Excel Crashes When I Create A Pivot Table

Question

Microsoft Excel crashes as soon as I create a pivot table in Excel. It can be a new workbook or a workbook that I created 15 pivot tables in last week.

I've already tried it in Safe Mode, this did not work.

I've already disabled all add-ins, this did not work.

There are no updates for Excel.

I've already reinstalled Excel.

The only thing that worked was logging in under a new MacOS user.

Answer 1

Dear Connor Mohs,

I have seen several users recently report similar PivotTable crashes in Excel for Mac, particularly with versions 16.114.1 and 16.114.3. Since the problem occurs in both new and existing workbooks, and Excel works under a new macOS user account, this may be related to a recent update or the current macOS profile.

As a temporary test, first back up your workbooks, then try installing an earlier Excel version, such as 16.113, from Microsoft’s Office for Mac update history.

1. Quit Excel and all other Office applications.
2. In Finder > Applications, move Microsoft Excel.app to the Trash.
3. Open the update-history page and download the individual Excel installer for version 16.113 or 16.113.4 (26100421)
4. Install that version and test a copy of the affected workbook.

Before testing, temporarily prevent Microsoft AutoUpdate from reinstalling the latest version. Open another Office app, select Help > Check for Updates, and turn off Automatically keep Microsoft Apps up to date. Re-enable automatic updates once Microsoft releases a version that resolves the problem.

You can also report the issue through Excel > Help > Feedback > Report a Problem and include your Excel and macOS versions. This will send the report to the relevant Microsoft product team, as contributors in this user-to-user forum cannot investigate the issue or intervene at the back-end level. We can only share suggestions based on our findings and personal experiences.