MATLAB: Do I receive a “Deactivation Required” message on Windows XP when disconnected from the network

MATLAB

I have MATLAB activated on a Windows XP laptop. When disconnected from the network, I receive a message that MATLAB must be deactivated. When I connect the machine back to the network, the error message does not appear.

Best Answer

This issue may be a result of the way MATLAB was activated, and how network adaptors are handled in Windows XP. When activating MATLAB online, all possible Host ID's of the computer are stored in the activation record so that if something changes on the machine, the computer will still be recognized. These Host ID's include the Physical Addresses (MAC Addresses) of any network devices in the machines.
Any network device that is disabled under Windows XP will prevent detection of the MAC address of those devices. Newer BIOS settings and Windows XP network software will automatically disable unused network devices.
By default, MATLAB compares the MAC addresses in the computer to the list of MAC address that are listed in the activation. If MATLAB cannot find any of the MAC addresses in the activation on the computer, it will prompt for deactivation.
As a temporary workaround for this, you can enable the disabled devices to prevent the warning. To resolve this issue, so that it does not occur, follow the steps below:
1) Enable all network adaptors on the machine.
2) Once enabled, launch MATLAB.
3) In MATLAB go to the Help menu to Licensing to "Update Current License".
This option will update the activation will all the MAC addresses of all the network devices. Once complete you can disable any unused devices, and MATLAB should not prompt to deactivate.
If you are still receiving the prompt to deactivate, contact the Installation and Licensing team here:
https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html
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