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Deactivate Your Installation

Your license to use MathWorks® products provides a set number of machines on which you can install (for particulars, check your license agreement). Each of these installations is called an activation.

When you deactivate a license from a machine, you remove all the activations on the machine that used that license. Deactivating a license makes that activation available for another computer. Deactivating one license does not affect other licenses being used on the same machine.

You may have installations you want to remove but not deactivate, and you may have installations you want to deactivate but not remove. Consult the following table to determine which of these removal processes work best for your scenario.

ScenarioRemoval Process

Remove a release of MATLAB® but still use a different release of MATLAB on that same machine.

Uninstall the unwanted version but not deactivate the license on the computer.

Troubleshoot a corrupted or failed installation by retrying the installation process.

Uninstall but do not deactivate the license on the computer unless you decide to install on a different machine instead.

Install MATLAB on another machine after having used all your activations.

Deactivate the license on a machine you no longer need, so that you can then activate the license on a new machine.

If you do not plan to run MATLAB again on the deactivated machine, you should uninstall the software also.

Decommission or destroy a machine.

If the computer is still working, uninstall the software and deactivate the license on the computer using that same computer. If the computer is unusable or lost, there is still a procedure you can follow to deactivate the license, but you do not have to uninstall the software.

If you uninstall the software before you deactivate the license, use one of the non-MATLAB options for starting deactivation.

To deactivate, follow the procedures in this section. To uninstall, see Uninstall MathWorks Products.

Select a Deactivation Procedure

The deactivation process has two parts: the license must be deactivated on your computer and must also be deactivated in MathWorks systems.

When you deactivate a license, you deactivate all the installations of that license on a particular computer. For example, if you have two different releases of MATLAB installed using the same license, and you deactivate this license, deactivation renders both of those releases unusable.

Deactivate License on Online Computer

To deactivate a license on a computer with an internet connection:

  1. Start the deactivation application using any of the following methods.

    • Choose to start deactivation after running the uninstaller.

    • Choose to start deactivation after a validation check that finds the installation is inactive.

    • Choose the deactivate option from the Help > Licensing menu in the MATLAB desktop.

    • On computers running Windows® 10, go to MATLAB R2023b and open the folder. Right-click on MATLAB inside the folder, and select Deactivate.

    • On computers running Windows 7, click the Start menu and select MATLAB. The deactivation application should appear on the list.

    • On all platforms, navigate to the MATLAB installation folder and start the deactivation application executable.

      Windows Systems:
      matlabroot\uninstall\bin\win64\deactivate_matlab.exe

      Linux® Systems:
      matlabroot/bin/deactivate_matlab.sh

      macOS Systems:
      /Applications/MATLAB_R2023b.app/bin/deactivate_matlab.sh

  2. Select the license that you want to deactivate and click Deactivate.

    When the deactivation application starts, it displays the licenses you currently have installed and activated on your computer. If you start the application from within MATLAB, the license you are using is preselected.

  3. Confirm deactivation. Click Yes and the deactivation application attempts to contact MathWorks.

  4. When the confirmation is complete, click OK.

After you deactivate a license, the application displays an additional column listing the status of the licenses. To deactivate another license, select it from the list and click Deactivate. When you are finished, click Close to exit the deactivation application.

Deactivate License on Offline or Internet-Limited Computer

To deactivate a license on a computer without an internet connection, or one with a limited internet connection (for example, if there is a firewall), you perform the first part on the machine with the license you want to deactivate, and the second part in License Center using a machine with an internet connection to complete the deactivation.

Step 1. On the Offline Machine

  1. Start the deactivation application using any of the following methods.

    • Choose to start deactivation after running the uninstaller.

    • Choose to start deactivation after a validation check that finds the installation is inactive.

    • Choose the deactivate option from the Help > Licensing menu in the MATLAB desktop.

    • On computers running Windows 10, go to MATLAB R2023b and open the folder. Right-click on MATLAB inside the folder, and select Deactivate.

    • On computers running Windows 7, click the Start menu and select MATLAB. The deactivation application should appear on the list.

    • On all platforms, navigate to the MATLAB installation folder and start the deactivation application executable.

      Windows Systems:
      matlabroot\uninstall\bin\win64\deactivate_matlab.exe

      Linux Systems:
      matlabroot/bin/deactivate_matlab.sh

      macOS Systems:
      /Applications/MATLAB_R2023b.app/bin/deactivate_matlab.sh

  2. Select the license that you want to deactivate and click Deactivate.

    When the deactivation application starts, it displays the licenses you currently have installed and activated on your computer. If you start the application from within MATLAB, the license you are using is preselected.

  3. Confirm deactivation. Click Yes.

  4. The application will attempt to contact MathWorks and when it cannot, it displays the Deactivation Next Steps dialog box. This dialog box contains the deactivation string. Copy or print this string.

Step 2. In License Center

  1. On a machine connected to the Internet, go to the MathWorks website and sign in to your account.

  2. Select the license you want to deactivate.

  3. Click the Install and Activate tab. Click the link to Deactivate a Computer.

  4. You may see more than one activation label. Click the X under "Deactivate" on the line with the activation you want to deactivate.

  5. In the text box in Step 2, enter the deactivation string you copied from the offline computer.

  6. Click Submit Deactivation String.

  7. When you have finished, go back to the offline machine.

Step 3. Back on the Offline Machine

  1. Return to the deactivation application on the offline machine.

  2. In the Complete Deactivation dialog, click OK.

After you deactivate a license, the application displays an additional column listing the status of the licenses. To deactivate another license, select it from the list and click Deactivate. If you are finished, click Close to exit the deactivation application.

Deactivate License on Lost or Destroyed Machine

If you no longer have access to MATLAB on the computer, you can deactivate using the "Manual Deactivation agreement" in License Center.

  1. On a machine connected to the Internet, go to the MathWorks website and sign in to your account

  2. Select the license you want to deactivate.

  3. Click the Install and Activate tab. Click the link to Deactivate a Computer.

  4. You may see more than one activation label. Click the X under "Deactivate" on the line with the activation you want to deactivate.

  5. At the bottom of the dialog, click Manual Deactivation agreement.

  6. Follow all prompts to complete deactivation.

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