Trying to switch to multi-user mode in QuickBooks but are unable to due to QuickBooks error H202? Well, error code H202 in QuickBooks is often seen when you try to run QuickBooks in multi-user mode or when the software fails to open a company file that is stored on another system. Such an error shows up with a warning message indicating that the multi-user connection to the server is blocked.
Moreover, QuickBooks error H202 indicates that the QuickBooks company file is located on a different system and the software needs some help in connecting to it. This particular error is a multi-user mode error and might further prevent you from opening a company file that is stored on another computer.
To help you fix this issue, we have come up with this segment sharing the complete details so as to how you can get rid of QuickBooks error code H202 easily without hampering your company file data. Thus, keep reading this article and find out the ways to fix this H series error easily. However, you can also get in touch with our QuickBooks support professionals using our toll-free number i.e., +1-844-964-2960, and get your queries resolved by a certified professional.
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What is QuickBooks Error H202? (Multi-User Switching Issue)
QuickBooks error H202 basically falls under the H series error category, which is majorly related to multi-user mode. QB users have reported this error often when either switching from single-user mode to multi-user mode or when opening a company file in multi-user mode. As mentioned earlier, you can experience this issue when trying to access a company file stored on another system.
You can come across the following warning messages when QuickBooks error H202 occurs:
| Error | Description |
| Problem | You are trying to work with a company file that is located on another computer, and this copy of QuickBooks cannot reach the server on that computer. (H202) |
| Problem with multi-user hosting setup | QuickBooks could not open the file in multi-user mode. (H202) |
Fixing QuickBooks error code H202 becomes easy, once you understand what factors can lead to this issue. This article will help you understand the causes, signs and symptoms, as well as the effective ways that can be implemented to fix the issue. Thus, keep reading!
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Possible Causes of QuickBooks Error H202
Majorly any sort of communication issue between QuickBooks desktop and the server can cause this error in QuickBooks. Below discussed are the core reasons why you can come across QuickBooks H202 error. Let us have a look:
- The Hosting configuration setting is incorrect. If that is the case, then you can experience this error.
- Or in case the QB file setting option blocks access to the company file. Thus, it blocks incoming or outgoing communication.
- In case there is any damage or inappropriate .ND files configuration that allows the database file through QuickBooks, then you can see this error.
- If the QuickBooks software is unable to search the main IP address of the host system or by using some other IP address.
- A company data file is not communicating easily to the server.
- If the setting of DNS is improper or incomplete.
- The QuickBooks service like QuickBooksDBXX/QBCF is not started.
- Firewall or a security software is blocking the communication to the company file, in such a situation also error H202 is most likely to occur.
- When a user tries to work with a company file & it is located in a multi–user mode & this replicates the QuickBooks that is unable to reach the server on your system.
What are the Signs and symptoms of error H202 in QuickBooks?
You can identify the QuickBooks error H202 easily, considering the following signs and symptoms. Let us evaluate:
- Unable to switch to multi-user mode in QuickBooks.
- If after trying a lot of times, you are unable to open a company file located on another computer.
- If the system or the QuickBooks software freezes again and again for a couple of seconds.
- QuickBooks slows down or stopped working.
- Another sign can be if the error itself appears on the screen
- Windows is taking inputs slowly or running very slowly.
See Also: How to Fix QuickBooks Error Code C=272?
Methods to Resolve QuickBooks Error Code H202
Before you start with the methods to fix QuickBooks error H202, make sure to log in QuickBooks as admin. You can perform a handful of methods to get rid of QuickBooks error H202. Let us have a look:
Method 1: Run QuickBooks Tool Hub on Server
Step 1: From Tool Hub Program, run QuickBooks File Doctor Tool
QuickBooks File Doctor Tool is basically a tool designed to diagnose and troubleshoot different errors like QuickBooks errors H101, H202, H303, or H505. To use this tool, you will first have to download QBFD from official Intuit site or you can also make use of QuickBooks Tool hub to access this tool. The steps involved in this process are listed below:
- Begin with downloading QuickBooks Tool Hub on your system.
- Now, install and run the QuickBooks tool hub program using the onscreen steps.
- The next step is to open QuickBooks Tool hub and head to the company file issues tab.
- Also, click on Run QuickBooks File Doctor option.
- Now, in QuickBooks file doctor, you need to go for Company file from the dropdown menu. If you are unable to identify the file, then click on browse and search to find the file.
- After that, you need to click on Check your file and Network checkbox and then click on Continue tab.
- Towards the end, you need to enter your QuickBooks Admin Password and then click on next tab.
Note that the scan time usually depends on the file size and in most cases, it usually takes around 5 minutes. After the scan ends, you need to open the QuickBooks software and the company file.
Step 2: Install and run QuickBooks database server manager on your server
- Initially, you need to open QuickBooks Tool hub and select network issues tab.
- Once done with that, choose QuickBooks database server manager. This will open up the database server manager on your system.
- After you are done within the QuickBooks database server manager, look for the folder that has company files stored. You can further use the Browse feature to find this folder.
- The user will then have to click on Start Scan tab.
