Excel Mobile App for iPad Suddenly Freezing, Failing to Save, and Becoming Unresponsive Across 22+ Devices

Question

Excel Mobile App for iPad Suddenly Freezing, Failing to Save, and Becoming Unresponsive Across 22+ Devices

Kane Wyatt 45

We have approximately 22 service technicians who use the Microsoft Excel mobile app on iPads every day to complete inspection reports in the field. This workflow has worked reliably for years.

However, within the span of approximately one day, all of our technicians began experiencing severe performance and reliability issues with Excel for iPad.

The issues include:

Excel taking an extremely long time to save files or failing to save altogether.
The app freezing or becoming unresponsive when attempting to Save a Copy.
Files occasionally failing to save changes.
The on-screen keyboard sometimes failing to appear when selecting a cell.
General freezing, lagging, and instability that has made Excel effectively unusable for our field technicians.

What is particularly unusual is that this began affecting essentially all of our technicians at approximately the same time.

We have a wide variety of iPads in service, including 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th-generation models, newer M4 iPads, and iPad Air models with different storage capacities. The same problems are occurring across all of them.

The devices are also running a variety of iPadOS versions, ranging from older versions to the newest available version. The issue does not appear to be isolated to a particular iPad model or iPadOS version.

We have also tested different file locations and network conditions. The problem occurs when:

Saving files locally on the iPad.
Saving to OneDrive.
Saving to iCloud.
Connected to Wi-Fi.
Connected through cellular service.
Using the device offline/in Airplane Mode.

We have tried troubleshooting the devices and Excel app extensively, but so far nothing has resolved the problem. Because Excel has become unreliable for our field operations, we have temporarily had to move our technicians to Google Sheets.

Given that the issue appeared almost simultaneously across 22+ devices with different hardware, iPadOS versions, storage configurations, network connections, and save locations, we are wondering whether there was a recent Excel for iOS/iPadOS app update or service-side change that could be responsible.

Has anyone else recently started experiencing similar issues with Excel for iPad — particularly freezing, extremely slow saving, failure to save, or the keyboard not appearing?

If Microsoft is aware of a current issue with Excel for iPad, is there a known workaround or an estimated fix?

Mike Syrcle 20 Reputation points

2026-09-18T03:04:16.91+00:00

Kane, I am having the same issue which started 9/16 while at my customer’s facility. This did start after my iPad and iPhone preformed the latest update on 9/15. The evening of 9/16, I updated to the latest IOS, reinstalled the excel app. Today, I tried working offline, and turned off auto save. The only thing working extremely well is my trucker mouth. Bottom line, Microsoft update caused this issue! Now it’s time to see how long it will take them to fix it. Please let me know if they find a solution.
Kane Wyatt 45 Reputation points

2026-09-18T19:13:21.24+00:00

Thanks Mike - glad to know we are not alone here. I had a call back from Microsoft Support today for the ticket that I opened and their hoping to have confirmation on the fix soon. I am surprised that there isnt more online about this issue. Surely MANY others are experiencing the same.
Chris G 15 Reputation points

2026-09-18T21:43:06.0033333+00:00

Exact same issue and timeframe with me. I’ve tried all the suggested workarounds, but none were successful. Approached Apple Support, but all their tests were also fruitless.
Mike Syrcle 20 Reputation points

2026-09-20T01:01:38.53+00:00

Kane,

My workbooks that I was working with have 5 worksheets (ranging from 1 to 3 pages) which have several cells linked to other worksheets within the workbook. I have 1 file per equipment that I’m performing ISO9001 certification for. They vary from 56KB to 305KB in size.
Dai Nguyen 5 Reputation points

2026-09-20T23:52:14.61+00:00

Can you pls tell me the link to the ticket so I can check the progress! It is so urgent to my org
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-21T01:34:36.3033333+00:00

Dear Everyone,

I have seen similar issues reported by multiple users. To potentially reach a resolution more efficiently while minimizing further disruption to your business operations, you may also wish to contact your Microsoft 365 administrator and ask them to open a support request through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Help & Support.

In the meantime, I also recommend reporting the issue directly through the Excel app on the affected iPads. Select your profile picture in the top left. Then, select Help & Feedback from the list.

Please notice and accept my apologies that as moderators in the community, we are not supported for the product design and have limited resources for the advanced info for Microsoft products. To help you send your feedback and requirement to the related development team, we have redirected you to the correct path. Greatly appreciate again for your patience and understanding.
Kane Wyatt 45 Reputation points

2026-09-21T17:01:19.61+00:00
Ticket Number that I currently have open: (not sure which of the below is the ticket number so i have provide both)

TrackingID#[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]

OP[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]
Joel Harshberger 0 Reputation points

2026-09-21T20:34:31.9933333+00:00

September 21, 2026 I had the same problem on my iPad Mini and iPhone 12. I tried all of the suggestions above but no luck. The problem was with a large Excel file, but I didn't have the problem with smaller files. My problem file had a data sheet for each month for several years and was over 4MB. I made a copy and deleted all but several sheets and that reduced the file size to 64KB. I haven't had the problem since. That may be impractical with technician's files of customer data or something like that, but it's what helped me.
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T01:16:50.2466667+00:00

Hello Kane Wyatt,

Based on the ticket ID you shared, I can see that a support agent is already assisting you with this issue. Please continue working with the assigned agent through your existing support case, as they will be best positioned to follow up on the investigation and assist you further.

I sincerely hope your issue is resolved soon.
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T01:18:23.6466667+00:00

Hi Joel,

Please refer to my previous comment for instructions on how to raise a support ticket and report the issue.
Sylvie P 5 Reputation points

2026-09-24T16:56:46.5266667+00:00

I have just purchased an iPad with a magic keyboard and had Microsoft Office 365 put on it so I could use Excel for simple home accounts. I am a pensioner and find technology quite difficult now! Ever since I put new info on my Excel spreadsheet, transferred from my laptop (not Apple) it does not autosave and when I try to save to my iPad, it just hangs. I have been relieved to read these comments on the forum as I was putting it all down to being elderly. I paid a lot of money to have this iPad to make life easier. It certainly has not I certainly hope that Microsoft sort this problem out quickly otherwise the money spent on all of this has been a waste. Thank you everybody who has commented. I know now it is not down to user error in my situation. I hope somebody responds soon saying that there has been a fix and it will work properly. Good luck to all of you in the working environment. It must’ve been more than a headache for you all.
Dale Ritchie 10 Reputation points

2026-09-24T17:24:51.08+00:00

When is Microsoft going to announce they are addressing this issue?
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-25T06:22:19.7766667+00:00

Dear Everyone,

The issue is currently being investigated by the Microsoft product team. I will continue to monitor the issue, and once a fix is confirmed, I will update you here as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Michaela Ditchfield 0 Reputation points

2026-09-26T01:50:05.0666667+00:00

I just spent two weeks on the road experiencing the same issues. I saw the AI answer and I followed all the recommended solutions listed. Nothing has fixed the issue so far. Is there a timeline yet on when this will be fixed?
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-28T06:46:59.6166667+00:00

Hello,

I’m sorry to hear that you’re still experiencing the same issue after trying all the recommended troubleshooting steps. Unfortunately, I still don’t have any additional information or an official timeline for a fix at this time.

I understand how frustrating this has been, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime.
Peter Crowe 0 Reputation points

2026-09-28T07:46:01.59+00:00

Thank you for the comments, i am experiencing the same problems. Clearly a Microsoft isue
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-29T03:14:31.6433333+00:00

Hello Peter,

Thank you for confirming that you are experiencing the same issue.

This issue is currently awaiting a fix, so for now, please allow some additional time for it to be addressed.
cZwonderpig 0 Reputation points

2026-10-01T01:04:54.8966667+00:00

I started having this problem after updating to the last IOS26update . The problem resolved itself after updating to the latest IOS27 update
Robert Wells 0 Reputation points

2026-10-01T13:32:38.6766667+00:00

We are reporting the same problem from a separate field-service business in Australia. Our problems began on 17 September 2026 and remain active on 1 October.

Multiple technicians across several states, iPads and Excel/iPadOS versions are affected. Data entered into Excel during a job disappears after closing and reopening. Excel also freezes and sometimes closes. The failure occurs with locally saved iPad files as well as our SharePoint/OneDrive workbooks. In affected cloud files, the missing edits do not appear in SharePoint version history.

We have checked our SharePoint storage and have capacity available. We have been forced to move technicians to Google Sheets as an unsatisfactory emergency workaround that disrupts our existing registers and field workflow.

This is repeated loss of business inspection data. Please escalate to the Excel iOS/iPadOS product team and provide an investigation/tracking ID, affected builds, a confirmed fixed build or timeline, and a tested workaround that preserves unsynchronized work. Advice to reset or reinstall needs clear preservation instructions before local data is removed. We need a reliable saving fix, not continued generic troubleshooting.
JD 0 Reputation points

2026-10-01T13:52:11.6433333+00:00

I've been experiencing these issues when using Excel on my iPhone since mid-September.

