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Excel Not Responding: How to Fix Freezes

Short answer: Excel freezing or showing "Not Responding" is often caused by add-ins, a large or damaged file, or an outdated install.

Is Excel down?

Before you change settings, check Microsoft 365 Service health. If there's an outage, wait it out.

How to fix it: step by step

1. Wait a minute; Excel may be finishing a heavy calculation.
2. Start Excel in Safe Mode (hold Ctrl while opening Excel, or run "excel /safe"). If it works, an add-in is likely the problem.
3. Disable add-ins in File > Options > Add-ins (COM Add-ins > Go).
4. Update Office via File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.
5. Use Open and Repair: File > Open > select the file > click the arrow next to Open > Open and Repair.
6. Repair Office from Windows Settings > Apps > Microsoft 365 > Modify > Quick Repair.

FAQ

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Last checked Oct 2026 against the official help page: Microsoft Support. Menus can differ by app version; follow the official page if a step doesn't match.