State Description active Started, bound, plugged in, …, depending on the unit type. inactive Stopped, unbound, unplugged, …, depending on the unit type. failed Similar to inactive, but the unit failed in some way (process returned error code on exit, crashed, an operation timed out, or after too many restarts). activating Changing from inactive to active. deactivating Changing from active to inactive. maintenance Unit is inactive and a maintenance operation is in progress. reloading Unit is active and it is reloading its configuration. refreshing Unit is active and a new mount is being activated in its namespace.