- QBDBSM will now repair your firewall permissions on its own.
- After the scan process ends, you are supposed to click on close tab.
- On each of the workstations where the error shows up, you need to launch QuickBooks.
- Furthermore, click on File menu.
- And then, head to Switch to multi user mode.
- In case you now use QuickBooks in multi user mode, the error won’t show up. In case the error still occurs, then proceed to the steps below.
Step 3: QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool
- You need to first open QuickBooks tool hub on the server system.
- Further, head to Installation issues tab from the tool hub.
- And then, select the QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool from the options.
- Let the tool run for a few minutes and this might take around 20 minutes.
- After the tool opens up, you need to scan the folder where the data file is located.
- Note down the number of IP addresses and network interfaces
- In case the firewall status section has an Open Ports tab, then simply enable the ports for QuickBooks.
- Head to the test the data file connectivity.
- Try to open the company data file and check if the issue continues.
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Method 2: Verifying the QuickBooks hosting
- The initial step is to open QuickBooks on the hosting system and then select “File” & click on “Utilities“.
- And then, see the list of “Host Multi-User” to Access it, this computer is not hosting the file. Move to the next system. Note one thing don’t change anything on your workstation.
- If you see “Stop Hosting Multi-User Access“, select it.
- Ensure that company file must be closed, click to “Yes” option.
Method 3: Verify the QuickBooks Services
In case the server is running in a full version of QuickBooks, then you can perform the following steps to start multi-user hosting mode.
- When on the server, open QuickBooks Desktop.
- After that, head to the File and then the Utilities tab.
- Now, select Host Multi-User access option from the list.
To verify the running status of QuickBooksDBXX and QBCFMonitorService on the server, you can continue with the below steps:
- Click on the Windows “Start” button.
- And then press the keys as “Windows + R” keys to run the program.
- In that running dialog box, type as “MSC” and hit “Enter” key.
- You now have to select QuickBooksDBXX
- After that, choose Startup type, in case it is Automatic or not.
- If the startup type is not set as Automatic, then make sure to do it immediately.
- Now, check the Service Status and ensure it shows Running.
- Now move to the Recover Tab and go for it.
- Head to the drop-down menus for first, second, and subsequent failures and select Restart the Service of all these.
- You are now required to click on Apply and ok tab to confirm the changes respectively.
- Once done with that, you need to carry out all of the above steps for QBCFMonitorService.
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Method 4: Ping your server from a workstation to check for network issues
There might be a firewall issue if you see QuickBooks Error Code H202 on one or more of your workstations. To fix the issue Ping your server from each workstation where you are getting Error H202.
Step 1: Turn on Network Discovery on your server computer
- On your server computer and workstations, Open the “Windows Start Menu“.
- After that type Network into the search and then open Network and sharing center.
- After that choose change advanced sharing settings.
- Ensure that you have selected Turn on network discovery in the Network Discovery and File and Printer sharing sections.
Step 2: Get your server name from your server
- First of all, you need to open the Windows Start menu on your server computer.
- After that type “Run” into the search and then open Run box.
- After that type “CMD” into the Run window, and then hit on Enter key.
- Now type “ipconfig/all” into the command window, and then press Enter key.
- After that search the Host Name in the Windows IP Configuration section. You will find your server’s name is on the right.
- Now you have to note down the hostname and copy it to a word file so that you can access it quickly.
Step 3: Test Network Connectivity
Under this step, you need to head back to the workstation to test the server. You might find these steps a bit tricky to perform. Thus, it is suggested to consult an IT professional for help.
- The very first step is to open Run window by clicking on the Windows + R in the system where you get the error code H202
- After that, type CMD in the box, and click on the ok tab
- Once done with that, you need to ping the server
- Type ping_server name and click on the enter tab.
- You can perform the steps mentioned above on all systems that receive the same error.
- Just in case the response you receive is slow, then there might be some issue with the network and a repair is required.
Method 5: Go to Windows Host File and Add Server
- You need to first close all Windows open on the system.
- After that, head to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc or C:\Windows\System64\Drivers\Etc on the server.
- The next step is to double-click the hosts file and choose Notepad on being prompted for a program.
- You now have to enter in the IP address and then the name of the system. For the server, you need to enter IP and the name of the system. For computer, you will have to enter IP of the server and the computer name.
- To separate the computer name and IP address, click on Tab key rather than the Space bar.
- Try opening Quickbooks in multi-user mode and check if the issue is resolved or not.
Method 6: Add Services QuickBooksDBXX and QBCFMonitor to the admin group
Offer QuickBooksDBXX and QBCFMonitorService Windows admin permission on the server. In case these services do not already have admin permission, then ensure that they get it as this may fix the issue. See if you can use the software in multi-user mode.
Method 7: Configure system firewall settings
At times, your system firewall might block the data exchange between QuickBooks and the server. In that scenario, you need to perform the steps to configure QuickBooks firewall settings, to ascertain uninterrupted communication between QB and the server.
- Create exceptions in the settings of the System Firewall
- Make changes to system firewall permissions and then open QuickBooks on all the systems.
