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TroubleshootingData and QuoteMediaUnable to Authenticate
Windows desktop

Unable to Authenticate on Windows

Fix QuoteMedia authentication by checking active sessions, credentials, account mode, data centers, and cached settings.

Use these steps when MarketXLS shows Unable to Authenticate, Authentication failed, or a failed Test Connection result. Stop when the connection succeeds.

What Unable to Authenticate can mean

The message doesn't identify one specific cause. Common causes include:

  • The QuoteMedia password is incorrect.
  • The professional-user setting doesn't match the QuoteMedia account.
  • The same QuoteMedia account is active in Excel on another computer or in another Excel instance.
  • The selected QuoteMedia data center can't establish a session.
  • Windows has a stale cached QuoteMedia session.
  • QuoteMedia has restricted or blocked the account and MarketXLS needs to investigate the provider-side status.

1. Use QuoteMedia on one computer at a time

QuoteMedia can reject a new session when the account is already active elsewhere.

  1. Save your work on every computer that uses the same QuoteMedia account.
  2. Close all Excel windows on the other computers.
  3. On the current computer, close every Excel window.
  4. Wait for Excel to exit completely.
  5. Reopen one blank workbook and test the connection.

If another person uses the same credentials, ask them to close Excel before you test. Don't share QuoteMedia credentials between simultaneous users.

2. Check the account details

  1. Open MarketXLS > Settings/Help > Settings > Data Subscriptions.
  2. Re-enter the QuoteMedia username and password supplied for your account.
  3. Remove accidental spaces from the username.
  4. If QuoteMedia provisioned you as a professional user, select Quotemedia - Professional User Mode. Otherwise, leave it clear.
  5. Select Save.
  6. Select Test Connection.
The same message can result from credentials, account mode, another active session, the selected data center, or a provider restriction.

Use the QuoteMedia password, not your MarketXLS password. Don't send either password to support.

3. Try the other data center

Windows can use an East Coast or West Coast QuoteMedia endpoint.

  1. Note the currently selected data center.
  2. Select the other data center.
  3. Select Save to authenticate through the new endpoint.
  4. Select Test Connection.
  5. Test =QM_Stream_Last("MSFT") in a blank workbook with Streaming is ON.
Changing a data center or professional mode causes Windows to authenticate with different connection settings.

Keep the data center that connects reliably. Mac and Excel for the web don't expose this setting because MarketXLS manages their connection automatically.

4. Reset the QuoteMedia connection

Use Reset QuoteMedia Connection only after the earlier checks fail. It isn't a normal refresh button.

The reset clears cached QuoteMedia sessions and the saved QuoteMedia configuration on this computer. You must enter the credentials again and restart Excel.

Read the warning before you continue: reset removes the saved QuoteMedia configuration.
  1. Make sure that you can retrieve the QuoteMedia username and password.
  2. Open the QuoteMedia settings.
  3. Select Reset QuoteMedia Connection.
  4. Confirm the warning.
  5. Enter the QuoteMedia username and password again.
  6. Set professional mode and the data center correctly.
  7. Select Save.
  8. Close all Excel windows.
  9. Reopen Excel and select Test Connection.
  10. Turn streaming on and test =QM_Stream_Last("MSFT").
Stop troubleshooting after Test Connection succeeds, then verify one streaming formula.

5. Ask MarketXLS to check the QuoteMedia account

If both data centers fail after you close other sessions and reset the connection, QuoteMedia might have restricted or blocked the account. Email support@marketxls.com so MarketXLS can investigate the account status.

Include:

  • The exact Unable to Authenticate or Authentication failed message
  • Whether Test Connection fails
  • Whether you tested both data centers
  • Whether you closed Excel on every other computer
  • Whether professional mode applies
  • Your MarketXLS account email and plan

Don't include the QuoteMedia password.

If authentication succeeds but data remains delayed, stale, or unentitled, check the QuoteMedia exchange-agreement steps.

Fix real-time dataOverview
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