Why do I receive License Manager Error -8?

Why do I receive "License Manager Error -8"?

License Manager Error -8.
License checkout failed. Encryption code in license file is inconsistent.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This issue generally indicates that the license file is served from a network license manager and that there is a problem with the license.dat file on the machine running the license manager. The cause of this error may be due to one of the following:

• The Host ID for which the license.dat file was generated is not the Host ID of the license server machine
• Missing, corrupt, or incorrect characters in the license.dat file itself
• The system time and date are not set properly. Check to make sure that the date and time are set correctly on the machine before proceeding below.

It is also possible for this error to occur if a network license is attempting to be used in place of an Individual or Designated Computer license. If you are trying to activate MATLAB for a network license, you need either a license.dat or network.lic from the person who maintains the Network License Manager. Read more information from the link below about the differences between license files types:

What are the differences between the license.lic, license.dat, network.lic, and license_info.xml license files?

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/116637

This issue may also occur if you are using MATLAB R2007b or below with a standalone license file generated for R2008a or higher.In this case, generating a license file for the correct release of MATLAB will resolve this issue.

If the time and date are set correctly, and you are not using R2007b or below with a standalone license file for R2008a or higher, see the steps below for troubleshooting the license file:

The first step is to locate the license file (license.dat) for the license manager. The license.dat file on the server machine is located in:

$MATLABROOT/etc

Where are the license files for MATLAB located?

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/99147

(where $MATLAB is the MATLAB installation directory)

Please check for the following:

1) Make sure that the Host ID specified in the license file matches the Host ID on the "SERVER" line of the license file. Also if the Host ID is not proceeded by "ID=", it must match the Host ID of the license server. For more information on obtaining your Host ID, see the related solution listed below.

The Host ID of the license file will be in a comment line in the license file. For example:

# BEGIN------cut here------CUT HERE-----BEGIN
# MATLAB license passcode file.
# LicenseNo: 123456   HostID: 001122334455

In this example, the Host ID is the MAC address 001122334455. This same MAC address should be in the SERVER line of the license file. For example:

SERVER my-license-host 001122334455 27000

If the wrong Host ID is used in the SERVER line, or if the license file was generated for a different Host ID, this error will occur. Individual licenses use a Host ID that is ID= and the license number. If you have an individual license, this should be the Host ID in the SERVER line. For example:

SERVER my-license-host ID=123465 27000

NOTE: Changing the Host ID listed in the commented section of the license file will not resolve the error. If your Host ID is incorrect, you will need to obtain a new license file generated for the correct Host ID.

2) This error may be the result of having extra carriage returns in your license file. In order to avoid this, ensure that the following strings all begin on a left justified line: #, SERVER, DAEMON, or INCREMENT. Sometimes an INCREMENT line can get wrapped on the end of the preceding INCREMENT line causing it to be omitted.

3) If you are located in Turkey, or the default language of your computer is Turkish, please refer to the article below:

Why do I see license manager error -8 when launching MATLAB on Linux when my locale is set to Turkey?

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/357580-why-do-i-see-license-manager-error-8-when-launching-matlab-on-linux-when-my-locale-is-set-to-turkey

[ertugrul sakar]

i am getting the same error message,but i can not find(i searched) the file named license.dat in the directory i installed matlab.what to do ?

[Walter Roberson]

The license file might end in .lic

[ali serin]

I think solution is not clear. First of all, my license file is in licenses folder and it is a .lic file. When I opened the file I dont have a host ID. it is only giving me an LicenseNo: #######. and there is no server line. after that point, I really did not understand what I should do. Thanks in advance. note: R2016a

[Walter Roberson]

ali serin: please contact Mathworks for free installation support.

Note: Monday July 4th 2016 is a holiday in the USA, but if you have a more local support site then you can contact them.

[Alec Jacobson]

My .lic files don't have a SERVER line.

And don't find a .dat file in my $MATLABROOT/etc folder...

[cui]

Not clear! my matlab version is R2017b,win10,64bit:

1,My .lic files don't have a SERVER line also.

2,my matlab install root do't have "license.dat" file

3,what is "license server machine"? Where and How can I find it?my matlab activation without internet.

[N/A]

can ypu provide the same answer for linux ubuntu?

thanks in advance

[Kyle Perry]

Hello Everyone,

If you are still receiving this error and have tried all the steps listed above then please contact our support team so we can assist with resolving the error.

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

[Colin Fraser]

Please contact us for more support.