- Within QuickBooks, opt for switch to multi-user mode under the file menu.
Related Post: How to troubleshoot QuickBooks error H505?
Method 8: Rename the Tlg and Nd files
- You need to begin with closing QuickBooks.
- Once done with that, open the company file folder on the server system.
- Further, look for and open tlg file associated with the QuickBooks file showing an error.
- Heading forward to right-clicking the tlg file and selecting rename tab.
- You now have to add old before the file name and click on the enter tab.
- Try the same steps for the network file and close the folder.
- After you have carried out the steps, the nd and tlg file will be created on their own when opening the company file again through QuickBooks.
- You will further have to open the company file by clicking on the Alt keys till the file opens.
Method 9: Repair QuickBooks through windows control panel
- Initially, you are supposed to close QuickBooks on all systems.
- QuickBooks repair can be done on all the systems at the same time.
- Later on, you are supposed to open the Windows control panel and select programs and features.
- The next step is to select QuickBooks and click on the change and repair tab from the list of installed programs.
- Head forward with the set of onscreen instructions to start the repair process.
- And when the repair ends, you need to update QuickBooks to the latest release.
- Try to open the company file for checking if the issue is fixed or not.
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Method 10: Set hosting to local files
It is essential that no other client system is trying to host the same company file. This can be ensured using the set of steps below:
- Start by launching QuickBooks.
- Press F2 key to reveal the product information window.
- You are now required to select hosting to reflect local files only under the local server information.
Method 11: Include QuickBooks ports in firewall
In order to ensure that the firewall doesn’t obstruct the multiuser mode, you need to make sure that the firewall includes the QuickBooks ports. Here is a quick list that you can use to configure firewall ports for QuickBooks.
- QuickBooks 2016 Firewall Ports: 8019, 56726, 55368-55372
- QuickBooks 2017 Firewall Ports: 8019, 56727, 55373-55377
- QB 2018 Firewall Ports: 8019, 56728, 55378-55382
- QuickBooks 2019 doesn’t have any static Firewall Ports: The ports are automatically renewed once you can run the company file in the Database server manager.
Method 12: Alter QBGlobalAppConfig.ini file on the Fedora Linux Server
- You need to open Linux Terminal Window and also access QBGlobalAppConfig.ini
- After that check the default range for ports and further delete the spaces before and after the = equal sign.
| QuickBooks version | …from | to… |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 22.0 | 55398 = 5 | 55398 = 5 |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 21.0 | 55393 = 5 | 55393 = 5 |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 20.0 | 55388 = 5 | 55388 = 5 |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 19.0 | 55383 = 5 | 55383 = 5 |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 18.0 | 55378 = 5 | 55378 = 5 |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 17.0 | 55373 = 5 | 55373 = 5 |
- You can find the complete list of ports in Install Linux Database Server Manager
- Ensure to save the QBGlobalAppConfig.ini file.
- The last step is to stop and reboot the QBDBFILEMON and QBDBMGRN services.
You might find it helpful: How to Fix QBDBMGRN Not Running on this Computer?
Method 13: Alter the location of the company file
You need to change the original location of the company file using the steps below to ensure the error gets resolved:
- You need to create a new folder in Drive C: on the system, to store the company file.
- Once done with that, select the company file and tlg file from the current folder and press the ctrl + C keys to copy the same.
- You now have to proceed to the new company file folder and click on the Ctrl + V keys to paste the company file.
- Toward the end, you need to check if you are able to open the company file in multi-user mode.
Method 14: QuickBooks connection diagnostic tool
- Start by downloading and installing QuickBooks connection diagnostic tool on the hosting system.
- Once done with that, scan the folder storing the company files.
- You now have to note down the IP address that shows up when the connection diagnostic tool is running.
- Heading forward, you need to configure the firewall ports as instructed by the diagnostic tool.
- Also, follow the instructions of the connection diagnostic tool.
- Toward the end, you need to open QB company files on the system.
Also Read: How to fix QuickBooks Missing PDF Component Error?
Winding Up!
Getting rid of the QuickBooks error H202 isn’t a tough nut to crack. Using the above-discussed measures can successfully help you eliminate the error permanently. However, if the same error persists, then connect with our QuickBooks support phone number i.e. +1-844-964-2960. Our technical support team will ensure that your queries are addressed immediately and you are able to get rid of the errors in QuickBooks permanently.
Frequently Asked Questions!
What does QuickBooks error H202 mean?
This is a common error code that can occur in QuickBooks when you are trying to access a company file in multi-user mode.
What error message QuickBooks displays on screen when QuickBooks Error H202 occurs?
“Error H202: QuickBooks could not reach the server. This error can be caused by a variety of reasons, including network connectivity, firewall issues, or incorrect hosting configuration settings.”
How do I fix Windows firewall is blocking QuickBooks?
In case you are experiencing an issue where Windows Firewall is blocking QuickBooks, you can try the following steps to resolve the issue:
1: Add QuickBooks to the Windows Firewall exception list
2: Create a new Inbound Rule
3: Disable the Windows Firewall temporarily
Other Resources:
