Excel prompts you to grant access to files and then hangs or shows a warning that it cannot open the .xlsx file because the format or extension is not valid

Last Updated: March 25, 2020

ISSUE

You may receive an unexpected prompt to Grant Access to files when you try to open a file or do "Save as..." or "Save a copy". When this happens, Excel may become unresponsive and you will need to force quit the application to recover.

STATUS: FIXED

This issue has been fixed with version 16.34. Please update to this version or newer to address this issue. For help installing the latest Office updates, please visit Install Office updates.

More Resources

Ask the experts

Connect with experts, discuss the latest Excel news, updates, and best practices, and read our blog.

Excel Tech Community

Get help in the community

Ask a question and find solutions from Support Agents, MVPs, Engineers, and other Excel users.

Excel Forum on Answers

Suggest a new feature

We love reading your suggestions and feedback! Share your thoughts. We're listening.

Provide feedback

See Also

Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Excel for Windows