Copilot Issue With Any File On A Cloud Platform

Question

Copilot Issue With Any File On A Cloud Platform

Connor 0

A users is having issues with Copilot being available to use in excel. Other users are able to open the same file and have copilot available but this user has the error " This file type isn't supported for editing with copilot." The only way for the user to have copilot available to edit is to save it to OneDrive, the file is an xlsx file.

I have tried other machines with the same permissions, licenses and access and am not able to replicate the issue. He is only able to use Copilot in excel when saving the file in OneDrive.

Here is the error that the user receives below when trying to open any file on our shared drive:
copilot issues

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Hello Connor,

Thanks for reaching out. Since other users can open this exact same file with Copilot working fine, it doesn't look like a straightforward "shared drive isn't supported" issue, so I'd like to narrow it down a bit before suggesting a fix.

Is that "shared drive" actually a synced OneDrive or SharePoint library, or is it a true local/on-prem network share (UNC path)? Copilot in Excel only works against files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, so this distinction matters a lot.
For the affected user specifically — could you check if there's any sensitivity label or restricted permission on that file/library that might differ from what the other users have? Copilot needs at least View and Extract rights to work on a document, and that can vary per person even on a "shared" file.
Also worth checking: is the file currently checked out in SharePoint for this user, and is his Office build on Current Channel (not Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel)? Both can silently block Copilot for just one person.

Once we know those, we can pin down whether this is a permissions/label issue, a check-out state issue, or something else.

Answer 2

This behavior matches a file-location limitation more than a workbook-permission problem.

For Excel co-authoring, shared-drive locations such as \\server\folder and smb://server/folder do not support the required cloud collaboration experience. Supported locations are OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint in Microsoft 365. That aligns with the fact that Copilot works for this user after the workbook is saved to OneDrive.

Also verify these workbook conditions:

Confirm the workbook is in a modern Excel format
Copilot in Excel supports modern workbook formats such as .xlsx. If needed, open the file in Excel and save it again through File > Save As > Browse and choose Excel Workbook (.xlsx).
Check whether the file is in an unsupported state
If the workbook is stored in SharePoint and is checked out, Copilot in Excel can show an unsupported file-state error. Check the file back in, then close and reopen it. If the site requires check-out for editing, use Excel for the web for those files.
Use a supported storage location
Since the issue occurs on the shared drive and disappears in OneDrive, move or copy the workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint in Microsoft 365 and open it from there.
If the file must stay on the shared drive
That location is not supported for co-authoring. In that case, Copilot editing in the desktop app may not be available for that file path. A practical workaround is to use OneDrive/SharePoint or open the file in Excel for the web when applicable.

The strongest indicator in this case is the storage path: the same .xlsx works once it is placed in OneDrive, while the shared drive does not.