Forum Discussion
Excel puzzle - can't type into cell, exhausted support steps, need a tech wizard !
Excel desktop app on Mac won't let me edit cells (Word is fine)
already tried a full uninstall/reinstall with support
MacBook Air, macOS Tahoma 26.2
- Microsoft 365 Premium subscription
- Excel for Mac, Version 16.111.1
Problem:
In the Excel desktop app I can navigate the sheet and select/highlight cells, but I cannot type into a cell or into the formula bar
Already tried with a Microsoft support agent:
1. Confirmed subscription is active
2. Removed the Office license from Keychain Access
3. Fully removed the Office apps, emptied the Trash.
4. Reinstalled Office from account.microsoft.com
5. Result: Excel still won't let me type in a cell or in the formula bar, even in a new book
6. "Allow editing directly in cells" enabled.
8. Confirmed the keyboard itself is fine: Cmd+C works inside Excel, types normally in TextEdit
9. Opened Excel in safe mode (held Shift while launching) and creating a new blank workbook — issue persisted.
Microsoft support agent confirmed this isn't a subscription/activation issue and isn't a general keyboard/OS issue, since Word, TextEdit, and Excel's own search box all accept input normally — the problem is specifically isolated to typing into a cell or the formula bar in Excel.
Any ideas on what else could be blocking keyboard input specifically in Excel's grid/formula bar (e.g. a stuck editing mode, add-in, or accessibility permission specific to Excel) would be ! VERY ! appreciated.
3 Replies
Typing fails in both the grid and formula bar even in a new workbook, while Excel’s search box and other Mac apps accept input. That rules out worksheet protection or a dead keyboard. Use Help > Check for Updates and install the newest Excel build, then compare the symptom with Microsoft’s Excel for Mac known-issues page. Quit Excel and temporarily disable Excel add-ins through Tools > Excel Add-ins; also remove any files from Excel’s startup folders, then relaunch. Holding Shift while opening Excel should not be treated as an add-in isolation test on macOS. Test Excel in a new user account. If typing works there, the cause is in the original user’s Excel preferences, startup content, or permissions, which reinstalling Office may leave behind. If it fails in the new account, capture a screen recording, Excel version, macOS build, input-source layout, and installed add-ins, then use Help > Contact Support.
Thank you Jamony ! Your great suggestionsmade me realise it must be account drive - with support we loaded the excel version going back two updates & it fixed the issue. The newer version
Version 16.112.2 got caught in a loop apparently and not verifying my subscription in the background even though it shows as active, so was read only (& displayed read/write to user)
Cheers !
Thank you ! Your suggestions made me confident it was an account issue as worked fine with a diffferent excel account.
I installed an earlier Excel version (assistant said only excel) and it worked, reasoning they said:
"suggests that Excel was likely having trouble properly validating your account/license or syncing editing permissions with Microsoft's services. The newer Excel build may have been misinterpreting the account status and falling back to a read-only state."
NB the open excel file didnt show as read only, showed as read/write for user.
Version
https://res.public.onecdn.static.microsoft/mro1cdnstorage/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_Excel_16.110.26062818_Updater.pkg
My previous version with issue:
Version 16.112.2 (26082125)
Thank you !
