diff --git a/bittensor_cli/src/bittensor/utils.py b/bittensor_cli/src/bittensor/utils.py
index ca95b1b4..b554be46 100644
--- a/bittensor_cli/src/bittensor/utils.py
+++ b/bittensor_cli/src/bittensor/utils.py
@@ -563,6 +563,16 @@ def format_error_message(error_message: Union[dict, Exception]) -> str:
             else:
                 err_description = err_docs
 
+    matches = {
+        # A dict of well-known cryptic errors, with better explanations for them.
+        "SubtokenDisabled": "This subnet is not yet activated. You must wait for it to activate to peform this action."
+    }
+
+    try:
+        err_description = matches[err_name]
+    except KeyError:
+        pass
+
     return f"Subtensor returned `{err_name}({err_type})` error. This means: `{err_description}`."
 
 
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/test_utils.py b/tests/unit_tests/test_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a00cd784
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/test_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import pytest
+
+from bittensor_cli.src.bittensor.utils import format_error_message
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "err_name,expected_output",
+    [
+        (
+            "SubtokenDisabled",
+            "This subnet is not yet activated. You must wait for it to activate to peform this action.",
+        )
+    ],
+)
+def test_format_error_message_custom_error_message(err_name, expected_output):
+    error = {"name": err_name, "type": "error type", "docs": "docs"}
+    formatted_out = format_error_message(error)
+    assert (
+        f"Subtensor returned `{err_name}(error type)` error. This means: `{expected_output}`."
+        == formatted_out
+    )