"Borrowing is on" but looks for License Server

Can no longer successfully checkout a MATLAB license. Procedure to replicate:

1. While system is connected to the network, use MATLAB GUI to borrow license for one or more days.
2. Disconnect from network. (MATLAB will indicate that "Borrowing is on" in status bar)
3. Attempt to use MATLAB. (MATLAB will warn that connection to license server was lost)
4. After eight warnings of lost connection to license server, MATLAB will automatically exit.
5. Any attempt to start a new instance of MATLAB will fail. (Error: License Checkout Failure)

Any idea what's going on?

[Ed Callway]

Yup, licensing is definetely broken in 2019a.

In 2017 and before I could borrow license with LMTOOLS for a few days, go completely offline and it would keep working = correct behaviour.

2019 is busted:

Can't borrow with LMTOOLS at all, borrow dialog in help is stuck at 1 day, can't select more than one day, and if I do borrow, still need to be on a network - so what's the point??

It feels like the switch from MLM.dat files to network.lic files broke everything.

So the question: how do I work on a plane or outdoors with no connection to a network?? plz halp!