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

-Colin

[Colin Fraser]

If you are still experiencing this issue, please create a service request below.

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

-Colin Fraser

Answer 2

[Leonard Bagos]

are all version of MATLAB so complicated to install? I cannot even start the MATLAB R2016a. If there is a version which is simple to install and start. what version is it?

[Walter Roberson]

In the case of individual licenses, the last few versions of MATLAB have been easy to install: download the installer, start it running, indicate your agreement with the licenses in the appropriate place, provide your Mathworks login credentials, select which of the products you want to install, indicate where you want to install them, set it executing. Eventually, indicate which user it is authorized for, and request activation.

If you are using a license server for a commercial or academic license, then Yes, matters get more complicated. Unfortunately, license servers do tend to be complicated. The other major vendors of similar software all use the same licensing technology so the situation is the same for them.

[Yeman Brhane]

Most of the time this error happens when the folders listed in the readme files are not properly copied to the %installdir% to overwriting the originally installed files. So make sure you replace them prperly.

[Ali]

Most of the time this error happens when the folders listed in the readme files are not properly copied to the %installdir% to overwriting the originally installed files. So make sure you replace them prperly.

Answer 3

[Parth Kalra]

Disappointed with the installation procedure. Facing this same issue. Is there an easy way out? This is not user friendly at all.

[Walter Roberson]

Please contact Mathworks for free installation support.

[Anesu Chimhowa]

you guys are not serious just installing an application just as as dicficult as rocket science..would you have used smartphones if it was this complicated..u litteraly did nothing to hide the complexity of this thing

[Walter Roberson]

This error condition only applies when a license server is being used. Unfortunately it turns out that license servers are surprisingly complex.

Mathworks uses Flexera's flexlm license server, which is the same license server used by many many software packages, including all of the major competitors to Mathworks that I could think of to check into.

[Walter Roberson]

It has since come to my attention that another case in which this problem shows up is in connection to some cracked versions of MATLAB. We delete all information about how to crack MATLAB.

Answer 4

[Kamal Lamichhane]

Hi, please help me to solve following problem!

[Kamal Lamichhane]

Finally issue is solved by taking the reference of previous answer!

[Tech Support]

Hi,

If you are still experiencing this issue, please contact MathWorks support:

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

-Justin

[Walter Roberson]

Mathworks technical support can assist you; you should contact them.

Error -8 has to do with license servers, and if you are an end user then you would need to get your IT people to fix the license server.

[lang tian]

Delete the desktop shortcut, start from the installation path, and recreate the shortcut

[Jestzer]

@lang tian Again, not sure why deleting the shortcut would resolve a license file issue, unless you've got a working and non-working copy of MATLAB on your computer.

[Walter Roberson]

@Jestzer

In the case where the shortcut has been changed to invoke MATLAB with an alternate license file, then recreating the shortcut could potentially help.

[Jestzer]

That would be rather unlikely and doesn’t address why the error -8 was happening to begin with.

[Walter Roberson]

@Jestzer

The shortcut could have a -c option designating a license file that contains a SERVER line that refers to a host that cannot be resolved. Or the shortcut could make an assignment to one of the environment variables used by MATLAB to give information about the license server.

By reading the license path that Kamal posted, we can see that Kamal's situation involved a network license path, which would have been set somehow by their administration. IT Administration sometimes choose odd ways of implementing such things.

Answer 5

[VAIBHAV BHARDWAJ]

can you provide video so that I can remove error from my system while installation of MATLAB 2016/a

[Walter Roberson]

It takes a lot of resources to produce a video that would cover all of the possibilities on all of the operating systems. You would be better off contacting Mathworks Support for free installation assistance.

[VAIBHAV BHARDWAJ]

ya ,but still i am not able to fix this error

[Walter Roberson]

Was Mathworks Support unable to assist you with your installation problem?

I estimate that it would take me about a month or two months of full time effort to create a suitable video, as I would have to research all of the possibilities, load all of the different operating systems, figure out how all of those operating systems worked, research all the various ways things could go wrong. Make that three months full time work, perhaps four. Plus the time to learn video editing, and the cost of buying the various operating systems to experiment with. I am sure I would have learned a lot by the end, but keep in mind that during that time I would not be answering Questions here because I would be busy working on the video to answer one Question. A Question that Mathworks Support might already know the answer to for any particular operating system and release.

Answer 6

[Muhammad Kashif]

I was getting the same error in Matlab 2017b. I tried the solutions given on this page but they didn't work for me unfortunately. The problem was solved simply by changing the computer name. I bought the new laptop and the computer name was something like Asus-64489 . I just changed it to a 6 letter word like "SkScan". This fixed the problem. AlHamduliLLah

[Ami Bose]

Hi Kashif,

Did you reinstall Matlab after changing the laptop name?

Answer 7

[fatma zein]

1. The Host ID for which the license.dat file was generated is not the Host ID of the license server machine

[Walter Roberson]

That would happen if you installed the network license daemon (flexlm), but that the MAC address you requested the license file be generated for is not recognized as one of the MAC addresses of the license server.

This could happen due to a mistake in which system the license was requested for. It could also happen in some Linux environments due to changes in the ethernet device naming conventions. It can also happen in some OS-X or MacOS environments that have dual thunderbolt displays installed. It can also happen in some Linux systems that have no hardwared ethernet ports (only WiFi) and the system has been configured to randomize the WiFi MAC address on every boot.

[Zarwish Javaid]

How to match the Host ID and Host ID for Server Machine for windows 10

Answer 8

[RaviTej NaNi K]

Hi Friends. If your are facing licence checkout failed-8 and Licencing error -8523 issue.Please update your windows properly then it will resolve the issue. I have faced same issue and struggled for 1 week.Finally after updating windows it is working without any licence issues.Hope it helps.

[AKANKHYA KAR]

hey did you uninstall and then reinstall after updating the windows

Answer 9

[Liqaa mezher]

Hi, please help me to solve following problem!

[Colin Fraser]

Hi,

If you are still experiencing this issue, please contact MathWorks support:

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

-Colin Fraser

Answer 10

[loukriz abdelouadoud]

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO FIXED HIS PB

[Walter Roberson]

error -8: corrupt license file, or license server hostid not same as license file https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8 ; or flexnet bug for redundant servers https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/103212-with-flexnet-10-8-why-am-i-getting-a-license-manager-error-8-when-running-redundant-servers ; or bug that affected locale Turkey https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/357580-why-do-i-see-license-manager-error-8-when-launching-matlab-on-linux-when-my-locale-is-set-to-turkey ; or attempt to use cracked license

Answer 11

[Saeed Esmaillvash]

Hi, please help me to solve following problem!

[Walter Roberson]

Notice the license_server.lic file. That file should contain a SERVER line that indicates which computer is your network license server. That license server needs to have its license repaired (or possibly you are not pointing to the correct license server)

Answer 12

[Remil Batista Ferreras]

why the matlab is activated by but if I open it ,it shows "License manager -8"?

[Walter Roberson]

error -8: corrupt license file, or license server hostid not same as license file https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8 ; or flexnet bug for redundant servers https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/103212-with-flexnet-10-8-why-am-i-getting-a-license-manager-error-8-when-running-redundant-servers ; or bug that affected locale Turkey https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/357580-why-do-i-see-license-manager-error-8-when-launching-matlab-on-linux-when-my-locale-is-set-to-turkey ; or attempt to use cracked license

Those are all of the license manager error -8 cases that I have been able to track down. The first three of those deal exclusively with problems on a license server. When you are using a license server, you do not do Activation, you just point yourself to the license server. The license server itself would be installed using other tools that are not Activation.

Other than the case of attempting to use a cracked license, there is one case where Activation applies, and that is the case where you have Activated a local copy, but you also have your license path pointing to a license server, and your local license might be okay but the problem could then arise when your local version tried to talk to the license server. A locally-licensed MATLAB would try to talk to a configured license server if you attempted to use a function from a toolbox which you do not have locally licensed, in which case the local license would want to reach out to the license server to see if a license for the toolbox was available there. This situation would require repairing the license file on the license server, or (sometimes) pointing yourself to a different license server (it has been known to happen that a new license server is created but the old one is not completely turned off and ends up sitting around with invalid licenses.)

Answer 13

[tingting jiang]

我并没有看懂解决方法，也不知道哪里出错了，作为一个电脑小白，我希望有有图片或者视频指导。

I don't understand the solution, and I don't know what's wrong. As a person who doesn't know much about computers, I hope to have a picture or video guide.

[Walter Roberson]

I have tracked down three possible causes for this problem on MATLAB installations. All three of them are problems with remote license servers, and require that the license server administrator make changes. If you are someone who does not know much about computers, then you are not the license server administrator, so you should ask your license server adminstrator to repair the problem.

