Why is my microsoft word say "selection locked" when I try to type?

Which version of Office do you have? If it is a subscription (such as Microsoft 365 Personal), the "selection locked" message may be a sign that your subscription is up for renewal.

Dear @lB12,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft 365 Q&A forum community reaching out regarding the "Selection locked" message and the persistent "Sign in" prompt in Microsoft Word. This usually indicates an issue with the licensing activation of your Microsoft 365/Office suite. Word is running in a read-only or unlicensed mode, which is why it prevents you from typing.  

To help me narrow down the cause, could you please provide the following details?  

1. Are you trying to type in an existing document or a new one? 
2. Is the file stored locally or on a cloud service like OneDrive or SharePoint? 
3. Have you recently made any changes to your Office installation or settings? 
4. Are there any additional restrictions on the document that you are aware of? 

In the meantime, please try the following official troubleshooting options which usually resolve issues with basic issues: 

Option 1: Office activation issue 

• If Word is not activated or your subscription expired, editing is disabled. 
• Go to File > Account and check if it says Product Activated. 
• If not, sign in with the account linked to your Microsoft 365 subscription and activate Office. 

Option 2: Document protection 

• The file may be marked as Read-only or protected. 
• Check under Review > Restrict Editing and disable restrictions if enabled. 

For detailed guidance, please refer to Microsoft’s official documentation: Allow changes to parts of a protected Word document - Microsoft Support 

Option 3: Licensing or Sign-in loop 

If Word keeps asking you to sign in, clear credentials:  

• Close Word, go to Windows Settings > Accounts > Access work or school, disconnect and reconnect your Microsoft account. 
• Restart Word and sign in again. 

Option 4: Resetting Office activation status  

The most effective and official way to resolve persistent activation and sign-in issues is by using Download Enterprise Version of Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant from Official Microsoft Dow… This tool can diagnose, and fix issues related to your Office installation and activation state automatically.  

This is stepped to run assistant tool 

• Download the SaRA tool from Microsoft. 
• Run the tool and select the option for Office and Office installation and activation. 
• Follow the on-screen prompts to fix the issue. 

I truly hope you understand that the initial steps I suggested may not have completely resolved the issue, as there might still be underlying causes, we haven't uncovered yet. Please know that I’m here with you every step of the way, ready to work together and do everything I can to help troubleshoot and find the best solution.  

After activation and removing restrictions, you should be able to type normally. If the issue persists, please confirm whether your subscription is active and if the document is protected. Please let me know if you have any further questions. 

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The "selection locked" message in Microsoft Word typically indicates that the document is in a restricted mode, possibly due to editing permissions or document protection settings. Here are some steps you can take to resolve this issue:

1. Check Document Protection: Ensure that the document is not protected. If it is, you may need to remove the protection by going to the Review tab and selecting Restrict Editing. If prompted, enter the password to unlock it.
2. Check Permissions: If you're working on a document shared with you, check if you have the necessary permissions to edit it. You may need to ask the document owner to grant you editing rights.
3. Sign Out and Back In: Since you mentioned that you logged out and back in, ensure that you are using the correct account that has the necessary permissions for the document.
4. Update Microsoft Word: Make sure your Microsoft Word is up to date. Sometimes, issues can arise from using an outdated version of the software.
5. Restart Word: Close Microsoft Word completely and reopen it. Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve temporary glitches.

If the problem persists, consider checking the Microsoft support documentation or forums for further assistance.

References:

• Troubleshoot problems that occur when you start or use Word