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chuck2's avatar
chuck2
Occasional Reader
Jan 19, 2026

Python in Excel is enabled but the runtime never downloaded

Hi, 

Python in Excel is enabled but the runtime never downloaded.
Excel returns `/app/officepy/bin/python`, but the runtime folder is missing and HTTPS fails inside the sandbox.
This is the ghost-runtime state. Please escalate to the Office engineering team to reset rollout flags and push the runtime package to my device.

Excel build: 16.0.17231.20182 (Current Channel)
ODT repair: fails with “couldn’t install”
AppContainer: registered but empty
Runtime folder: missing under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office
HTTPS: 400 errors inside Python sandbox 

 

I tried everything possible with Co-pilot's help. I tried reinstalling office full repair and ODT reinstall attempted. The runtime package never downloads. Apparently, This requires a rollout flag reset.

 

Please help thanks

admin
developer
excel
office 365

1 Reply

  • chuck2's avatar
    chuck2
    Occasional Reader
    Jan 19, 2026

    This issue occurs on multiple devices in my Microsoft 365 Family subscription, across different networks (including mobile hotspot). Python UI is enabled on all devices, but the runtime never downloads on any of them.

    VBA HTTP requests, WEBSERVICE(), and Power Query also fail with the same 400/blank response pattern, which indicates the Excel networking sandbox was never initialized. This aligns with the ghost‑runtime state described by the engineering team.

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