The one case that I tracked down that involves something on the user's machine, involves cases where the user is using a cracked version of MATLAB. People who are running cracked versions of MATLAB should purchase MATLAB.

Answer 14

[popat chavan]

[Colin Fraser]

If you are still experiencing this issue, please create a service request below.

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

-Colin Fraser

Answer 15

[Meseret Adane]

I want to have activation key with full licence

[Walter Roberson]

Activation keys only apply to individual licenses. Error 8 only applies to licence servers for network licenses, with the exception that Error 8 can show up for some attempts to use cracked licenses.

Answer 16

[旭婷 刘]

激活错误后应该怎么做，只能卸载重装吗。

[Rik]

Read the other comments on this thread or contact technical support.

[Saudalkhaled Saud]

عندي مشكله اذا فتحت البرنامج يعطيني خطا 8

[Walter Roberson]

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#comment_836750

Answer 17

[龙 蔡]

because you have updated this version of matlab , thus result in an erros.

solution:please renew the license and bin file from your origin matlab file. you can reference to soft management.

[Walter Roberson]

In my experience, the above advice is only relevant to people who are using license cracks.

Answer 18

[Kleiderson Reyes Flores]

License Manager Error -8.

License checkout failed. Encryption code in license file is inconsistent.

[Walter Roberson]

There are three ways that "Encryption code in license file is inconsistent" can happen:

1. An invalid license key was entered in the network license file on the license server
2. The license file on the license server is corrupted, including cases where extra newlines were accidentally introduced during copying and pasting
3. An attempt is being made to use a cracked version of MATLAB.

Answer 19

[Umair Sarfraz]

What is my instalation key number??

[Walter Roberson]

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/180390-how-do-i-find-my-matlab-license-number?s_tid=srchtitle

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/102845-where-can-i-find-the-activation-key-and-file-installation-key-fik-for-my-license?s_tid=ta_ans_results

Answer 20

[Nadia Malik]

PLZ HELP the lince of matlab.what is the error?

[Walter Roberson]

What error message are you observing? What kind of license do you have?

Student licenses do not have license numbers, only activation codes.

Note: the volunteers who answer questions here do not have access to the license database, so we cannot answer questions about specific accounts.

Answer 21

[Casey Lee]

You can try to run matlab.exe under the installation directory. I just succeeded by doing this. Delete the matlab.exe shortcut and creat one with the original one under the installation directory.

My problem caused for I deleted the original system on Windows 10 I guess.

Hope u success. :)

[Walter Roberson]

@Suraj dariyal

That particular error message has two known causes:

1. A license server is being used, and the license file stored on the license server is damaged and needs to be re-loaded from Mathworks, by the systems administrator. For example historically sometimes license files used to get emailed through systems that did not do a good job of preserving line boundaries, and when the systems administrator copied the file without the proper line breaks, it would not work; OR
2. A license server is not being used, but a cracked version of MATLAB is being used and MATLAB is detecting that something is wrong with the cracked version

Answer 22

[Alutsyah Luthfian]

My solution is (MATLAB R2020b Update 5):

1. Go to C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2020b\licenses
2. Delete all license file (.lic file) existing there.
3. Then start the MATLAB application. With no license file in place (because it has been cleared in step 1), MATLAB will start a new activation prompt. Choose "activate with internet connection" (sometimes you can use .lic file, but I do not know why my legally downloaded .lic file is sulking me).
4. Login with your MATLAB credential as normal.
5. When a warning box appears, asking that MATLAB needs to contact the license provider (in my case, my university) to verify, click the blue link in the dialog box (upper left part). Start the verification in your browser, then when it is succesfull, click OK on the warning box and repeat the activation process.
6. Now the activation process will run smoothly and you can use your MATLAB.

Answer 23

[majid bhatti]

(This issue is frustrating). Matlab support is telling everyone to open a ticket with them. Why dont they simply make a public solution????????

[Walter Roberson]

They did post a public solution.

