Activating a SIM makes it available for use on the Aeris network. When working with a large number of SIMs, it is efficient to activate them in bulk. AerPort makes it possible to activate SIMs in batches of up to 10,000 SIMs at a time.
To understand the basics of SIM activation and how to test and troubleshoot, see Activate SIMs.
In this article:
Basics
There are three methods for activating a large batch of SIMs:
- Use a Data Upload File (TXT). This is a simple method that combines the use of a text file containing SIM IDs with the AerPort user interface where you select the attributes such as rate plan and service profile. Only one product per file is allowed.
- Use a Bulk Action File (CSV). This is a comprehensive method where you put all of the necessary IDs and attributes into a CSV file and then upload the file for bulk processing. Multiple products per file are allowed.
- Use the API to automate the provisioning. See Bulk Operation - Bulk Device Provision.
Preparing the Data Upload File (TXT)
Using an upload file, you can activate a large batch of up to 10,000 SIMs per transaction. If you are activating SIMs for more than one product, such as Dual-Mode A-LH and Fusion NA, separate these SIM IDs into one or more files per product.
Here are the constraints for creating the upload file:
- The file must be a text file, although you can give the file any file name extension.
- The file must contain a single SIM ID per line.
- To provision multiple Global SIM SIMs, the file must contain one ICCID per line.
- To provision multiple LTE SIMs, the file must contain one ICCID per line.
- To provision multiple Global eSIM SIMs, the file must contain one EID per line.
- The file can contain up to 10,000 SIM IDs.
Activating a Batch of SIMs Using a Data Upload File (TXT)
Using the same screen as you used for activating one or more SIMs, you can activate all the SIMs in your data upload file.
In the following example, two ICCIDs listed for Dual-Mode A-LH are copied into a text file and activated in one operation.
To activate SIMs:
- Prepare the data upload file as described above.
- Select Activate SIMs from the SIMs menu.
- On the right side of the screen under Activate Selected SIMs, select the correct Product from the drop-down.
- Select the radiobutton next to Select a file.
- Click Select a file and choose your file.
- When you select the file, AerPort reads the contents of the file and populates the SIM
IDs into the ICCID box.
- Fill out the rest of the Activate Selected SIMs form with RAT Type (Fusion NA only), Service Profile, Rate Plan, and Configure Options fields. For information on those fields, see Activating One or More SIMs. The choices you make will be applied to all SIMs in this batch.
- Click Activate to complete the task. Confirm if you want to provision the SIMs. For Fusion NA devices, note that provisioning is an asynchronous activity, so there may be a delay in seeing the device status update in AerPort.
- An email is generated and sent to the email address that you used to log in.
Activating a Batch of SIMs Using a Bulk Action (CSV)
Use the Bulk Actions menu to provision or reprovision one or more SIMs using a detailed CSV upload file.
To activate SIMs:
- From the SIMs menu, select Bulk Actions.
- From the drop-down, select Provision or Reprovision.
- Click Download File. AerPort downloads a .ZIP file containing a CSV file template. Note that this template is also utilized in the API version of Bulk Device Provision.
- Fill out the CSV with with your SIM and device information. See the table of Activation, Provision, and Reprovision CSV Upload File Fields below for an explanation of the fields. See an example CSV here: Sample CSV Upload File. Note: if your CSV file contains blank lines, they are included in the count of SIMs to be provisioned. Therefore, it is best to remove blank lines from the upload file.
- From the Bulk Actions screen, click Select File.
- Find and select your CSV file, then click Upload.
- A Processing box appears. You can select another file to upload or click outside
the box to close it without canceling the operation.
- A Cleaning Up box appears. It indicates the number of SIMs processed and the
results.
- From the SIMs menu, select Transaction History to view the results.
