highlighted

  4. Select the Usage tab to see your remaining Test Mode data allotment, SMS capacity, and days remaining.

    Screenshot of the SIM Details screen in the Soracom User Console, showing the 'Usage' tab with details on remaining Test Mode data, SMS messages, and time

You can also check your remaining usage via the Soracom CLI or Soracom API:

Test Mode and Other Services

Services that do not affect the IoT SIM status can be used normally, however; some services have expanded or limited functionality for SIMs in Test Mode.

Transferring a Test Mode SIM to Another Operator

A Testing status IoT SIM cannot be transferred to another operator. IoT SIMs in a status other than Testing can be transferred. See Transferring Soracom IoT SIMs for details.

Event Handler Behavior

Event Handler is a service that executes an action when a monitored object satisfies a rule set by the user. Operators who are approved to use Test Mode can use the Testing status with Event Handler status-based rules, and can change the IoT SIM status to Testing as an action.

If you were already using Event Handler before being approved for Test Mode, verify that your existing event handlers still work as intended.

Maximum Number of Simultaneous VPG Sessions

The maximum number of simultaneous VPG sessions is determined by the number of IoT SIMs using the VPG that are connected at the same time. Online IoT SIMs in Testing status count towards this total.