Error 5201 even after performing solutions available

After installing MATLAB (and a couple of toolboxes) in a new pc using my academic licence, the error 5201 appeared.

I went to the guide directed by the 'Help' option of the error message and performed all the recommended steps: Uninstalled/Reinstalled MathWorks Service Host, checked and allowed MATLAB and the MathWorks Service Host on my security software (Windows Defender) and verified if my Windows version was up to date (at the end of each step I always restarted my computer) and even tried reinstalling MATLAB. Noteworthy, I tried all these steps both in my workplace and at home to test if there was a connection problem.

Despite all these approaches, the error still pops up.

I could use MATLAB without problems in my old pc, but due to a malfunction I can no longer run it there so it was uninstalled.

Is there any possibility that an old file there or the fact that I had a previous installation is hindering the transition to the new device?

How can I solve this?

Thank you in advance!

[Walter Roberson]

Note: the official response is at https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1815395-why-do-i-receive-error-5201-unable-to-access-services-required-to-run-matlab?s_tid=srchtitle

[José]

That was the guide I followed from the beggining. But thank you for helping!

[Manikanta Aditya]

Try to use MATLAB Online, and see it that also gives same issue once.

[José]

Thank you for your attention, @Manikanta Aditya! I am using MATLAB Online for now and it works fine.

Answer 1

[Rushikesh]

Hello @José,

Error 5201 is most likely associated with the MathWorksServiceHost and MATLABConnector processes, which are essential for MATLAB licensing and startup.

1. Sometimes, the PC login name can also cause such errors. Ensure that your PC login name consists only of single-byte characters, i.e., single-byte alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) and underscores (_), especially if you are using MathWorksServiceHost version lower than 2024.9.

2. Ensure that the MathWorksServiceHost (MSH) and MATLAB Connector versions you are using are up to date. Although you mentioned that you already tried reinstalling MSH, MATLAB might install a compatible MSH that is not the latest version. You can check the installed version at:

“%LOCALAPPDATA%\MathWorks\ServiceHost\LatestInstall.info”

To perform a clean installation of the latest ServiceHost and MATLAB Connector (by terminating the MSH and connector processes, followed by uninstalling them), please refer to the following MATLAB answer: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1815365-how-do-i-uninstall-and-reinstall-the-mathworks-service-host

3. In case of MathWorksServiceHost processes is not starting up correctly or has permission issues then follow below approach

1) Open the Task Manager and end any MATLABs

2) Next, end any MATLABConnector processes

3) Finally, end any MathWorksServiceHost processes

4) Ensure none of the above processes are running

5) Remove the entire folder "%LOCALAPPDATA%\MathWorks\ServiceHost\"

6) Remove the entire folder "%LOCALAPPDATA%\MathWorks\MATLABConnector\" (Note: This is a hidden folder) and then restart MATLAB.

4. However, if the issue persists, I recommend contacting MATLAB customer support and sending them detailed logs generated by 'ServiceHost' to get a better solution. You can contact MathWorks customer support by referring to the following link:

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

To generate accurate logs, Follow above solution no. 3 and continue with below steps

1) Remove the file "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\mlctr_<user>.log"

2) Now, go through the workflow which triggers the issue (i.e. start MATLAB)

3) Send all the logs generated in "%LOCALAPPDATA%\MathWorks\ServiceHost\logs"

Let me know if it helps.

[José]

Hi @Rushikesh,

Thank you very much for your advice! This worked for me.

Maybe it was my PC login name that was at fault since it contained a space and a special character (é).

After changing it and reinstalling the MSH and Connector, MATLAB works just fine!

[Bhukya]

Tq @Rushikesh Its working on my PC. Follow the instructions

[Matthew]

#3 fixed it for me