Activation, Provision, and Reprovision CSV Upload File Fields
|
Fields Name |
Constraint |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
operation |
Mandatory |
You can specify one of the following values:
|
|
productId |
Optional |
Optionally specify one of the following values:
|
|
deviceName |
Optional |
Optionally specify a unique name for your SIM. The name has a 24-character limit. For all products except Dual-Mode A-LH: If you are performing a Reprovision operation, and if the device previously had a device name, that original device name is re-assigned to the device along with the device identifiers from its most recent subscription. Even if you specify a new device name, the previous device name is used. After reprovisioning, you can use the Bulk Update Attributes operation to change the device name. For Dual-Mode A-LH: If you are reprovisioning a Dual-Mode A-LH device, note that any previous custom attributes from its most recent subscription will not be retained. |
|
agentId |
Optional |
Optionally specify the sales agent ID for capturing and tracking devices belonging to certain sales representatives, Sales Agents, or sales channels. |
|
startBilling |
Mandatory |
Specify FALSE always because the billing status is already indicated in the operation (PROVISION, ACTIVATION, or REPROVISION) field. |
|
provisionProfile |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank, since this field is used internally by the system. |
|
ratePlan |
Mandatory |
Specify the Rate Plan Label for device billing purposes. The Rate Plan Label must be exactly same as was created for your account. You can find the Rate Plan Labels for your account under the Account, Accounts Details menu. Ensure that the rate plan is valid for the specified product ID. The Rate Plan Name must not be used in this field. Always use the Rate Plan Label in this field. |
|
serviceProfile |
Mandatory |
Specify the Service Profile Name, which identifies the network services your SIM can access. The service profile name must be exactly the same as was created for your account. You can find the Service Profile Names for your account under the Account, Accounts Details menu. Ensure that the service profile is valid for the specified product ID. |
|
AssignStaticIP |
Optional |
Optionally specify TRUE to assign a static IP to the SIM, and FALSE otherwise. The default value is FALSE. You can assign a Static IP only if it is included in the SIM's service profile. |
|
containerId |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank, since this field is used internally by the system. |
|
dataModelId |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank, since this field is used internally by the system. |
|
reportGroup |
Optional |
The report group is used to classify and group devices in reports. The value of the report group cannot be greater than 2147483647. A report group can contain up to 10,000 devices and there can be up to 256 unique report groups. If a report group is not specified, your device gets assigned to group 0, by default. |
|
enableOnAerisIOT |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank, since this field is used internally by the system. |
|
currentLocation |
Optional |
Optionally specify your SIM's current location. The current location field has a limit of 30 characters. |
|
applicationType |
Optional |
Optionally specify M, if your device is mobile. This is default value if the field is left blank. Specify F, if your device is fixed. The application type is is used to assist in troubleshooting problematic devices. Mobile suggests that your device can move from one physical location to another as part of normal operation. Fixed suggests that your device does not move from one location to another as part of normal operation, for example, if the device is fixed to a power source. |
|
FirmwareVersion |
Optional |
Optionally specify the firmware version of the device. If not available, leave it blank. The firmware version field has a limit of 20 characters. |
|
HardwareVersion |
Optional |
Optionally specify the hardware version of the device. If not available, leave it blank. The hardware field has a limit of 20 characters. |
|
tags |
Optional |
Leave this field blank, since this field is used internally by the system. |
|
serialNumber |
Optional |
Optionally specify the serial number of your device. If not available, leave it blank. |
|
imei |
Optional |
Optionally specify the IMEI number of the device. If not available, leave it blank. |
|
AccessProfile1Technology |
Mandatory |
Specify the technology of the SIM you are provisioning, which can be one of the following:
If you are provisioning or reprovisioning an eSIM, leave this field blank. |
|
AccessProfile1IDType |
Mandatory |
Specifies the corresponding identifier type (either ICCID or EID) of the SIM based on the technology.
|
|
AccessProfile1ID |
Mandatory |
Specify the actual identifier of the SIM being provisioned. The identifier should be 20 digits for ICCID or 32 digits for EID. Note that ICCID and EID values are very long numbers. If you are using a spreadsheet to create the CSV file, if you paste in a large number, it may be changed into scientific notation, which eliminates the specificity of the value. Instead, you can format the cell as a label and then paste the number. For example, in Microsoft Excel, begin the cell contents with an apostrophe: '89044045817727484800000012274487 After you save the CSV file, you can reopen it in a text editor to ensure that the value is a plain number between the commas. For example: … ,,,,EID,89044045817727484800000012274487,,,, |
|
AccessProfile1ServiceName |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank because the value is already specified in the serviceProfile field. |
|
AccessProfile1RatePlan |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank because the value is already specified in the ratePlan field. |
|
AccessProfile2Technology |
Mandatory/Optional |
Specify the technology of the secondary SIM only if you are provisioning a Dual-Mode device. If this is a Single-Mode SIM, leave this field blank. |
|
