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Windows - An error has occurred while trying to create a virtualbox host-only network interface

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You are running Genymotion Desktop in a virtual machine

Genymotion Desktop has been designed to run in a physical environment, not in a virtual machine. For this reason, Genymotion Desktop will not work if run in a Windows VM.

For more details, please refer to Can Genymotion Desktop run in a virtual machine?

Windows 7 and Windows server

Genymotion Desktop does not support Windows 7, nor Windows server systems.

Please use a supported Windows system. For more details, see Genymotion Desktop requirements.

Windows 8-10

1. Reboot your PC

2. Verify your Windows security settings

Every time Genymotion Desktop is started, it calls VirtualBox to perform several operations:

  • verify the availability of at least one VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
  • create a VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter if the above fails
  • list all the deployed virtual devices

These operations require administrator rights to be performed successfully. If your Windows user account has too tight security settings, they may fail.

To avoid this, make sure that:

  1. your Windows user account has Administrator rights (i.e. it is a member of the Administrators group)
  2. your Windows security settings are not too tight

Note

If you get many User Account Control (UAC) pop-ups prompting for Administrator permission, you may also consider turning them off. For instructions, please refer to this article: Enable or Disable User Account Control (UAC) in Windows

3. Disable Hyper-V

If you are using Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, this error may be caused by Hyper-V which interferes with VirtualBox. Please refer to Genymotion Desktop and Hyper-V (Windows 8/8.1/10) for more details.

4. Fix possible Host-only interface bugs

Method 1: Disable and re-enable VirtualBox Host-only interface

If the above doesn't work or apply to you, there may be an issue with VirtualBox Host-Only interfaces. To fix this, please follow these instructions:

  1. Open Windows Settings > Network & Internet > Change adapter options
  2. Right-click on VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
  3. Select Disable
  4. Right-click on the interface again and select Enable

Fix_Host_only_interface.gif

Method 2: Re-install VirtualBox Host-only interface driver

If the above doesn't work for you, try the following:

  1. Open Windows Settings > Network & Internet > Change adapter options
  2. Right-click on VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
  3. Click on Properties and then Configure
  4. Click on the Driver tab
  5. Click on Update Driver
  6. Select Browse my computer for drivers. Now choose Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
  7. Select VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter from the list and click on Next.
  8. Click Close to finish the update

Method 3: Remove all the VirtualBox Host-only interfaces

If it still doesn't work and you have more than one or two VirtualBox Host-only Ethernet Adapter, remove all the VirtualBox Host-Only interfaces:

  1. Open VirtualBox
  2. Go to File > Host Network Manager...
  3. Remove all the VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
  4. Run Genymotion

Remove-host-only.gif

5. Re-install VirtualBox

Remove VirtualBox and install VirtualBox recommended version. Make sure to follow these steps:

    1. Uninstall VirtualBox and reboot your PC
    2. Right-click on VirtualBox installer and select Run-as-Administrator, even if you are the administrator
    3. Reboot your PC
    4. Run Genymotion Desktop

6. Downgrade VirtualBox

Warning

VirtualBox 6.0.24 is no longer maintained by Oracle. This solution should only be used as a last resort.

    1. Download VirtualBox 6.0.24 for Windows hosts here
    2. Uninstall your current VirtualBox and reboot your PC
    3. Right-click on VirtualBox 6.0.24 installer and select Run-as-Administrator, even if you are the administrator
    4. Reboot your PC
    5. Run Genymotion Desktop

VPN and Firewall

If you are using a VPN or a firewall, please refer to these articles:

Switch to Genymotion SaaS (Cloud)

Your Windows OS installation or user account may have parameters which are not compatible with VirtualBox. To avoid re-installing Windows entirely or using a different PC/OS, you may consider switching to our Genymotion SaaS cloud solution:

  • Genymotion SaaS does not require any 3rd party software
  • It has the same features as Genymotion Desktop
  • It can be accessed from anywhere with any computer with a working network connection and compatible web browser
  • It is compatible with most IDE, such as Android Studio or VSCode, via ADB

For more information, feel free to visit our website at https://www.genymotion.com/ and Genymotion SaaS user guide.

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