Bars and unbars

About barring and unbarring SIMs

What is a bar?

A bar is a service provisioning action that results in a SIM being blocked from accessing an operator's network. The bar remains in place until the operator is sent an unbar request.

Why would you bar a SIM?

You may want to bar a SIM if it is behaving unexpectedly, if it is suspected of being a security risk, or if a device is reported lost or stolen.

What happens when you bar a SIM?

  • A barred SIM cannot send or receive data anymore
  • A barred SIM can still generate billable events depending on its rate plan

Note: SIMs need to be active before you can bar them.

Note: It depends on the SIM's operator and rate plan if you can bar a SIM.

How can you identify if a SIM is barred?

A barred SIM has a barred label next to its ICCID at the top of its SIM Details page.

If you know the SIM's ICCID, or MSISDN you can use the Search bar. Otherwise, you can select a SIM by following these steps:

1. Select SIMs from the main navigation.

2. Select a status from the main navigation to see a list of all SIMs with that status.

3. Select the SIM from the list.

Result: You see the SIM Details page for the selected SIM.

4. Refer to the label next to the SIM's ICCID.

Result: The labels show you more information about a SIM's current state.

What is an unbar?

An unbar is a service provisioning action that results in a SIM's bar being removed.

What happens when you unbar a SIM?

  • When you unbar a SIM, the bar on the SIM is removed
  • The unbarred SIM can send and receive data again
  • The unbarred SIM can generate billable events (note that a barred SIM can also generate billable events)

How to bar or unbar a SIM

Note: It depends on the SIM's operator and rate plan if you can bar a SIM.

If you know the SIM's ICCID, or MSISDN you can use the Search bar. Otherwise, you can select a SIM by following these steps:

1. Select SIMs from the main navigation.

2. Select a status from the main navigation to see a list of all SIMs with that status.

3. Select the SIM from the list.

Result: You see the SIM Details page for the selected SIM.

4. Refer to the Services section on the SIM Details page.

Result: You see BAR DN TOTAL as an available Additional Service.

Note: If you do not see BAR DN TOTAL in the Services section, the SIM does not support barring.

5. a) If the SIM is not barred and you want to bar it, select the Add button next to BAR DN TOTAL.

Result: The SIM is barred. You see a barred label next to the SIM's ICCID at the top of the page.

b) If the SIM is barred and you want to unbar it, select the Remove button next to BAR DN TOTAL.

Result: The SIM is unbarred. The barred label next to the SIM's ICCID at the top of the page is removed.