I tried the various recommended troubleshooting steps too, but nothing worked.

Yesterday I uninstalled Excel, then reinstalled it. This seems to have resolved most of the issues and I can now save changes to Excel files again.

I noticed though that saving to OneDrive (with auto-save on), the sync icon still continues to spin indefinitely. Edits are saved when I close the file. Or I can toggle off auto-save and save manually. But it's disconcerting to see the sync icon spinning all the time.
Mike P 5 Reputation points

2026-10-01T13:56:37.9866667+00:00

installing the latest IOS 27 update fixed this problem for me
Joe 5 Reputation points

2026-10-02T20:37:19.6+00:00

I installed IOS 26.71 on my 12 Pro Max and the problem fixed itself. I guess the problem was Apple's.

7 answers

Your answer

Mike Syrcle 20 Reputation points

2026-09-18T03:04:16.91+00:00

Kane, I am having the same issue which started 9/16 while at my customer’s facility. This did start after my iPad and iPhone preformed the latest update on 9/15. The evening of 9/16, I updated to the latest IOS, reinstalled the excel app. Today, I tried working offline, and turned off auto save. The only thing working extremely well is my trucker mouth. Bottom line, Microsoft update caused this issue! Now it’s time to see how long it will take them to fix it. Please let me know if they find a solution.
Kane Wyatt 45 Reputation points

2026-09-18T19:13:21.24+00:00

Thanks Mike - glad to know we are not alone here. I had a call back from Microsoft Support today for the ticket that I opened and their hoping to have confirmation on the fix soon. I am surprised that there isnt more online about this issue. Surely MANY others are experiencing the same.
Chris G 15 Reputation points

2026-09-18T21:43:06.0033333+00:00

Exact same issue and timeframe with me. I’ve tried all the suggested workarounds, but none were successful. Approached Apple Support, but all their tests were also fruitless.
Mike Syrcle 20 Reputation points

2026-09-20T01:01:38.53+00:00

Kane,

My workbooks that I was working with have 5 worksheets (ranging from 1 to 3 pages) which have several cells linked to other worksheets within the workbook. I have 1 file per equipment that I’m performing ISO9001 certification for. They vary from 56KB to 305KB in size.
Dai Nguyen 5 Reputation points

2026-09-20T23:52:14.61+00:00

Can you pls tell me the link to the ticket so I can check the progress! It is so urgent to my org
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-21T01:34:36.3033333+00:00

Dear Everyone,

I have seen similar issues reported by multiple users. To potentially reach a resolution more efficiently while minimizing further disruption to your business operations, you may also wish to contact your Microsoft 365 administrator and ask them to open a support request through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Help & Support.

In the meantime, I also recommend reporting the issue directly through the Excel app on the affected iPads. Select your profile picture in the top left. Then, select Help & Feedback from the list.

Please notice and accept my apologies that as moderators in the community, we are not supported for the product design and have limited resources for the advanced info for Microsoft products. To help you send your feedback and requirement to the related development team, we have redirected you to the correct path. Greatly appreciate again for your patience and understanding.
Kane Wyatt 45 Reputation points

2026-09-21T17:01:19.61+00:00

Ticket Number that I currently have open: (not sure which of the below is the ticket number so i have provide both)

TrackingID#[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]

OP[Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]
Joel Harshberger 0 Reputation points

2026-09-21T20:34:31.9933333+00:00

September 21, 2026 I had the same problem on my iPad Mini and iPhone 12. I tried all of the suggestions above but no luck. The problem was with a large Excel file, but I didn't have the problem with smaller files. My problem file had a data sheet for each month for several years and was over 4MB. I made a copy and deleted all but several sheets and that reduced the file size to 64KB. I haven't had the problem since. That may be impractical with technician's files of customer data or something like that, but it's what helped me.
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T01:16:50.2466667+00:00

Hello Kane Wyatt,

Based on the ticket ID you shared, I can see that a support agent is already assisting you with this issue. Please continue working with the assigned agent through your existing support case, as they will be best positioned to follow up on the investigation and assist you further.

