Sorting function in Excel 365 stopped functioning for no apparent reason and remains inactive after reinstall

Question

Microsoft 365, installed with Hebrew interface, I use it for several languages and have multi-sheet Excel tables with both text and numbers. I use complex sorting all the time and frequently to sort by urgency - first column is a number defined as a number, then by other columns, that mostly contain text. They all used to work fine for many months now, no problems at all.
Suddenly a few days ago, in all worksheets, sorting and complex sorting stopped working. I updated No worksheet of mine was protected and it used to work fine in all those worksheets. Most of my tables do have conditional formatting rules applied to them.
Now, the sort function under the "data" tab simply does not respond, I sort and nothing happens. I tried copying the table into a new sheet, without formatting, but it still didn't work. I reinstalled / fixed Microsoft office "online" but it didn't solve the problem.
Please help me find a solution to this,
Best regards
Tomer.

Answer 1

Hello Tomer Rosen Grace

I can see that you are having issue with Excel

Since sorting also fails in a new unformatted workbook, this sounds less like a worksheet-formatting issue and more like an Excel environment issue, such as grouped sheets, add-ins, startup files, or a damaged user/app setting.

First make sure Excel is fully updated, then here are what you can try to fix this issue:

1. Check whether sheets are accidentally grouped Look at the Excel title bar. If you see**[Group]**, right-click any sheet tab and choose Ungroup Sheets. Excel keeps grouped sheets grouped after saving/reopening, and grouped sheets can cause actions to behave unexpectedly across worksheets
2. Test Excel in Safe Mode Press Windows + R, type: excel /safe
   Then open a new workbook, enter a small sample table, and try Data > Sort. Safe Mode bypasses several Excel settings, startup folders, Excel add-ins, and most COM add-ins, so it is a useful way to check whether something loaded with Excel is interfering.
3. If sorting works in Safe Mode, disable add-ins in normal Excel, go to File > Options > Add-ins. At the bottom, set Manage to COM Add-ins, select Go, and clear the add-ins. Repeat the same check for Excel Add-ins. Add-ins can interfere with Excel behavior, and the add-in settings can remain even after an Office repair/reinstall.

I hope this help fix your Excel issue. Feel free reply back to this post and update me on this issue, I will be happy to help.