How do I update my MATLAB license file for an Individual or Designated Computer license?

My license has changed and needs to be updated. How do I update my MATLAB license file for an Individual or Designated Computer license?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

If you are able to launch MATLAB

To update your license manually from within MATLAB, perform the following steps:

1. On the MATLAB toolstrip in Resources, click the down arrow under Help. 
2. Click Licensing.
3. Select Update Current Licenses...and follow the prompts to update your license.
4. Restart MATLAB.

If you are unable to launch MATLAB

If your license file has expired or there is another license reason preventing MATLAB from starting, you can update your license by launching the MATLAB activation client.

For instructions on launching the activation client, automatically activating using the activation client. 

If you cannot connect to the Internet

If the computer that is running MATLAB cannot connect to the internet, you can download a license file manually from www.mathworks.com on an internet-connected computer and copy the license file to the offline computer.

1. Sign into www.mathworks.com.
2. Click your profile picture in the top right and then select My Account.
3. Select your license number from the list.
4. Click the Install and Activate tab.
5. On the right-hand side, under Related Tasks, select Activate to Retrieve License File.
6. Fill out all required fields and follow prompts. Click Continue.
7. At Next Steps, click Download License File.
8. Skip Step 2 and click Done.
9. Copy the license file to the licenses folder on the offline machine. The following support article contains instructions for finding license file folders on various operating systems: 

Where are the license files for MATLAB located?

Start MATLAB. If you encounter difficulties, contact Customer Support.

[Chethan Pandarinath]

Thank you for the response. I am using Matlab R2012b under OS X. The instructions above describe going to "Help->Licensing->Update Current License" but no such options exist under the Help menu. Are there separate instructions for updating the license under OS X?

[Chethan Pandarinath]

FYI, one method to do this in OS X is to go to the Applications folder, ctrl-click on MATLAB_R*.app, and select "Show Package Contents", then run the "Activate.app" application.

[Scott]

Chethan,

I think you may have been looking at the OS X Menu bar instead of MATLAB's toolstrip. When running MATLAB on OS X, there are actually two help menus on your screen. There is the standard Help menu in the OS X menu bar, and then there is the MATLAB Help menu in MATLAB's toolstrip. The licensing submenu is located in the MATLAB Help menu, which is marked in the toolstrip by a white circle with a black question mark inside of it.

-Scott

[tech wh]

Thanks worked for me

[Shuting Li]

I have download MATLAB 2020b, I have copied the lecense file into C:\Users\李书婷\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\MATLAB\R2020b_licenses, but it still needs me activate again and again, and I cannot start MATLAB.

[Colin Fraser]

Check out this article.

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/106141-why-am-i-continuously-prompted-to-activate-when-i-try-to-launch-matlab

[Prasanna Mhapsekar]

if you are using Linux, avoid using "sudo ./matlab" to launch the application, instead just use "./matlab"

[Simon de Szoeke]

What is the Matlab toolstrip? I don't see Licensing anywhere. R2018b.

[Jason Redding]

Can you delete the file once it has been activated?

[Walter Roberson]

Jason Redding:

Yes, you can delete the license file at any time that matlab is not actively writing to it.

The consequences of deleting the license file is that the next time MATLAB goes to validate the license (approximately once per hour), MATLAB will follow the other components on the license path and attempt to find a valid license on them. If it is not able to find a valid license and you are in the middle of using matlab, then it will give you about 10 minutes to save your work before it quits. If it is not able to find a valid licence at startup it will ask you to supply a licence.

In other words, MATLAB does not somehow internally mark the binary as authorized as a one time thing, and it does not have some other internal file that it writes the license information into. The license file is the only repository of authentication information. You can delete it, but that means you are withdrawing the authentication.

[Oriana Leschiutta]

I did it with the "help>license update", but it still appears the following massage when I open the program:

"Your license will expire in 13 days.

Please contact your system administrator or

MathWorks to renew this license."

[Diego Quizanga]

I have the same problem, still appears this msn:

Your license will expire in 9 days.

Please contact your system administrator or

MathWorks to renew this license.

[Walter Roberson]

Mathworks Support does not read responses here. And the volunteers who read here do not have access to the license database.

You need to contact your license administrator to arrange to get the license renewed. If you are the license administrator you will need to contact Mathworks Sales.

Answer 2

[Jason Brooks]

There are two Matlab help areas. One is the small circle in the upper right next to the search documentation box. That's not it. The other is Home (tab) > Resources (section on the far right) > Help > Licensing > Update current license. Just wanted to be more specific because you can find Licensing info with the other help button. It just won't let you update your license.

[Søren Holm-Petersen]

Thank you!

[Sirou Chen]

thanks!!!

[he tin]

Thank you very much!

[Eric Lamonsoff]

Perfect! Thanks for the info.

Eric

[Muhammad Sujak MK]

it really works!!! Thanks a lot!

Answer 3

[abdulelah shewoil]

from where can I get the File Installation Key ??

Answer 4

[Andrei Gherghescu]

On Linux (Ubuntu), simply calling the matlab executable from the command line shows where it is trying to look for lincese files

```

Diagnostic Information:

Feature: MATLAB

License path: /home/user/.matlab/R2021b_licenses/license_XXX.lic:/home/user/MATLAB/licenses/license.dat:/home/user/MATLAB/licenses

Licensing error: -9,57.

```

Simply placing the new lincese file in the folder /home/user/.matlab/R2021b_licenses solved the issue for me.

Answer 5

[Nicolas Wongso]

For license updates

How often can you update the license in Matlab?

My current license expires in 57 days, when license is updated will that one last for 57 days as well?

Answer 6

[Nicolas Wongso]

Also is this license update going to be free?

[Shawn Lyons]

Nicolas,

It sounds like you may be a user of an annually-renewed license. If your organization will be updating the license, you will need to contact them about any related costs. If you are a university student using an academic headcount license, it is likely that the update will be free, but again, you should contact your university to check their policy on license updates.

For further clarification, feel free to contact MathWorks Support and we can discuss the license update process.

http://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us/

-Shawn

MathWorks Support

Answer 7

[kristen bill]

How do I update my license file on a computer with no internet?

Answer 8

[Sriram Narayanan]

That tool doesn't let me load in a new Concurrent License file (ie. to point the client at a new server, or if the server name changed). When I run it - still connected to the old server - it says "update not required".

It seems that the only way to get the client to load a new concurrent license configuration is to run the installer.

[Michael Laumen]

Just move (or delete) the license files (located under C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R20XXx\licenses ) first.

After restarting Matlab it will show the "Activate License"-dialog, where you can activate your license.

[Biswa Datta]

MY LICENSE HAS EXPIRED

[Walter Roberson]

@Biswa Datta

Unfortunately the volunteers who answer questions here do not have access to the license database.

A quick search suggests that you are a professor at a university. If your department or IT support purchased the license for your use, you will have to get the appropriate IT person to renew it. If you purchased the license directly (so your account is marked as the administrator for the license), then you will need to talk to Mathworks Sales to renew it.

In my experience, it is more common for it to be departments or IT support that purchase licenses that expire, rather than individual professors. Except, that is, in cases where the license costs are being paid out of a grant, as grants sometimes refuse to pay for "capital" (things you will end up owning), but will pay for "operations" (such as costs to lease software for a limited term.)

[Ray Zowarka]

I am trying to reactivate Matlab 2013b. I was able to do it last year. what am i doing wrong