Word translator stopped working

Steel Contributor

Hello all,

 

since a few days, the Translator tool in Word stopped working, when selecting the translate option of a part of text, the Translator window opens in Word, but does not render the language panes I used to see (source and target language), instead the Translator hangs ... busy loading.. nothing.

translatorissue.jpg

 

I can access the microsofttranslator.com website (now redirecting to Bing Translator)...

 

Does anyone got some suggestions to troubleshoot this situation?

 

Rgds, 
Peter

 

15 Replies

@Peter_Geelen Under File>Options>Trust Center>Trust Center Settings>Privacy Options, do you have a check mark in the box for "Turn on all connected experiences"?

 

If so, as the Translator loads properly here and functions correctly, I would suggest 

performing an On-Line repair of the Office installation as detailed in the Knowledge Base article at:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Repair-an-Office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c...

Meanwhile I did an on-line repair of the office installation, with no luck.

It looks like the DNS malware protection is blocking websites that Translator is using...

After a bit testing to find network issues I switched to a VPN, this way the local network firewall and the DNS PiHole (DNS adware blocker) server are out of the picture.
Then Translator starts working again... but I can't find the exact DNS domain that is being blocked in the DNS server.

Is there a list of DNS names that the Translator uses, I can manually unblock or put it on the DNS white list?

Same thing here it is so strange as it works perfectly with VPN and it used to work flawlessly just few weeks ago.

is there any settings that needs to be changed in the security settings? @Peter_Geelen 

by doing further search i found this solution: (last entry about changing the DNS settings for IPV4:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/why-isnt-translator-in-word-working/c0b518ca-...
I did it and it actually worked without any issues and without the VPN. Still do not understand why but as long as it works as I use the translator frequently.
Would love to know the technical reasons behind this.
Hi all,
Since a couple of weeks (maybe two months) my translator in Word also stopped working. I tried the advice from the previous posts but it didn't work. In my case Translate doesn't hang, but I get an error message immediately when I select 'Translate document' or 'Translate section'. The error messages reads as follows:

In Dutch: FOUT Deze invoegtoepassing kan niet worden gestart omdat deze niet goed is ingesteld.

In English it must be something like: ERROR This add-in cannot be started because it is not properly configured.

I did a full repair with my Office 365 subscription, and I've checked the privacy settings of the trust center (allowing optional connected experiences), but nothings seems to help. With another laptop connected to the same Wifi it still works, although that laptop runs Windows 10, and my laptop runs Windows 11.

It looks to me that my add-in is faulty or not correctly set, but I cannot find the location of the add-in and don't whether it can or must be (re)installed.

Many thanks for any clue,
Robbert
Hi all, Has anyone got a clue why I get this error? Many thanks in advance. Robbert

-> Peter_Geelen 

... some year's later... found the solution

Got it fixed.

 

I went into the registry. Then to HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> SOFTWARE -> Microsoft -> Office.  Renamed the office folder to office.old.

Then closed and re-opened word and after that translation worked with no issues.

Hi Peter,

Incredible and thanks a lot. It works!

Bizar that nobody else on the interne proposes this solution, as far as I can find.

Have a nice evening!
Robbert

Hi, thanks for the solution.@Balanar777 

For those who would like to avoid deleting all the key/folder causing a reset of all Office Apps.
I have found that it is related to this key/folder only (16.0 if your Office pack is recent one):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentConfigs

@Peter_Geelen by doing further search i found this solution: (last entry about changing the DNS settings for IPV4:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/why-isnt-translator-in-word-working/c0b518ca-...
I did it and it actually worked without any issues and without the VPN. Still do not understand why but as long as it works as I use the translator frequently.
Would love to know the technical reasons behind this.
You can also get more info from ehsaasprogram8171

@Peter_Geelen i was also facing the same issue at https://driver.pk/ below i have some suggestions for you. 

Experiencing issues with the Translator tool in Microsoft Word can be disruptive, particularly when dependent on its functionality for productive workflows.

Basic Troubleshooting Steps

  1. Ensure Software Updates: Keeping Microsoft Word updated alongside verifying a robust internet connection is crucial.

  2. Application Restart: Addressing minor software glitches may sometimes be as simple as restarting Word.

  3. Account Verification: Ensuring active login to your Microsoft account and re-logging if needed can sometimes resolve synchronization issues.

That worked but the error returned when closing and reopening Word.
What fixed it for us was deleting this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WEF\SolutionPackages

Not sure what it does though.

These repair directions did the trick!  Thank you,@Doug_Robbins_Word_MVP !