MacOs BigSur 11.3.1: You can’t open the application “Microsoft Excel” because it may be damaged or incomplete.

Question

Hello all

I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) running BigSur 11.3.1.

Excel suddenly stopped working and I get the error message You can’t open the application “Microsoft Excel” because it may be damaged or incomplete.

All Microsoft apps are up to date. In fact, I noticed that Excel updated automatically to version 16.50.21061301 a few hours ago, before the problem occurred.

I tried to follow a suggestion posted on these pages to remove the Excel cache and configuration file from the Library folder.

a. Completely quit all Office applications.

b. In Finder, press Command +Shift + G and enter ~/Libraryto open the Library folder. 

c. In the Library folder, if your macOS is Big Sur, open Containers folder and remove the folder “Microsoft.Excel”. If your macOS isn’t Big Sur, open Containers folder and remove the folder “com.microsoft.excel”.

d. Restart Mac and relaunch Excel application to see the results.

but it did not work and I got the same error message.

I tried to restore the folder folder “Microsoft.Excel” from Time Machine and restart, but that also did not work.

I ran Disk Utility and there was no error message.

I also tried to remove files from /var/folders as suggested elsewhere.

I also tried to restart in safe mode, but also in safe mode excel cannot be open.

What can I do?

Many thanks,

Luca.

Answer 1

Hi Luca

1. Go to the Applications folder.
2. Drag Microsoft Excel.app to the trash
3. Restart your Mac
4. Reinstall Microsoft Excel using this installer
5. Install package

That should fix the problem.

Answer 2

Thank you very much for your reply.

1. I tried both but none worked.
2. No, the app just automatically updated to the latest version.
3. All other office apps worked fine,

I tried out what you suggested, but unfortunately it did not work. The Excel app was already in the right place.

But I did manage to solve the problem thanks to Time Machine. I first cleaned up the cache folders and then I restored the Office Apps to the day before (version 16.49) and it works fine again.

I dread the moment in which it will automatically update again (to version 16.50), so I will keep Time Machine up to date.

Many thanks again!
Luca

Answer 3

I did not have to clean the cache. I simply restored from time machine and it worked. Of course, this means that I don't have the newest version, but that's ok.

Answer 4

Thank you very much for this additional solution. I will keep it mind.

Answer 5

Hi LucaVigano1,

This error usually occurs if the Office program was moved or duplicated. May I know if any changes were made which could have resulted the error?

The error indicates that Excel app is in your mac, perhaps it got moved from the Applications folder and all you need to do is drag it back to the Applications folder**.** Use Spotlight to search for Microsoft Excel.app*.* Once you find it, if it is not in the Applications folder, drag it to Applications and then see if it opens now.

Also, ensure you do not have duplicate entries of Excel app. To confirm, on the Finder menu, click File, and then click Find, in the search box, Excel. In the results, look for duplicate instances of the Excel icon.

If there are several Excel icons, select a duplicate icon. On the Finder menu, click File, and then select Move to Trash. Empty the Trash. Start the Office program.

Besides, please check if your Office apps are fully updated. The latest version of Microsoft 365/2019 for mac is 16.50 (21061301). To check the version, open any working Office app such as Word, go to the Word menu and choose About Word.

If the version appears lower, then manually update Office apps, click Help > Check for Updates from any of the Office apps to get the latest build.

If the issue persists, please provide us with the following information:

1. May I know if you open Excel app icon from the Dock or the Applications folder in Finder?
2. Did you make any change recently?
3. Please check if other Office apps are working fine.

Let us know the status. Have a nice day and stay safe.

Regards,

Neha