Office 365 iOS App Corrupted Excel File

Anonymous
2023-03-18T18:37:50+00:00

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help me with 2 xlsx files that have been corrupted.

I use iCloud to store my documents, I finished working on the 2 files in question on my MacBook in the morning and then later in the day successfully viewed them (not modified) on my iPhone using the Office 365 app.

When I came to open the files again, they are unable to be opened on any device using either numbers or excel. I have tried on my iPhone, MacBook and a Windows 11 PC. The error message is:

"Excel cannot open the file 'ABCDEF.xlsx' because the file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file."

I have tried changing the file extension to xls. I've tried to open and repair the files using Excel on Windows however that hasn't worked either. I've used a couple of trial versions of recovery software and the preview shows the first sheet is there but the remaining sheets aren't which are vital to the spreadsheet.

Does anyone have any ideas or experience of this issue? I've noticed the timestamp of last saved has changed to the date and time I opened them on my phone. I'm not sure why Office365 resaved these files without me making changes or asking me.

Thanks

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | iOS

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-03-18T19:41:14+00:00

    hi AS9AS,

    If you're experiencing an issue with a corrupted Excel file while using the Office 365 iOS app, you can try the following steps to recover the file:

    Check for AutoRecover files:

    a. Open the Excel app on your iOS device.

    b. Tap the "Open" tab at the bottom of the screen.

    c. Tap "Browse" and navigate to the "Recover Unsaved Workbooks" folder. This is usually located within the "Documents" folder.

    d. Look for any AutoRecover files that might correspond to your corrupted file. They will typically have a name like "AutoRecover save of <filename>".

    e. Open the AutoRecover file and see if it contains the data you need. If it does, save the file with a new name to avoid overwriting the original.

    Use OneDrive to restore a previous version:

    If your Excel file is stored on OneDrive, you can try to restore a previous version of the file:

    a. Open a web browser on your computer or iOS device and navigate to OneDrive b. Sign in with your Office 365 account.

    c. Locate the corrupted Excel file in your OneDrive folders.

    d. Click the "More actions" icon (three dots) next to the file, and then click "Version history."

    e. You will see a list of previous versions of the file. Click on a version to preview it, and if you find a version that is not corrupted, click "Restore" to replace the current file with the selected version.

    Transfer the file to a computer:

    If you still cannot recover the file using the methods above, try transferring the file to a computer and use Excel's built-in recovery tools:

    a. Transfer the corrupted file from your iOS device to a computer using email, cloud storage (e.g., OneDrive, Dropbox), or a wired connection.

    b. Open Excel on your computer and go to "File" > "Open."

    c. Browse to the location where you saved the corrupted file.

    d. Select the file, click the arrow next to the "Open" button, and choose "Open and Repair."

    e. Excel will attempt to repair the file. If successful, save the repaired file with a new name.

    If none of these methods work, it's possible that the file is severely corrupted and may not be recoverable. In that case, you may have to rely on any backups you have or start over with a new file. To avoid similar issues in the future, make sure to save your work frequently and keep backup copies of important files in different locations.

    best regards, segunfunmi

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-03-19T10:29:31+00:00

    I do not have a solution but I’m experiencing the same thing.

    The thing I have noticed is that I can open an excel file, via icloud, on my Iphone (or ipad) and as long as I don’t make any changes to the doc (put a number in a cel) everything is fine. I clan close the file and open it later on. However, when I have changed/added something in the doc, the file gets corrupted when you go out of the 365app (and saved automatically). The file is useless after that.. unable to be fixed/repaired (at least, with the options I have tried).

    When using the 365app to open, make changes and save an excel file to my Iphone (or ipad), so not via icloud, everything is working as it should be. So no corrupted files after changes are made. When downloading, make changes and save an excel file with pc/mac from icloud all is good as well. So it seems to be a problem specific for iphone/ipad in combination with icloud/365app. But no idea where the source of the problem lies..

    The way I worked with Icloud pretty became useless at this point.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-03-19T19:49:42+00:00

    I am having the same issue, been testing tonight and if I save a file on iCloud then open on phone. if I put anything in any cell as soon as I come out of the document it corrupts the file.

    I can then no longer open it in on the Mac or the phone.

    One way round it is to save a copy on the phone. I have found that this works for the first time, but would need you to re-save a copy every time you want to edit it.

    I first noticed this yesterday

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-03-23T02:40:27+00:00

    Any fix for this found yet?

    I am having the exact issue. I opened an XLSX stored in iCloud Drive on my iPhone a few days ago (20th?). As soon as I closed it, I was prompted that the file cannot be opened. Now I cannot access the file from any device - not my Mac, iPhone, not even by downloading it from iCloud.com. This is extremely concerning as it has all of my personal finances on it and with it being tax time...yeah. Not good.

    "Excel cannot open the file 'FILE NAME.xlsx' because the file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file."

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-03-23T15:42:37+00:00

    Same issue. Opening Excel file on iCloud drive from IOS/iPhone, file gets corrupted. Currently no way to recover other than through backups.

    Error message

    "Excel cannot open the file 'file.xlsx' because the file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file."

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