When opening a shared document, the message "Contacting the server for information" stays forever.

Question

Be it for Word or Excel, any time i try to open a document that's been shared to me with the desktop application, it shows forever "contacting the server for information". After a while, it displays the message "Cannot download the information you requested". I can use the online version of word without problem, the Teams version as well. I can also download and open, or simply create a document locally without any problem. I have tried to fix the problem using the apps and feature repair tool on Microsoft Office, but it didn't change anything. It's not an internet problem, as i can easily open it online or using Teams. Every time a question similar to mine is asked on the forums, the answer generally says to go look at this post: 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/why-am-i-getting-the-message-contacting-the-server-for-information-973c8d98-4d22-49b5-bc66-0d9d87783f99?ns=winword&version=90&syslcid=1033&uilcid=1033&appver=zwd900&helpid=141277&ui=en-us&rs=en-us&ad=us

 Which does not help my case. I have no idea what the problem is, and how to solve it, and as such i would really like some assistance.

Answer 1

Hi Xavier Riverin,

Thanks for visiting Microsoft Community.

I understand that you are currently experiencing an issue where trying to open a shared document in Word gets stuck at the "Contacting the server for information" progress bar.

Please try testing this issue with a new Windows local account. You can refer to this article on how to create a new local account.

• Manage user accounts in Windows - Microsoft Support

If the problem persists, I suggest testing in a different network environment, such as connecting to a mobile hotspot or enabling/disabling a VPN.

If you have any updates, feel free to share them here.

Best Regards,

Jonathan Z - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist