article Error [08001][Qlik][SqlServer] Failed to locate Server/Instance Specified in Official Support Articles

Error [08001][Qlik][SqlServer] Failed to locate Server/Instance Specified

Sonja_Bauernfeind — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:35:59 GMT

Connecting to a Microsoft SQL Server fails with

An Error occurred Error [08001][Qlik][SqlServer] Failed to locate Server/Instance Specified.

Verify connection settings and driver used.

User a third party tool (not Qlik Sense or QlikView) to verify if the connection settings and drivers are correct.

Verify that Port is set to 0 when creating a connection.

When connecting to a Named Instance, make sure to set the Port to 0 (zero) when creating the connection. This will utilize SQL Server Browser service to redirect to the Named Instance.

Re: Error [08001][Qlik][SqlServer] Failed to locate Server/Instance Specified

tom_tierney — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 15:34:02 GMT

All,

I hit this problem earlier this afternoon in a test environment. It took an hour of so to resolve. Firstly in Windows > Control Panel > Admin Tools > Services ensure that both SQL Server Agent & SQL Server Browser are running. Set both to Automatic start etc. Next Start the SQL Configuration Manager for whichever version of SQL you are running. Ensure that the TCPIP protocol is enabled for all configurations. e.g. SQL Native Client XX 32 bit config, SQL Server Network Config, SQL Native Client XX config.

Reboot

Try Again

Tom