Microsoft Excel - Sorry, our server is temporarily having problems. We're working on it

Johnnie English 585 Reputation points
2026-01-01T21:27:27.8433333+00:00

This was working fine yesterday (12/31/25) but today, all day long when I click "Refresh All" I am getting the error:

Microsoft Excel - Sorry, our server is temporarily having problems. We're working to fix it.

The data types I have in my spreadsheet are "Stocks"

Under the ribbon it says COULDN'T REFRESH DATA TYPES Sorry, our server is temporarily having problems. We're working to fix it.

Yes, I am connected to the internet, no issues there.

Is this a problem I need to do something to fix or wait until Microsoft fixes it? It has been doing this for at least 8 hours.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. D R 385 Reputation points
    2026-01-02T15:05:26.0966667+00:00

    The most likely cause is a server-side expiration on Microsoft's end. It is highly probable that a security certificate, data service contract, or API token used by Microsoft to connect to their data provider (Refinitiv/LSEG) expired on December 31, 2025, and was not automatically renewed. So if that's the case, it's a Super Simple Fix--that's the Good News. Here's the Bad News--until someone gets around to renewing the token, we are Dead in the Water. The Problem, is no one can get a message to the Technical Team who's responsible. That means until time goes by and people start complaining over and over and over again, it won't get to the person who just needs to renew the token. If this were a small company, it can be done in the course of a couple minutes--I'm speaking from experience here. This is as simple of a fix as you can get.

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  2. D R 385 Reputation points
    2026-01-02T00:23:04.1033333+00:00

    I suggest everyone go to their Excel app, then under Help, click on Feedback and submit a screen shot (or just submit the one I attached here) and an explanation that Excel Stocks integration isn't working as of 1/1/2026. The more people who do this, the higher the probability that it will get attention. Screenshot 2026-01-01 at 7.16.55 PM.png

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  3. David Neighbors 30 Reputation points
    2026-01-04T20:04:35.87+00:00

    Mine seems to be working as of 2:00 pm CST 01/04/26.

    Being able to fetch real time stock data is the primary reason I subscribe. Thanks Microsoft for getting this sorted out. Problems that surface around holidays can be tricky to solve with fewer staff on hand.

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    4 people found this answer helpful.
  4. Jeff Ross 10 Reputation points
    2026-01-23T20:01:40.8966667+00:00

    Problem re-surfaced today 1/23/26.

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    2 people found this answer helpful.
  5. S Games 10 Reputation points
    2026-01-04T16:00:27.2766667+00:00

    Hey everyone — I know this outage is frustrating and definitely makes things harder. I’m confident Microsoft will get the Excel data service back online, but in the meantime I wanted to share a temporary workaround.

    I put together a small Python script that pulls the data directly instead of relying on the Excel server. It does require a manual download step, and you’ll need to update your formulas to reference the new data source, but it reliably brings back the quotes you need until the service is restored.

    If you want to extend it or add more fields, you can post the script into Copilot and ask it to include any additional information you need. I’m also happy to share the code here if anyone wants it (when I get home later today).

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