Excel will not save files

Tim Blanchard 0 Reputation points
2026-06-24T10:12:47.9466667+00:00

I've just purchased MS Office Home from a retailer and installed it on my iMac but it will not allow me to save updated excel files. How do I resolve this problem?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | MacOS
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Tim Blanchard 0 Reputation points
2026-06-28T08:53:54.68+00:00

Hi Norah-L

Thank you for your response. I had not seen it, so apologies for failure to reply.

I sorted the issue and now have it working perfectly.

I downloaded the MS program removal app and rand that to remove the old version from my iMac.

Then reinstalled the new version and it runs as it should .

Thanks for you response.

Tim.

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  1. Norah-L 7,325 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-25T01:13:15.4+00:00

    Good day Tim

    From what you shared, I understand that after installing your newly purchased Office Home on your iMac, you’re unable to save updated Excel files.

    To help narrow down whether this is an activation, installation, or file-location issue, could you please confirm a few details?

    1. Is your Office Home purchase a one-time purchase license or a Microsoft 365 subscription?
    2. Did you install Office directly from your Microsoft account / Microsoft website, or from the Mac App Store? This matters because some one-time Office licenses are not compatible with Office apps downloaded from the Mac App Store.
    3. When you open Excel, does it show any message such as "Activate Office,” “Unlicensed Product,” “View Only,” “Read-Only,” or "Action Required”?
    4. Where are you trying to save the updated Excel files: locally on the iMac, OneDrive/iCloud, an external drive, or a network/shared folder? Excel may fail to save if the location has permission issues, sync conflicts, limited access, or insufficient space.

    Additional tip: If the error mentions permission or access, please check macOS privacy settings. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access, then make sure Microsoft Excel is listed and enabled. If Excel is not listed, select the + button, add Microsoft Excel from the Applications folder, then restart Excel and try saving again.

    I look forward to your additional information so we could determine the best next steps!

    Best regards.

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