Excel on Mac hangs when copying, but not cutting

Question

Excel on Mac hangs when copying, but not cutting

Stacy Bruss 20

Update: I had an extended clipboard app called Pelican. I quit out of that program and the issue is resolved.

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Excel for Mac 16.111.1

I have uninstalled and installed a fresh version, rebooted, the whole regular troubleshooting methods. No add-ons installed.

This started about a week ago, whenever I try to copy a cell, row, or column Excel will hang and I need to force quit. This happens whether I use ⌘-C or right-click and select copy. This does not happen when cutting, inserting, or pasting cell, row, or column.

This happens on every single Excel file, even a brand-new workbook with a single cell in it.

I tried searching, I can't seem to find a comparable issue.

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Answer accepted by question author

Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.7K

Have you tried restarting the Mac?

Is your Office software MS365 Subscription or Office 2024?

However, Cut/Copy/Paste operations are owned by the OS. You haven't indicated which specific release of macOS you're using but make sure it is fully updated. The versions currently supported by Apple are:

Tahoe – 26.5.2

Sequoia – 15.7.7

Sonoma – 14,8.7

If you happen to be using the Golden Gate beta you need to contact Apple using the channels provided for those willing to put their systems at risk. Microsoft should be notified as well using Help> Feedback in the Excel menu bar.

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1 additional answer

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Answer 1

Hendrix-C 19,985 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Stacy,

Based on your sharing, the issue started about a week ago, which is around the same time that the Excel 16.111.1 was released (on July 21, 2026). With that information and combining with the behavior that the issue still persists in a brand-new workbook after you have tried whole regular troubleshooting methods, I suspect this is likely a regression related to the new 16.111.1 version.

I suggest you can try downloading an older version and move off the 16.111.1 to see if the issue still persists in old versions:

Completely delete the apps from your device by going to Finder > Application > drag all Office apps into Trash > empty Trash
Go to Update history for Office for Mac - Office release notes | Microsoft Learn and download an install package of an older version, for example 16.109 or 16.110
This will now download the installer file. Once downloaded, click on the file to install and test if the issue persists

You can give it a try and let me know whether it works. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out again in the comments on this post. I'm happy to assist you further

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I'm looking forward to your reply.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

KeithG 5 Reputation points

2026-07-28T14:29:45.73+00:00

I have a very similar issue with MSOffice 2024 and MSExcel (16.111.1) and macOS (26.5.2).

Excel mostly works as normal.

But.

When I select and copy a whole row (or multiple rows) with the intention to insert the copied row(s) elsewhere, the normal "Insert Copied Cells" is not available. What is available is simply "Insert" which inserts a single empty row. So that's bad.

Likewise, when I select and copy a whole column (or multiple columns) with the intention to insert the copied column(s) elsewhere, the normal "Insert Copied Cells" is not available. What is available is simply "Insert" which inserts a single empty column. So that's bad too.

Copying cells or ranges of cells is ok but copying whole rows or columns fails.

This happens in old favorite spreadsheet files.

It happens in brand new empty spreadsheet files.

It does not seem related to the contents or size of the file or the number of rows or columns in the file.

In addition, when I select and copy a whole row or rows and then simply try to quit Excel, Excel complains that there's a lot of stuff on the clip board which seems silly given that it's sometimes a very sparse row - for example, with only one non-trivial cell in the row. It seems to complain like this only when I copy a whole row or column (however sparse it is) and does not complain about that when I copy a single cell or range of cells to the clip board. This is maybe just a red-herring in that I now see this behavior on older and functional copies of Excel and macOS.

My sequence of events:

I updated from macOS 15.7.7 to macOS 26.5.2 on 17 July 2026.

I used MSExcel 16.111 a fair bit during the following week. Good.

I updated MSOffice 2024 to 16.111.1 on 26 July 2026.

And this problem became immediately obvious and persistent. Bad.

I deleted the most recent version of Excel (16.111.1) and simply replaced it with a two earlier TimeMachine versions (I tried 16.111 and then 16.110.2) but the problem persists in either case. Excel is presumably interacting with macOS here for the copy/paste.

I'd have to add that on another box, still running Sequoia 15.7.7, Excel 16.111 behaves quite normally.

Unlike the original post, my Excel is not hanging but it is most assuredly not working. Even so, Stacy has a very similar problem at the same time I do. Amazing.

I've never heard of Pelican and I don't think I have any clip-board add-ons.
Hendrix-C 19,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-28T22:37:18.9433333+00:00

Hi KeithG,

Greatly appreciate the detailed sharing about your experience and I'm really sorry for the difficulties it may have caused you.

Not only you but there are also other users who reported inconsistency in Excel version 16.111.1 in MacOS environment. You can try the steps in my initial post or the recommendation of the MVP Mr. Bob Jones to see if it's helpful for your case.

If the issue still persists, I greatly recommend reporting this issue directly to Microsoft so they can acknowledge this issue. The more users who report it, the faster they will prioritize a fix, especially with Office for Mac, as it frequently receives hotfix/update package for quality and performance improvements (from what I can see, it's usually around 7-14 days). You can submit feedback to the product team through in-app feedback: Excel > Help > Feedback.

As a forum moderator, I don't have visibility into internal design or the ability to adjust how the app behaves internally. My role here is limited to providing general guidance and solutions that can be applied by users.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. I truly this issue will be prioritized and addressed as soon as possible.

Kind regards.
KeithG 5 Reputation points

2026-07-28T23:34:57.0966667+00:00

Hello Hendix-C,

I have tried most of the steps mentioned above. To no avail.

I have, however, not trashed my whole MSOffice suite to start over.

I dragged MSExcel from /Applications/ to the trash.

I then emptied the trash.

I then copied the desired version of the MSExcel application from my TimeMachine backup to its normal place in /Applications/

But that's maybe not enough.

If a person were to report such a thing to MS, how best to approach it?

Cheers and thanks,

K
Hendrix-C 19,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-29T22:32:32.94+00:00

Hi KeithG,

The best way to report this issue to Microsoft is through Office for Mac in-app feedback via Excel > Help > Feedback. All of user's feedback will be recorded and the more reports the team receives about a similar problem, the sooner it can be prioritized and resolved.

I know this is not the experience you expected, and I want to thank you for your patience while the team works on improvements. As I mentioned, Office for Mac frequently receives hotfix/update package for quality and performance improvements so good news will likely arrive soon.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

Kind regards.
KeithG 5 Reputation points

2026-07-30T12:00:48.35+00:00

Done. Thanks.
mhwill 1 Reputation point

2026-07-30T16:16:01.05+00:00

I, too, have the problem of Excel crashing when I copy (menu or keystroke). Hendrix-C's answer worked for me.

Specifically, I had Excel 16.111.2. I deleted it and installed 16.111.1 - crashed. I deleted it and installed 16.111 - crashed. I deleted it and installed 16.110.3 and Excel works normally (no crashing).

THANK YOU.
KeithG 5 Reputation points

2026-07-30T17:50:01.4433333+00:00

Hiya mhwill,

What macOS version?

The crashing happened when you selected a row or column and did a copy?

My problem is not making me crash, it is just making me mad.

I have gone back to Excel 16.110.2 on macOS 26.5.2 but I am still unable to copy and then "Insert Copied Cells".

Weird...
KeithG 5 Reputation points

2026-08-02T22:23:29.52+00:00

Hiya mhwill,

What macOS version?

The crashing happened when you selected a row or column and did a copy?

My problem is not making me crash, it is just making me mad.

I have gone back to Excel 16.110.2 on macOS 26.5.2 but I am still unable to copy and then "Insert Copied Cells".

Weird...
KeithG 5 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:21:44.2166667+00:00

Ok. So I'm back with this problem.

In MS Excel, selecting and copying one or more rows or columns with the intention to "Insert Copied Cells", FAILS.

Instead Excel allows me to simply "Insert" but that is not the desired nor normal behavior.

I just updated macOS to 26.6.

And I updated the full MSOffice suite to the latest thing.

And with macOS 26.6 and Excel 16.111.2, the insert rows problem persists. Alas.

So I deleted Excel. And emptied the trash.

And install using the Microsoft_Excel_16.110.26070318_Updater package.

On macOS 26.6, I get MSExcel 16.110.3. And it does not allow me to insert copied rows.

So I deleted the whole MS kit. And emptied the trash.

And install using the Microsoft_365_and_Office_16.110.26062818_BusinessPro_Installer package.

On MacOS 26.6, I get MSExcel 16.110.2. And it does not allow me to insert copied rows.

So I'm out of luck.
KeithG 5 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:30:16.07+00:00

Ok. So this is weird.

I said that in MacOS 26.6 and MSExcel 16.110.2 Excel does not allow me to insert copied rows or columns.

But. I made a new user account.

And, against my expectation, Excel now allows me to insert copied crows or columns. No problem.

Sigh...

As proof, I updated the MSOffice suite to the latest versions and try again.

My normal macOS username does not allow me to insert copied rows with macOS 26.6 and MSExcel 16.111.2 as myself.

But. My new macOS username allows me to insert copied rows with macOS 26.6 and MSExcel 16.111.2.

So it's my fault?

Puzzled.