Files saved to One Drive are loading very slow

Question

I am having an issue with my excel files that are saved through onedrive where the local versions are really slow and lag. Every click or anything I type into a cell has a delay which can take more than 1 second to input. I've stopped syncing, turned off autosaved, went into advanced settings on Excel to fix this but it's not working.

I tested excel files saved to my computer and off OneDrive and they work smoothly as well as the online excel versions. My files aren't complicated or large (for example one file is 202KB). I've looked at different solutions and none of them seem to work.

Answer 1

Hello @Tzi,     

Thank you for posting your valuable question on Microsoft Q&A forum.      

Based on your description, I understand that you’re experiencing significant lag when working with Excel files stored in OneDrive, even though the same files work smoothly when saved locally or opened in Excel Online. Please let me know if I misunderstood any part of your issue or if there are additional details you’d like to clarify. 

To help us provide the most accurate and effective solution, could you share a bit more information about your setup: 

• Does this issue happen to your personal Microsoft account or a work/school account or both? 
• Are you working on a Windows 10/11 device, or using another operating system? Does this issue occur on other devices using the same OneDrive account? 
• Does every Excel file in OneDrive lag, or only specific ones? 
• When opening the file, do you see a green checkmark, cloud icon, or sync arrows on the file in File Explorer? 
• Have you checked whether OneDrive has a large number of pending sync items? 
• Which OneDrive version/build are you running? (You can find this under OneDrive Settings > About.) 

These details help us narrow down whether the issue is caused by OneDrive’s sync process, organizational policies, Excel itself, or something specific to your device. 

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In the meantime, here are some initial checks you can try for a windows device: 

Use Excel's Check Performance feature:  

• Open the affected Excel sheets.  
• Navigate to Review tab > Check Performance (or Performance in some versions).  

• You'll see a pop up Workbook Performance on the right side of your workbook.  

• You can choose to Optimize selected sheets or Optimize all.  

Start Excel in Safe Mode 

• Press Win + R, type: excel /safe   
• If Excel opens in Safe Mode, disable add-ins: File > Options > Add-ins > Manage COM Add-ins > Uncheck all > OK.   
• Restart Excel normally.   

Run Office Repair from Control Panel   

• Close all office apps completely.   
• Go to Control Panel > Program > Programs and Features   
• Right click on the Microsoft Office you've installed > Change.   

• Select Quick Repair first (fast and doesn’t require internet).   

• If the issue persists, run Online Repair (requires internet and takes longer).   

 

Update Office to the latest version 

• Outdated builds can trigger this activation error.  Open Excel, Word, Outlook, or any Office app. 
• Click File in the top left. 
• Select Account (or Office Account). 
• Under Product Information, look for Office Updates. 
• Click the Update Options button. 
• Choose Update Now. 

Relink OneDrive from this PC  

• Backup all your important data. 
• Click the OneDrive icon > Settings > Account   
• In the Account tab, select the old OneDrive entry > Unlink this PC   

• You may be forced to sign in again > follow the prompt and complete the set up.   

 

Please let me know whether the issue persists after completing all the steps, and share the results so I can continue assisting you with further troubleshooting. 

I apologize if I couldn’t jump straight to a final solution. I want to avoid suggesting anything inaccurate, especially since OneDrive/Excel settings can vary depending on account type, policies, and client version. With the additional information above, I’ll be able to provide more targeted guidance and move toward resolving the issue efficiently. 

Looking forward to your response so we can continue troubleshooting this together. 

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Answer 2

Hi Tzi,

Excel lagging when opened from OneDrive is a known issue but there are some things you can do.

Turn off the Sync Office Files option;

Right click the OneDrive icon > Select settings > Uncheck 'Use Office Applications to sync Office files that I open'

Disable Files On Demand

Right click OneDrive > Settings > 'Sync And Backup' > Turn off 'Files On-Demand'.

Clear Excels cache

Close excel > Press Windows Key + R > enter %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache > Delete everything in the folder > Reopen Excel.

You could also try updating office when in Excel by going to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now or by signing out and back into Office in Excel by going to File > Account > Sing out and then signing back in.

The last option available to you would be to take the file outside of OneDrive as you have done working in it locally and then uploading it and replacing the old one in OneDrive once you have finished.

With this being a known issue I do not believe there to be a permanent fix but the options above could alleviate the issue somewhat.

Hope this helps.