My Excel program has stopped working using the Paste function within the last week.

Vana Family 5 Reputation points
2026-09-13T20:28:07.86+00:00

Paste is no longer functioning. Drag and drop does nothing. Cntl V does nothing. Paste Special seems to work for Values Only. This function was working a week ago. What has changed and how do I fix this?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Windows
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  1. EmilyS726 266.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-13T21:02:17.61+00:00

    Hello

    This is a known issue due to a recent update. See this article:

    https://support.microsoft.com/servicing/office/hotfix/excel/5002914

    If you can tell me the full name of your Office product, such as Office Home 2024, or Office LTSC/Pro Plus/Standard 2024, I can give you a command to run to roll back to the last working version. I need the product name and the year as well, because that determines what command you will get. Thanks!

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-13T20:28:21.9333333+00:00

    This pattern matches a known Excel issue that has been reported after recent Office updates: normal Paste, Ctrl+V, drag-and-drop, and fill actions can stop working, while Paste Special > Values may still work.

    Try these checks first:

    1. In Excel, go to File > Options > Advanced.
    2. Under Cut, copy and paste, make sure Show Paste Options button when content is pasted is enabled.
    3. Close all web browsers, then test paste again.
    4. Start Excel in Safe Mode to rule out add-ins:
      • Press and hold CTRL while starting Excel.
      • Select Yes when prompted to open in Safe Mode.
    5. If paste works in Safe Mode, re-enable add-ins one at a time and leave the conflicting add-in disabled or uninstall it.

    If the problem started within the last week and affects normal paste, drag-and-drop, and Ctrl+V, the likely change was a recent Office update. In reported cases, this issue was tied to a recent Excel update, and a temporary workaround was to remove the latest update or roll back to an earlier unaffected build.

    Important: removing or rolling back Office updates can also remove recent security fixes, so this should be reviewed carefully and, in managed environments, handled by IT.

    If the issue occurs only when copying between two separate Excel windows, open both workbooks in the same Excel instance. Excel cannot use its internal Paste Special functionality across multiple Excel instances.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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