# Error connecting to IBMQ hardware **URL:** \ **Category:** PennyLane Qiskit\ **Created:** [July 28, 2025, 6:52am UTC](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/t/error-connecting-to-ibmq-hardware/8828 "2025-07-28T06:52:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![qage](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/discuss.pennylane.ai/qage/32/3670_2.png) [@qage](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/u/qage)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 6:52am UTC](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/t/error-connecting-to-ibmq-hardware/8828/1 "2025-07-28T06:52:41Z")
Hello! If applicable, put your complete code example down below. Make sure that your code: - is 100% self-contained — someone can copy-paste exactly what is here and run it to reproduce the behaviour you are observing - includes comments - _ **Note: I have set the values for QISKIT\_IBM\_TOKEN and QISKIT\_IBM\_INSTANCE in the env and can connect and run code on IBMQ hardware** _ _`_`` # Put code here import os import pennylane as qml from pennylane import numpy as np from qiskit\_ibm\_runtime import QiskitRuntimeService ibm\_apikey=os.environ.get(“QISKIT\_IBM\_TOKEN”) ibm\_crn=os.environ.get(“QISKIT\_IBM\_INSTANCE”) # Obtain the backend # Load the Runtime primitive and session from qiskit\_ibm\_runtime import SamplerV2 as Sampler service = QiskitRuntimeService(channel=“ibm\_quantum\_platform”) # Use the least busy backend backend = service.least\_busy(operational=True, simulator=False, min\_num\_qubits = 127) print(backend.name) print(f"\n qml.about(): {qml.about()}") # Connect to IBM Quantum hardware backend try: dev = qml.device( “qiskit.ibmq”, wires=2, shots=1024, # Number of times to run the circuit on hardware backend=“backend\_name”, ibmqx\_token=ibm\_apikey, instance=ibm\_crn ) print(f"\ninitialized PennyLane device for {backend.name}“) except Exception as e: print(f”\nError connecting to : {backend.name}") print(“Connecting to local simulator”) dev = qml.device(“default.qubit”, wires=2, shots=1024) # Fallback to local ideal simulator ```auto If you want help with diagnosing an error, please put the full error message below: ``` # Put full error message here python .\pennylane-on-IBMQ.py ibm\_torino Error connecting to : ibm\_torino Connecting to local simulator ```auto And, finally, make sure to include the versions of your packages. Specifically, show us the output of `qml.about()`. Name: pennylane Version: 0.42.0 Summary: PennyLane is a cross-platform Python library for quantum computing, quantum machine learning, and quantum chemistry. Train a quantum computer the same way as a neural network. Home-page: Author: Author-email: License-Expression: Apache-2.0 Location: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages Requires: appdirs, autograd, autoray, cachetools, diastatic-malt, networkx, numpy, packaging, pennylane-lightning, requests, rustworkx, scipy, tomlkit, typing_extensions Required-by: pennylane_lightning Platform info: Windows-11-10.0.26100-SP0 Python version: 3.13.5 Numpy version: 2.2.6 Scipy version: 1.16.0 Installed devices: - default.clifford (pennylane-0.42.0) - default.gaussian (pennylane-0.42.0) - default.mixed (pennylane-0.42.0) - default.qubit (pennylane-0.42.0) - default.qutrit (pennylane-0.42.0) - default.qutrit.mixed (pennylane-0.42.0) - default.tensor (pennylane-0.42.0) - null.qubit (pennylane-0.42.0) - reference.qubit (pennylane-0.42.0) - lightning.qubit (pennylane_lightning-0.42.0) qml.about(): None ``` ---
**Author:** ![CatalinaAlbornoz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/discuss.pennylane.ai/catalinaalbornoz/32/1196_2.png) [@CatalinaAlbornoz](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/u/CatalinaAlbornoz)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/t/error-connecting-to-ibmq-hardware/8828/2 "2025-07-29T21:17:18Z")
Hi @qage , Can you please share the full error traceback? ---
**Author:** ![qage](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/discuss.pennylane.ai/qage/32/3670_2.png) [@qage](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/u/qage)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/t/error-connecting-to-ibmq-hardware/8828/3 "2025-07-30T03:23:48Z")
python .\pennylane-on-IBMQ.py qiskit\_runtime\_service.\_resolve\_cloud\_instances:WARNING:2025-07-30 08:45:32,830: Default instance not set. Searching all available instances. Backend name : ibm\_torino Traceback (most recent call last): File “C:\Users\user1\Desktop\Gopi\python\PennyLane\pennylane-on-IBMQ.py”, line 38, in dev = qml.device( “qiskit.remote”, …\<2 lines\>… backend=“backend\_name” ) File “C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\pennylane\devices\device\_constructor.py”, line 249, in device plugin\_device\_class = plugin\_devices[name].load() File “C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\importlib\metadata\__init_\_.py”, line 179, in load module = import\_module(match.group(‘module’)) File “C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\importlib\__init_\_.py”, line 88, in import\_module return \_bootstrap.\_gcd\_import(name[level:], package, level) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File “”, line 1387, in \_gcd\_import File “”, line 1360, in _find\_and\_load File “”, line 1331, in find\_and\_load\_unlocked File “”, line 935, in load\_unlocked File “”, line 1026, in exec\_module File “”, line 488, in call\_with\_frames\_removed File "C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\pennylane\_qiskit\_init.py", line 17, in from .aer import AerDevice File “C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\pennylane\_qiskit\aer.py”, line 19, in import qiskit\_aer File "C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\qiskit\_aer\_init.py", line 69, in from qiskit\_aer.aerprovider import AerProvider File “C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\qiskit\_aer\aerprovider.py”, line 20, in from .backends.aer\_simulator import AerSimulator File "C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\qiskit\_aer\backends\_init.py", line 17, in from .aer\_simulator import AerSimulator File “C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\qiskit\_aer\backends\aer\_simulator.py”, line 19, in from qiskit.providers import convert\_to\_target ImportError: cannot import name ‘convert\_to\_target’ from ‘qiskit.providers’ (C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\qiskit\providers\_init_.py) ---
**Author:** ![CatalinaAlbornoz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex012/user_avatar/discuss.pennylane.ai/catalinaalbornoz/32/1196_2.png) [@CatalinaAlbornoz](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/u/CatalinaAlbornoz)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://discuss.pennylane.ai/t/error-connecting-to-ibmq-hardware/8828/4 "2025-07-30T22:02:52Z")
Hi @qage , it looks like you have no “instance”, which is now required with the new IBM platform changes. The info in [this issue](https://github.com/PennyLaneAI/pennylane-qiskit/issues/645) and the latest version of the [docs](https://docs.pennylane.ai/projects/qiskit/en/latest/) should help you solve the issue. I hope this helps!