Why & How to Set a Device to Inactive

Nayax Core sets a device to Inactive to stop billing on an unused card reader and reactivates it instantly when it's back in service, with no reconfiguration needed.

General

Nayax Core › Administration
Nayax Core › Administration

How to Set a Device to Inactive

Your seasonal machine was removed from the route months ago, but the card reader still appears as a line item on your billing statement. Setting that device to Inactive in Nayax Core stops the billing immediately, keeps every setting exactly as it was, and lets you flip it back to Active the moment it's redeployed - no reconfiguration, no waiting.

Account Administrators and Operators
Nayax Core

Every card reader on your account is either earning revenue or costing you money - there's no in-between. A machine that came off the route for the season, a reader sitting in a box waiting to go on a new unit, or hardware that's already been swapped out all keep billing until someone tells Nayax Core they're not in use anymore. Setting a device to Inactive is that signal. It's a one-field change that stops the charges the same day without touching anything you've already configured, so the only thing you're paying for is a reader that actually processes transactions.

Prerequisites

Before You Start

  • You're logged in to Nayax Core with an account that has device management access (see Permissions Needed below).
  • You know the device serial number, or the machine name it's currently attached to, so you can find the right record.
  • The device is not mid-settlement. If it processed transactions in the last few hours, wait until the current settlement cycle closes before changing its status.
  • If your real goal is to move this device to a different operator account rather than pause it, see Moving a Device Between Operators further down this page - that's a different process.
  • This article covers the device (the card reader itself). To pause an entire machine instead, see How to Activate or Deactivate a Machine | Operations.
Access Control

Permissions Needed

Changing a device's status is an account-level administrative action, not a day-to-day operator task. If the status field is greyed out or you can't find the device list at all, it's almost always a permissions issue rather than a technical one - your role needs device management access to make this change.

🔗
Guide: User Roles and Access Levels Explained | Nayax Core - see this guide for the full breakdown of roles and what each one can access, and to check or request the right access level.
⚠
Don't have access? Ask your account administrator to either make the change for you or grant your role Device Management edit rights. Don't try to work around it by removing the device entirely - deleting a device record is different from setting it to Inactive and is not reversible in the same way.
Part 1 of 3

Find the Device in Nayax Core

  1.  

    Log in to Nayax Core and go to the Devices list under Administration.

  2.  

    Search by device serial number, or filter by machine name, location, or current status to narrow the list down to the device you want to pause.

  3.  

    Open the device record and confirm you have the right one - check the serial number and the machine it's currently linked to before changing anything.

    💡
    Tip: If you recently swapped a card reader on a machine, double-check you're selecting the old reader, not the new one that just went live. It's an easy mix-up right after a hardware swap.
Part 2 of 3

Set the Device to Inactive

  1.  

    On the device record, locate the Status field. It will currently show Active for any device that's connected and processing.

    🔗
    Guide: How to Manage Machine and Device Status - see this guide for the full list of status values and what each one means.
  2.  

    Change the status to Inactive and confirm the change.

    ℹ
    What actually happens: The device stops processing transactions and drops off your billing statement going forward. Nothing about its configuration is deleted - product mapping, pricing, and settings stay exactly as they were, waiting for you to reactivate.
  3.  

    Confirm the device now shows Inactive in the Devices list. This is the observable sign that the change has taken effect.

    ⚠
    Timing matters: The status change takes effect immediately, but it does not retroactively adjust a billing cycle that's already closed. Set the device to Inactive as soon as it comes out of service, rather than waiting until you notice it on a statement.
Part 3 of 3

Reactivate the Device When You're Ready

  1.  

    Find the same device record in the Devices list, and change the Status field from Inactive back to Active.

  2.  

    Confirm the change. The device is ready to process transactions again immediately - there's no re-pairing, re-configuration, or waiting period.