AccessProfile2IDType |
Mandatory/Optional |
Specifies the corresponding identifier type (either ICCID or EID) of the secondary SIM based on the technology. If this is a Single-Mode SIM, leave this field blank. |
|
AccessProfile2ID |
Mandatory/Optional |
Specify the actual identifier of the secondary SIM being provisioned. If this is a Single-Mode SIM, leave this field blank. |
|
AccessProfile2ServiceName |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank because the value is already specified in the serviceProfile field. |
|
AccessProfile2RatePlan |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank because the value is already specified in the ratePlan field. |
|
AccessProfile3Technology |
Not Applicable |
Similar to AccessProfile1Technology, AccessProfile1IDType, and AccessProfile1ID fields but only valid for Tri-Mode SIMs. If this is a Single-Model or Dual-Mode SIM, leave this field blank. |
|
AccessProfile3IDType |
Not Applicable |
|
|
AccessProfile3ID |
Not Applicable |
|
|
AccessProfile3ServiceName |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank because the value is already specified in the serviceProfile field. |
|
AccessProfile3RatePlan |
Not Applicable |
Leave this field blank because the value is already specified in the ratePlan field. |
|
custom-attr-name-1 custom-attr-value-1 |
Optional |
Custom attributes allow you to track additional SIM or device information in up to 5 separate custom fields in the Name-Value pair. custom-attr-name-1: specify only customField1 in this field. custom-attr-value-1: specify the actual value of the first custom attribute. The custom attribute value is limited to 64 characters and you can use any printable ASCII characters. |
|
custom-attr-name-2 custom-attr-value-2 |
Optional |
Custom attributes allow you to track additional SIM or device information in up to 5 separate custom fields in the Name-Value pair. custom-attr-name-2: specify only customField2 in this field. custom-attr-value-2: specify the actual value of the second custom attribute. The custom attribute value is limited to 64 characters and you can use any printable ASCII characters. |
|
custom-attr-name-3 custom-attr-value-3 |
Optional |
Custom attributes allow you to track additional SIM or device information in up to 5 separate custom fields in the Name-Value pair. custom-attr-name-3: specify only customField3 in this field. custom-attr-value-3: specify the actual value of the third custom attribute. The custom attribute value is limited to 64 characters and you can use any printable ASCII characters. |
|
custom-attr-name-4 custom-attr-value-4 |
Optional |
Custom attributes allow you to track additional SIM or device information in up to 5 separate custom fields in the Name-Value pair. custom-attr-name-4: specify only customField4 in this field. custom-attr-value-4: specify the actual value of the fourth custom attribute. The custom attribute value is limited to 64 characters and you can use any printable ASCII characters. |
|
custom-attr-name-5 custom-attr-value-5 |
Optional |
Custom attributes allow you to track additional SIM or device information in up to 5 separate custom fields in the Name-Value pair. custom-attr-name-5: specify only customField5 in this field. custom-attr-value-5: specify the actual value of the fifth custom attribute. The custom attribute value is limited to 64 characters and you can use any printable ASCII characters. |
Sample CSV Upload File
Here is a sample upload file, copied from Excel, to provision a Fusion Global SIM. All fields with values are shown. Fields off to the right are blank. (To enlarge the image, right-click it and select to open it in a new tab.)
Viewing the Bulk SIM Activation Results
The activation process may take some time depending on the number of the devices included in the request. AerPort will send you an email once the operation is complete. This email will contain a transaction ID that allows you to identify and track the operation's status in the Transaction History.
There are two ways to view the results of activating SIMs.
- After activating a batch of SIMs, AerPort provides you with an interactive status of the
operation.
- If the operation fails, you have the option to export a CSV file which provides
valuable information about why the operation was unsuccessful.
- If the operation is successful, you have the option to export a CSV file which
provides additional identifiers, such as the IMSI and Subscription ID.
- If the operation fails, you have the option to export a CSV file which provides
valuable information about why the operation was unsuccessful.
- On the SIMs menu, select Transaction History.
- Click View Details to see the Bulk Action results from each transaction.
Configuring the Access Point Name (APN) in Bulk
When you are planning to deploy a large number of devices, your plan needs to include how and when to activate the SIMs (which assigns the APN or APNs) and configure the APN on the devices. You can configure the APN on the devices either before or after the SIMs are activated.
- Assign the APN to the SIMs. During your onboarding sessions with Aeris, your account will be set up with one or more service profiles. The service profiles include the APN (or APNs). When a SIM is activated with a service profile, the APN (or APNs) that it can use is associated with the SIM at the time of activation using AerPort.
- Configure the APN on the devices. AerPort does not provide a method to load the APN on your devices automatically. Your carrier may provide a method to configure the APN in bulk. Most commonly, the APN (or APNs) are configured for the devices during the device build process, automated during the device manufacturing.
Time Lag Before Seeing Device Activity
After activating a SIM, it can take up to 60 minutes before the device activity is correctly reflected on the portal and on all reports. This includes activity such as registration events, and packet start and stop records. Within the first 60 minutes after activating a device, these events may become sidelined and not processed until midnight GMT after the provisioning event.