There are only a small number of publicly known causes for Error -8:

1. License is being served by a license server and the license file was configured for a different server, such as if the license file was moved to a new server instead of being regenerated for the new server. Solution: server administrator needs to regenerate the license for the new machine
2. License is being served by a license server, but it was configured for a different MAC address than can be detected at the moment; https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#comment_540790 . Solution: server administrator might need to regenerate the license file, or might need to configure uniform device naming (Linux), or (uncommon!) might need to disconnect a thunderbolt IP bridge on a Mac server for a certain range of MATLAB releases around 6 years ago
3. License is being served by a license server and the license file is corrupt and needs to be downloaded and reinstalled. Solution: server needs to regenerate the license file and reinstall it through download or copying by memory device (avoiding emailing it through BITNET gateways for example.)
4. System time is set in the future or system detects that the time has been set back (such as to avoid expiration of a license). Solution: administrator needs to fix the PC time. Might even need to reinstall the operating system if the time had been deliberately set into the past, as setting the time significantly into the past leaves traces on the file system that the operating system can detect
5. User is using a cracked version of MATLAB on their local machine. Solution: delete the cracked version, buy an official version, or install Octave
6. Glitch involving Turkish locale in some old releases

If there are additional causes, then I am not aware of them.

In cases where a license server is not being used, and where I have heard a resolution, the resolution has almost always been that the user was using a cracked MATLAB.

A small number of times, an end user with their own license got confused about license server and thought they had to install a license server on their machine instead of just installing a standalone license, and ran into problems doing that.

If there are additional causes, I have not seen them posted.

Answer 24

[Zafar Ali]

than what is solution

[Walter Roberson]

What did you observe when you did the debugging steps listed in https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#answer_109844 ?

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#comment_1688252

Answer 25

[qishou chen]

[Walter Roberson]

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#comment_813688

[Walter Roberson]

@zelalem

See https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#comment_813688

Answer 26

[Jeison ferney Caballero jaimes]

License Manager Error -8.

License checkout failed. Encryption code in license file is inconsistent.

[Rik]

Did you try the solution outline in the answer?

[Edgar changwe]

yes

[Walter Roberson]

The license file needs to be reloaded into the license server, as it is corrupt (or possibly does not match the server hardware.) In older times, this could happen when license files were emailed but the email process mangled the line boundaries; these days, download the license file directly from Mathworks if practical.

Note: this is not an end-user problem, this is a problem on the license server, which is probably not the same system the user is executing on.

Exception to the above: people who are using a cracked version of MATLAB might see this message; for those people, the way to fix the situation is to purchase an authorized version of MATLAB.

Answer 27

[jimin]

License checkout failed. Encryption code in license file is inconsistent.

[Walter Roberson]

What happened when you used the debugging steps described at https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#answer_109844

Answer 28

[世杰 王]

This issue may also occur if you are using MATLAB R2007b or below with a standalone license file generated for R2008a or higher.In this case, generating a license file for the correct release of MATLAB will resolve this issue.

Answer 29

[lang tian]

Delete the desktop shortcut, start from the installation path, and recreate the shortcut

[Hassen]

I need license for matlab 2022

my matlab not worck

[Image Analyst]

@Hassen, see the FAQ:

https://matlab.fandom.com/wiki/FAQ#After_installation,_MATLAB_crashes_or_gives_an_error_message_when_I_try_to_run_MATLAB.

[Jestzer]

@lang tian I'm not sure why that would resolve an error with the license file, unless you've got a working and non-working copy of MATLAB on your computer.

@Hassen Do you already have a license purchased?

@Image Analyst Why don't you just post the excerpt from the link you're providing?

[Walter Roberson]

@Jestzer

In the case where the shortcut has been changed to invoke MATLAB with an alternate license file, then recreating the shortcut could potentially help.

Image Analyst has bookmarked the link he posted; the content of the link is occassionally improved upon. By posting the link, people that bother to follow it get the latest advice.

We have also found that people react better to the advice (call Mathworks) being in a FAQ then posting it each time; when we post it each time, people tend to feel personally attacked, whereas by seeing it is in a FAQ they see that the same answer applies to everyone.

[Image Analyst]

@Jestzer because then they will just read that item and only that item. If they don't go to the FAQ, they will never realize that there is a ton of other stuff there in the FAQ that could benefit them in the future. I do not want to deprive them of all that additional knowledge that they could learn. There are many, many questions there on a wide variety of subjects that are widely useful, such as a bunch of error messages, a bunch of questions on graphics (like drawing circles and other shapes), code to show you how to process a sequence of files, etc., etc.

Answer 30

[Muhammad]

what is the case that i cannot activate matlab and how will i put the license id in it

hurry up reply meeeeeeee

Why do I receive "License Manager Error -8"?

[Walter Roberson]

Mathworks Support does not read these comments. The people who respond here are volunteers -- in particular volunteers who have no access to the license database.

[Walter Roberson]

Please read https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/100496-why-do-i-receive-license-manager-error-8#comment_1688252