I suddenly can’t edit documents on my iPad.

Question

I’ve been using Word on my iPad to edit documents, but since this afternoon, I suddenly can’t edit anything. It seems like editing is restricted. I thought maybe the free trial had expired, so I created a new account, but it still doesn’t work. What’s the reason? Do I need a subscription? Is there no such problem when using a computer? Could it be a bug in the app itself? Even if I only want to do simple editing, not use any advanced features, does it still require a paid subscription?

Answer 1

In some cases, when you are opening files, they open as read-only. Read-only means you can only view or print.

1. Some antivirus programs may protect you from potentially unsafe files by opening them read-only.
2. To help protect your computer, files from some potentially unsafe locations, such as email attachments or files you've downloaded from internet, are opened in Protected View.
3. If the file is stored on OneDrive and your OneDrive storage space is full, you will be unable to save the document.
4. The most common situation is your Microsoft 365 or Office isn't activated or your Microsoft 365 subscription has expired. Did you get an Unlicensed Product message or an activation error?