Skip to content

Cause Dictionary (Cause)

A dictionary for looking up the failure reason codes (Cause) that appear in 5GC procedures by their meaning, occurrence context, and remediation direction. It collects representative examples rather than an exhaustive list.

Related: Message Dictionary / Timer Dictionary / Registration chapter


5GMM cause (representative examples)

Source: TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2 (5GMM cause)

Cause type Value/Name Meaning Main occurrence context Remediation direction Spec
5GMM cause #3 Illegal UE UE is illegal (authentication not possible, subscription inconsistency, etc.) Registration Reject Check subscription/authentication information TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2
5GMM cause #6 Illegal ME ME (device) is illegal Registration Reject Check the device (IMEI, etc.) TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2
5GMM cause #7 5GS services not allowed 5GS services not permitted Registration Reject Check the subscription contract/permission settings TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2
5GMM cause #9 UE identity cannot be derived The UE identifier cannot be derived Registration Reject Check the identifier (SUCI, etc.) TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2
5GMM cause #11 PLMN not allowed The PLMN in question is not permitted Registration Reject Check PLMN selection/roaming settings TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2
5GMM cause #22 Congestion Congestion Reject (with back-off) Retry after the back-off timer expires TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2
5GMM cause #73 Serving network not authorized Serving network not authorized Registration Reject Check authorization/SEPP/roaming settings TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2

NGAP Cause (representative categories)

Source: TS 38.413 §9.3.1.2 (Cause)

Cause type Value/Name Meaning Main occurrence context Remediation direction Spec
NGAP Cause Radio Network Radio network origin NGAP procedure failure/release Check the RAN-side factors TS 38.413 §9.3.1.2
NGAP Cause Transport Transport origin Same as above Check the SCTP/IP path TS 38.413 §9.3.1.2
NGAP Cause NAS NAS origin Same as above Check the NAS procedure/cause coordination TS 38.413 §9.3.1.2
NGAP Cause Protocol Protocol origin Same as above Check message consistency/encoding TS 38.413 §9.3.1.2
NGAP Cause Misc Other Same as above Check individual factors TS 38.413 §9.3.1.2

Authentication failures (Authentication Failure)

Source: TS 24.501 §8.2.4 (Authentication Failure)

Cause type Value/Name Meaning Main occurrence context Remediation direction Spec
Auth failure MAC failure AUTN MAC verification failure When sending Authentication Failure Check network authentication information TS 24.501 §8.2.4
Auth failure Synch failure SQN synchronization failure When sending Authentication Failure Proceed to the AUTS resynchronization procedure TS 24.501 §8.2.4

On the accuracy of values

This dictionary provides representative examples rather than an exhaustive list. The values and names listed are based on the Specs above, but since there are many 5GMM causes, only some are included. For uncertain values, the policy is not to fill them in by guessing but to mark them "to be confirmed". For the complete list, refer to TS 24.501 §9.11.3.2 / TS 38.413 §9.3.1.2.