Forum Discussion
How to unprotect Excel sheet if forgot the password
I recently encountered a problem and hope to get your help. I set a protection password for an Excel file before. Now I want to modify some data, but I found that I forgot Excel password. I wonder if there is any way to remove the protection or unprotect Excel sheet password? If anyone knows a related solution or has had a similar experience, please share it, thank you very much!
This file is very important to me, and there is a lot of work data in it. I have tried some methods found on the Internet, but none of them worked. It would be great if someone could provide some specific steps or recommend some tools.
69 Replies
I found this post from search engine and tried a couple of answers shared by others in this thread. However,
most of them were not working. Fortunately, I recovered the password successfully thanks to the reply made
by LindaHamilto.https://www.softfixnow.com/how-to-unprotect-excel-sheet
P.S. for strong open password, you have to wait sometime to finally retrieve the password and unprotect the
sheet afterwards.Hi,
This situation is very common in Excel, your data is so precious that you password protect it but forget the password. I will provide a solution through one of my YouTube tutorials, assuming good intentions and legal use only. Here is the short video Tutorial:
https://youtu.be/1r4gZB8jisYHope that helps
To unprotect the file, just upload it to Copilot and enter the command 'Unprotect this file.' It should be done in about a minute.
Hi, This doesn't work for me
This works! Thank you for this workaround!
nabilmourad, thank you for simple, yet functional workaround!
Works as of your tutorial!
I successfully saved my Excel document to Google Sheets, which removed the worksheet protection. Then, I saved it back as an Excel file on my desktop.
Works like a charm....Thanks for your help
This was an awesome fix. I had a single sheet in multi sheet workbook copied the locked sheet to a new excel then uploaded to google doc and redownloaded and added back in then reloaded password protection.
This is the smartest way among all the solutions that I searched. I resolved my issue of the protected sheet in less than 2 minutes. Thanks.
How do I unlock a Workbook, Worksheet, VBA Project, without a password?
Here, an attempt is made to set these up hierarchically so that the user can distinguish for themselves from the outset which protection they have and which unlocking options and effort are required.
You don't need to change the file extension to zip or arj or whatever.
You can just right click the xlsx file and choose to open it with a ZIP editor.
I use and recommend 7-zip.Thereafter, the procedure is the same as explained by EdwardGreen and ToddSumrall, i.e.:
- Find the directory called \xl\worksheets\ and spot the (first) XML file related to the sheet you want to unlock.
- Right-click the XML file and choose EDIT -> your text editor will open the XML file.
- Inside the XML file, find the "sheetProtection" tag and entirely delete it (i.e. from the "<" symbol just before "sheetProtection", to the nextcoming ">" symbol, both included).
- Save the XML file
- Close the XML file and when prompted, confirm you want to reload the modified xml file into the xlsx archive.
very nice, thank you!
This worked perfectly, and so easy! Thank you so so much!
Just want to drop a thankyou for this one. I knew how to do it like this but only by saving it as a zip etc. and going around the houses.
Good straight to the point tip with any easy explanation not often found on the internet.
Thanks.
For your information, you can open a worksheet/VBA Project/ etc. but not a workbook!
Opening Excel workbooks is almost impossible, even Microsoft informs inform its customers that this is not possible.
There is a “high” probability that you can open a worksheet or a workbook structure but not a locked workbook.
Even if many websites on the Internet report that these files can be opened, this is usually not possible. What these websites are doing is brute force with a mask attack. Most of the time you get a message afterwards that the file cannot be opened and you can insert a new one.
Brute force method just tries all possible combinations of characters and symbols automatically controlled, which also takes a lot of time to find MS Excel password, most of the time it doesn't work.
Opening a workbook is very time-consuming and associated with high resource costs. The only files that could possibly be unlocked are the older types of Excel files.
If I may last recommend, don't let anyone tell you (not even me 🙂 that it's easy and possible, so be careful with the offers you can find on the internet.
Thank you for your understanding & time
- If you're really stuck, consider seeking professional help! If you've forgotten your password and can't recover it, it might be time to bring in the experts. They'll have the right tools and expertise to help you recover your file without compromising its security.
I once actually found myself in a situation similar to yours. I had an Excel file with important work data, and I had completely forgotten Excel sheet password I had set. After trying many methods found online, I finally succeeded with a seemingly "hacky" method, which was to modify the ZIP file to unprotect Excel sheet without password.
First, I changed the file extension from .xlsx to .zip, which basically told the computer that the Excel file was actually a compressed file. Then I opened the ZIP file with 7-Zip, or any software that can handle ZIP files.
Inside the ZIP, I found a directory called \xl\worksheets\, which contained several XML files, one for each worksheet. I opened the XML file for the worksheet I needed to edit, using a text editor. Inside the file, I found a <sheetProtection> tag, which seemed to be clearly about protection settings.
I deleted the tag entirely, saved, and closed the XML file. After that, I put all the modified files back into the ZIP file and changed the file extension from .zip back to .xlsx.
When I opened the Excel file, I nervously clicked it and it opened without asking for a password. I was able to access all the data and edit it freely.
Although this method works, I would still recommend using it with caution because it involves modifying the file structure and can damage the file if not done correctly. Also, for password protection, it is best to remember the password or write it down in a safe place in case you need to use this method in the future. Hope this helps!
Worked for me! Thanks so much!
EdwardGreen Hello. Can you help me out? The Zip File won't open my File. What should I do?
- Worked like a charm. For me, it was just the first sheet's XML that had the sheetprotection tag.
Thanks!
Ok. Unless you're feeling adventurous and have nothing to lose, I'd advise against using VBA to unprotect Excel sheet password. Instead, try other methods like asking the creator of the file for the password or seeking permission from the relevant authorities.