    ✅
    No setup required: Because the device was never deleted, everything it had configured before going Inactive is exactly as you left it.
Worked Examples

Two Ways This Comes Up

Common scenario

Emma runs a route of vending machines at outdoor markets. Her card reader on Machine #4218 serves a seasonal ice cream kiosk that closes every October and reopens in April. Rather than leave the reader Active and billing all winter for a machine that's in storage, she sets it to Inactive in Nayax Core on the day the kiosk closes.

Result: six months of connectivity and processing charges avoided on a device earning zero revenue. In April, she flips the status back to Active, and it's running the same day.

Edge case

Marcus replaced an aging card reader on a laundromat machine with a newer model. The new reader was live and processing within minutes. But the old reader stayed listed as Active in Nayax Core, because setting it to Inactive isn't an automatic part of a hardware swap - it's a separate step.

Result: two billing cycles later, Marcus spotted a duplicate line item for a card reader that wasn't connected to anything anymore. Setting it to Inactive stopped the charge going forward, but the two cycles that had already been billed could not be recovered after the fact.

Outcome

Result

✅

Billing paused, nothing lost

The device now shows Inactive in the Devices list, stops processing transactions, and no longer appears as a billed line item on your next statement. Its full configuration - product mapping, pricing, and settings - is preserved and unchanged, ready the moment you set it back to Active.

Quick reference: Inactive vs Active vs Transfer

Situation What to do Where
Device temporarily out of service (seasonal, in storage, awaiting redeployment) Set status to Inactive Nayax Core > Devices
Device coming back into service Set status to Active Nayax Core > Devices
Device is moving permanently to a different operator account Contact Nayax Support for a regional transfer, then set the old record to Inactive Not self-service - see below
Related Process

Moving a Device Between Operators

Setting a device to Inactive pauses billing, but it does not change who owns the device on Nayax's records. If the card reader is physically moving to a different operator account rather than just going quiet for a while, that's a transfer, not an Inactive status change.

ℹ
Short use case: A distributor sells a used vending machine, card reader and all, from Operator A's account to Operator B's account. Because the reader now needs to settle transactions, taxes, and licensing under Operator B's region-specific setup rather than Operator A's, this can't be done by changing a status field.

Device transfers follow a separate, region-based process handled by Nayax Support, since the settlement and compliance rules involved vary by region. Contact Nayax Support with both operator account numbers and the device serial number to start the transfer.

⚠
After the transfer completes: Set the device's original record under Operator A to Inactive. This is the step that actually stops Operator A from being billed for hardware that's no longer connected to their account.
Help

Troubleshooting and FAQ

I set the device to Inactive but it still shows on this month's bill.
The status change stops billing going forward, but it does not apply retroactively to a billing cycle that has already closed. If the device was Active for any part of the current cycle before you changed it, that portion will still appear on this statement. It will not appear on the next one.
The Status field is greyed out, and I can't change it.
This is almost always a permissions issue rather than a technical one. Your role likely has view-only access to devices. Ask your account administrator to make the change, or to grant your role Device Management edit rights.
I reactivated the device but it isn't processing transactions.
Confirm that the status shows Active in the Devices list, then refresh the page. If the status is correct but transactions still aren't going through, check the physical connection on the reader itself (power, SIM, or network) - the status field controls billing and eligibility, not the physical connection.
Will setting a device to Inactive delete its configuration or product map?
No. Inactive only pauses transaction processing and billing. Everything else on the device record - product mapping, pricing, and settings - stays exactly as it was and is ready the moment you set it back to Active.
I actually need to move this device to a different operator, not just pause it. Where's that option?
There is no self-service option for this - it's a separate, region-based process. Contact Nayax Support with both operator account numbers and the device serial number. See Moving a Device Between Operators above for a short walkthrough of when this applies.
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How to Move Devices Between Operators | AdministrationHow to Manage Machine and Device Status in Nayax CoreHow to Activate or Deactivate a Machine | OperationsHow to Set a Device to Inactive | Administration