Excel won't open after upgrade

Question

I just upgraded to Microsoft 365 to get more data capacity. Now I can't open Excel or Word!

Answer 1

To minimize irrelevant guesswork & speculative responses it's a good idea to provide specific version information as well as pertinent details.

• Exactly what did you upgrade from?
• Exactly what did you upgrade to?
• What do you mean by data capacity? Larger OneDrive space?

Answer 2

Hi rdust progressiveenergysolutions.co

Thank you for reaching out to the Q&A Forum.

To better understand your situation, could you please share a few details:

• Which specific Microsoft 365 license is assigned to this account? If you are using a Microsoft 365 Business Basic license, it does not include permission to use the desktop apps. You can see more information here: Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365

• When you try to open the apps, do you see any specific error message or error code? (A screenshot would be very helpful, but please hide any personal email addresses).
• How did you install the apps? Did you download the new apps from account.microsoft.com, or are you trying to open previously installed versions of Office?

I look forward to your response!

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Answer 3

Follow these steps in order on the Mac to get Excel and Word working again after the Microsoft 365 upgrade:

1. Quit all Office apps
   Make sure Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote are all closed.
2. Completely remove the current Office for Mac apps
   1. Open Finder > Applications.
   2. Use Command + click to select all Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote).
   3. Ctrl+click the selection and choose Move to Trash.
3. Remove Office data folders (cleans corrupted components that can prevent apps from opening)
   1. In Finder, on the menu bar select Go > Go to Folder….
   2. Go to: ~/Library/Containers/
   3. Move these folders to Trash if present:
      • com.microsoft.Word
      • com.microsoft.Excel
      • com.microsoft.Powerpoint
      • com.microsoft.Outlook
      • com.microsoft.OneNote
   4. Go back to the Library folder and open Group Containers.
   5. Move these to Trash if present:
      • UBF8T346G9.ms
      • UBF8T346G9.Office
4. Reinstall Microsoft 365 for Mac
   1. Open a browser and sign in to the Microsoft account that owns the Microsoft 365 subscription at the services page.
   2. Download and reinstall the Office apps for Mac from there.
   3. After installation, open Word or Excel and sign in with the same subscription account when prompted.

If Excel or Word still will not open after reinstalling, repeat the steps to remove the apps and data folders, then reinstall again to ensure all corrupted components are cleared.

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References:

• Microsoft Office apps for Mac quit unexpectedly - Microsoft Q&A
• Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working
• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• Troubleshoot installing Office
• Excel opens to a blank screen
• Excel is no longer registered and can't access some server so it won't let me save anything - Microsoft Q&A