Excel for Mac - Can't type in cells - Solution (July/August 2026)

NM 5 Reputation points
2026-08-02T10:07:22.5466667+00:00

Since an update on 17th July 2026 I could not type in Excel cells.

Running MacBook Pro M5, Mac OS Tahoe 26.5 then 26.6 (update made available during the past 2 weeks)

Steps attempted without success:

  • Tried removing Excel and all traces of Microsoft products.
  • Full reinstall
  • Deleted temp microsoft files in various locations as suggested in other Internet posts
  • Ran the MS license removal tool. Still didn't solve problem

Solution 02.08.2026 - this has now solved the problem for me: I can again edit and save excel files.

First Quit any running excel application.

Restore Targeted Folder Permissions

    1    Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings.

    2    Navigate to Privacy & Security in the left sidebar.

    3    Scroll down on the right and click on Files and Folders.

    4    Locate Microsoft Excel in the list and click the arrow to expand its options.

    5    Toggle the switches to On for the specific areas where you store your spreadsheets (such as Documents Folder or Desktop Folder). (At the very least toggle something on/off to force rewriting of the underlying setting).

    6    Completely close Excel (Command + Q) and reopen it. Your editing and saving capabilities should be fully restored.

Alternately, in a Terminal window (quit excel first), reset the permission for excel (will be prompted again when starting excel):

tccutil reset All com.microsoft.Excel Hope that helps someone else suffering the same frustrating problem!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | MacOS

4 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Kai-H 26,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-08-06T06:25:16.3233333+00:00

    Hi, Cam M

    Thank you for confirming those details. Since formatting and Notes still accept changes, Excel is not in read-only or reduced-functionality mode. The failure appears limited to Excel’s cell-entry interface, and the same behavior has been reported with the 16.111 builds on macOS Tahoe. Version 16.111.3 only lists general quality and performance improvements, not a specific correction for keyboard input.

    At this point, I would avoid repeating the permissions and reinstall steps. As a temporary workaround, it is recommended that you revert only Excel to version 16.110.3:

    Quit all Office applications.

    Open Microsoft AutoUpdate and temporarily disable automatic updates.

    Move Microsoft Excel from the Applications folder to Trash.

    Download and install Excel 16.110.3 from the Office for Mac update history.

    Restart the Mac and test a blank workbook.

    That earlier version restored cell input in a matching case. If you prefer not to downgrade, Excel for the web is the safest temporary option.

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
  2. NM 5 Reputation points
    2026-08-07T06:29:26.1966667+00:00

    Thanks for sharing an additional workaround for Excel users to solve this problem.

    Will this issue be patched in the next update?

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Thomas McCarthy 0 Reputation points
    2026-08-27T21:21:02.2333333+00:00

    Is there a solution for this problem? None of the fixes above have worked.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Kai-H 26,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-08-05T09:52:35.7133333+00:00

    Hi, NM

    Thank you for sharing the permission reset. It clearly helped in your case, but the same symptom can have another cause.

    Starting July 13, 2026, some Office for Mac installations may enter “reduced functionality mode.” Files can still open and print, but editing, saving, and creating files are blocked.

    If resetting permissions does not help, try these steps:

    Open Excel and select Help > Check for Updates. Install every available Office update, then restart the Mac.

    In Excel, select Excel > About Microsoft Excel and confirm the installed version. One similar case involving version 16.111 worked again after reverting to 16.110.3, although rollback should only be considered as a temporary test if the latest update still fails.

    Test a completely new blank workbook. If only one file is affected, select Review > Unprotect Sheet and check whether the file is read-only.

    Test Excel from a new macOS user account. If editing works there, the problem is likely limited to the original Mac profile rather than the Office installation.

    If even a blank workbook cannot be edited after updating, use Help > Feedback in Excel and include the Excel and macOS version numbers.

    Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment."    

    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. 

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.