I sincerely hope your issue is resolved soon.
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T01:18:23.6466667+00:00

Hi Joel,

Please refer to my previous comment for instructions on how to raise a support ticket and report the issue.
Sylvie P 5 Reputation points

2026-09-24T16:56:46.5266667+00:00

I have just purchased an iPad with a magic keyboard and had Microsoft Office 365 put on it so I could use Excel for simple home accounts. I am a pensioner and find technology quite difficult now! Ever since I put new info on my Excel spreadsheet, transferred from my laptop (not Apple) it does not autosave and when I try to save to my iPad, it just hangs. I have been relieved to read these comments on the forum as I was putting it all down to being elderly. I paid a lot of money to have this iPad to make life easier. It certainly has not I certainly hope that Microsoft sort this problem out quickly otherwise the money spent on all of this has been a waste. Thank you everybody who has commented. I know now it is not down to user error in my situation. I hope somebody responds soon saying that there has been a fix and it will work properly. Good luck to all of you in the working environment. It must’ve been more than a headache for you all.
Dale Ritchie 10 Reputation points

2026-09-24T17:24:51.08+00:00

When is Microsoft going to announce they are addressing this issue?
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-25T06:22:19.7766667+00:00

Dear Everyone,

The issue is currently being investigated by the Microsoft product team. I will continue to monitor the issue, and once a fix is confirmed, I will update you here as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Michaela Ditchfield 0 Reputation points

2026-09-26T01:50:05.0666667+00:00

I just spent two weeks on the road experiencing the same issues. I saw the AI answer and I followed all the recommended solutions listed. Nothing has fixed the issue so far. Is there a timeline yet on when this will be fixed?
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-28T06:46:59.6166667+00:00

Hello,

I’m sorry to hear that you’re still experiencing the same issue after trying all the recommended troubleshooting steps. Unfortunately, I still don’t have any additional information or an official timeline for a fix at this time.

I understand how frustrating this has been, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime.
Peter Crowe 0 Reputation points

2026-09-28T07:46:01.59+00:00

Thank you for the comments, i am experiencing the same problems. Clearly a Microsoft isue
Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-29T03:14:31.6433333+00:00

Hello Peter,

Thank you for confirming that you are experiencing the same issue.

This issue is currently awaiting a fix, so for now, please allow some additional time for it to be addressed.
cZwonderpig 0 Reputation points

2026-10-01T01:04:54.8966667+00:00

I started having this problem after updating to the last IOS26update . The problem resolved itself after updating to the latest IOS27 update
Robert Wells 0 Reputation points

2026-10-01T13:32:38.6766667+00:00

We are reporting the same problem from a separate field-service business in Australia. Our problems began on 17 September 2026 and remain active on 1 October.

Multiple technicians across several states, iPads and Excel/iPadOS versions are affected. Data entered into Excel during a job disappears after closing and reopening. Excel also freezes and sometimes closes. The failure occurs with locally saved iPad files as well as our SharePoint/OneDrive workbooks. In affected cloud files, the missing edits do not appear in SharePoint version history.

We have checked our SharePoint storage and have capacity available. We have been forced to move technicians to Google Sheets as an unsatisfactory emergency workaround that disrupts our existing registers and field workflow.

This is repeated loss of business inspection data. Please escalate to the Excel iOS/iPadOS product team and provide an investigation/tracking ID, affected builds, a confirmed fixed build or timeline, and a tested workaround that preserves unsynchronized work. Advice to reset or reinstall needs clear preservation instructions before local data is removed. We need a reliable saving fix, not continued generic troubleshooting.
JD 0 Reputation points

2026-10-01T13:52:11.6433333+00:00

I've been experiencing these issues when using Excel on my iPhone since mid-September.

I tried the various recommended troubleshooting steps too, but nothing worked.

Yesterday I uninstalled Excel, then reinstalled it. This seems to have resolved most of the issues and I can now save changes to Excel files again.

I noticed though that saving to OneDrive (with auto-save on), the sync icon still continues to spin indefinitely. Edits are saved when I close the file. Or I can toggle off auto-save and save manually. But it's disconcerting to see the sync icon spinning all the time.
Mike P 5 Reputation points

2026-10-01T13:56:37.9866667+00:00

installing the latest IOS 27 update fixed this problem for me
Joe 5 Reputation points

2026-10-02T20:37:19.6+00:00

I installed IOS 26.71 on my 12 Pro Max and the problem fixed itself. I guess the problem was Apple's.

Answer 1

Joe 5

This problem surfaced on my Iphone 12 pro max in the time referenced above. I have tried signing out of Excel for IOS, clearing the cache, uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Nothing works. I can open a file from OneDrive and save it and that will sync to Excel/IOS.

When I work on the iphone and try to save and exit, the app just hangs.

