excel quit working

First confirm that the Microsoft 365 subscription appears under the purchasing account, then reset Excel’s local activation according to whether the computer is a Mac or Windows PC.

1. Confirm the subscription account

1. Open Services & subscriptions.
2. Sign in with the Microsoft account used to purchase Microsoft 365.
3. Confirm that Microsoft 365 Personal or Microsoft 365 Family appears as active, with the expected November 2026 renewal date. Microsoft identifies this page as the place to verify a home subscription and its associated account.^1^
4. In Excel, sign out of any different account, close Excel, reopen it, and sign in using that subscription account.

Do not purchase another subscription if the existing one is shown as active.

2. If this is a Mac

A Mac can retain an older one-time-purchase license even though the account now has Microsoft 365. Microsoft’s license-removal tool clears all locally stored Office licenses so Excel can activate against the subscription again.^2^

1. Quit Excel and every other Office application.
2. Make certain the subscription account’s email address and password are available.
3. Download Microsoft’s license removal tool.
4. Open the downloaded .pkg file and select Continue.
   • If macOS reports an unidentified developer, Control-click the file and select Open.
5. Select Install and enter the Mac administrator password if requested.
6. After the licenses are removed, open Excel.
7. Sign in with the account that owns the active Microsoft 365 subscription.
8. If asked to choose between licenses, select Microsoft 365, not the one-time license.
9. Restart the Mac and test editing and saving a workbook.

Mac App Store check: If Excel still displays the exact yellow message “Action Required: We’ve detected a one-time purchase license,” confirm where Excel was installed from. Mac App Store Office applications support Microsoft 365 subscriptions but cannot activate with a one-time Office license; directly downloaded Microsoft Office applications are required for one-time licenses.^3^

Because the account reportedly has an active subscription, first try signing in and resetting the license rather than replacing the App Store version.

3. If this is a Windows PC

Run Microsoft’s activation troubleshooter on the affected computer:

1. Open the Microsoft Support activation article below.
2. Start the Microsoft 365 activation troubleshooter.
3. If prompted that the site wants to open Get Help, select Open.
4. Complete the prompts and reopen Excel.

The troubleshooter must run on the Windows PC containing Excel and requires Windows 10 or later.^4^

If it cannot restore activation, the documented fallback is to deactivate that Office installation, completely uninstall Office using Microsoft’s uninstall tool, and reinstall it while signed in with the subscription account.^4^

If the subscription is absent from Services & subscriptions, check other Microsoft accounts that may have made the purchase. If none shows it despite billing records, contact Microsoft Support for an account/subscription review rather than changing local Office licensing.

References

1. Microsoft 365 subscription features aren't available in Office apps
2. How to remove Office license files on a Mac | Microsoft Support
3. Microsoft Office activation and the Mac App Store | Microsoft Support
4. Office error "Account Notice: We've run into a problem with your Microsoft 365 subscription" | Microsoft Support