How to Use Suica on a Smartphone | Device Requirements for iPhone, Android, and Smartwatches

Overview

Suica on a smartphone is a transit IC card that lets you tap at ticket gates and in shops without buying a card. Whether you can use it depends on your device. For iPhone, you need iPhone 7 or later (that model included). For Android, you need a device that supports Osaifu-Keitai (おサイフケータイ) and is listed in JR East's list of supported models (Android 5.0 or later, that version included). If you are travelling with a device that does not meet these conditions, use the card version, which you can buy at airports and major stations.

Diagram showing which devices can use Suica on a smartphone. Supported iPhone models, and a smartwatch bought in Japan, can use it. An Android device can use it if it supports Osaifu-Keitai and is on the list of supported models. A device that matches none of these cannot use it, so the card version is used instead.

iPhone: works if the model is supported.
Smartwatch: works if it is a supported model bought in Japan.
Android: works if it supports Osaifu-Keitai and is on the list of supported models.
A device that matches none of these: cannot be used. Use the card version.

Your options

iPhone: With iPhone 7 or later, you can add Suica to the Wallet app. For travellers to Japan there is also JR East's Welcome Suica Mobile app (iOS); a Suica issued in that app can be used for 180 days.
Apple Watch: Apple Watch Series 2 or later (that model included). To use Suica, you need an Apple Watch that was bought in Japan.
Android: On a smartphone that supports Osaifu-Keitai (Android 5.0 or later, that version included), you issue the card in Google Wallet or the Mobile Suica app. JR East publishes the supported models one by one.
Wear OS smartwatches: Only models that support FeliCa, and Google states as a condition that the device must have been bought in Japan.
Devices that do not match any of the above: Suica on a smartphone cannot be used on that device. Consider the card version of Welcome Suica (valid for 28 days).

Step by step

What to check before you travel

Check on the official pages whether the device you already have is supported. The list of models is updated, so look at it shortly before your trip.
For iPhone, you need an Apple Account signed in with two-factor authentication.
The Welcome Suica Mobile app is for people aged 13 and over. In some countries, downloading apps or adding money is restricted by law; in that case, set it up after you arrive in Japan.

How to use it

At the ticket gate, hold the top of your device (for Apple Watch, the screen side) over the card reader.

In shops, go to a till with the Suica mark, say that you want to pay with Suica, and then tap.

Checking your balance and adding money

You can check your balance by opening the card in the Wallet app or the Mobile Suica app. Besides a card registered in the app, you can also add money in cash at ticket machines and fare adjustment machines in stations. Commuter passes, Green Car tickets (higher-class seats on local trains, for which there is an extra charge) and refunds are handled in a Suica app (the Mobile Suica app or Welcome Suica Mobile), not in Wallet.

Costs

Suica on a smartphone has no deposit like the card version has. The amount you add becomes your balance in full.

Good to know

When you hand your device to station staff so that they can do something for you, switch to Service Mode first.
Supported models and conditions of use change. This article is based on the official guidance as of the date the information was checked, so check the official pages for the latest conditions before you leave.
If your device runs out of battery, you may not be able to go through the ticket gate. It is reassuring to have a backup way of travelling and some cash as well.
The differences from the card version are set out in the article on the card version.

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