PLEASE FIX THIS!

0 comments

Answer 2

Yes — this appears to be a real, currently reported Excel-for-iPad issue, not simply a problem with one of your 22+ devices.

Reports from September 15–26, 2026 describe nearly the same pattern: Excel on iPad freezes while saving, existing workbooks fail to save, and the problem occurs across different iPads, iPadOS versions, storage locations, and networks. Microsoft moderators have acknowledged seeing similar reports and advised affected users to submit feedback/support cases. �

Microsoft Learn +1

What the evidence suggests

The problem began around September 15–17, 2026 for multiple users. �

Microsoft Learn +1

Some users report new blank workbooks saving normally while older/existing workbooks hang, suggesting the problem may involve particular workbook states rather than storage capacity alone. �

Microsoft Learn

It has been reported with local iPad storage, OneDrive, iCloud and other storage locations, including when offline, which makes a simple network/OneDrive problem less likely. �

Microsoft Learn

Reports also span different iPad generations and iPadOS versions. �

Microsoft Learn

Microsoft specifically recommends reporting the issue from Excel and providing the Excel version/build, iPad model, iPadOS version, storage location, and description of the existing-workbook saving failure. �

Microsoft Learn

What I would do for the 22+ devices

Stop relying on Excel for iPad to save the only copy of important reports.

Use Excel on the web, Windows/Mac, or another working device where possible. Microsoft Q&A users have reported that the same workbooks work correctly on PC/Android. �

Microsoft Learn

Preserve unsaved work before force-closing Excel.

If a workbook is currently open and contains important changes, try copying the data into a new workbook or opening the workbook through Excel for the web/another device before terminating the app.

Have your Microsoft 365 administrator open one organization-level support ticket.

For 22+ affected devices, this is more useful than treating each iPad as an independent fault. Microsoft staff specifically recommend contacting the Microsoft 365 administrator and opening a support request through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. �

Microsoft Learn

Send in-app feedback from several affected devices.

Include the exact Excel build and iPadOS version and state that 22+ devices started experiencing the same save/freezing behavior at approximately the same time. �

Microsoft Learn +1

Don't assume reinstalling Excel will fix it.

Several affected users have already tried restarting, reinstalling Excel, resetting credentials/settings, changing storage locations and working offline without resolving the problem. �

Microsoft Learn

There are also reports of a separate Microsoft 365/Office client regression during September, although the documented incident I found concerns Excel copy/paste rather than specifically the iPad save freeze, so I wouldn't claim that incident is the cause of your problem. �

Penn Mail Services

Bottom line: with 22+ iPads showing the same sudden behavior across different hardware, networks and storage locations, the evidence strongly points toward a software/service regression affecting Excel on Apple devices, rather than 22 individual iPad failures. The Microsoft community has active reports matching your symptoms as of late September 2026. �

Microsoft Learn +1

Answer 3

Víctor Löhr Rodríguez 0

Hola!

Desde hace más de 10 días Excel y Word se cuelgan o quedan congelados al guardar archivo. Todo esto ocurre desde las últimas actualizaciones que fueron hace no más de 15 días. Esto no me permite seguir avanzando con mi productividad ni mis trabajos personales. Trabajo en iPad, es la última generación iPad Pro M5), pero lamentablemente no guarda los archivos ni en la app archivos nativa de iOS, ni en OneDrive ni en la memoria propia del iPad.

Han sacado 3 actualizaciones, la última 2.114.2 y no resuelve el problema. Tengo muchas tareas pendientes y ya no sé cómo avanzar. Por favor necesito una solución, ya que no puedo seguir de manos cruzadas.

Jade Ng 15,860 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-29T03:17:53.9566667+00:00

Aviso: Esta plataforma está en inglés. Sin embargo, he notado que su mensaje estaba escrito en español, por lo que responderé en español para garantizar la claridad y ofrecer una mejor asistencia. Aunque se ha hecho todo lo posible por asegurar la precisión y claridad de la traducción, podrían existir ligeras discrepancias de significado o tono con respecto al texto original.

Hola,

Lamento las continuas molestias que este problema ha ocasionado, especialmente porque afecta su capacidad para realizar su trabajo.

Por favor, consulte mis comentarios anteriores para obtener la información más reciente sobre este asunto. Si surgen nuevas actualizaciones, las compartiré en este mismo hilo.

Agradezco su paciencia y comprensión, y le ofrezco nuevamente mis más sinceras disculpas por los inconvenientes causados.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

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