I am unable to save my excel sheets on my home computer - what has happened to Excel? (macOS Sonoma)

Question

I am unable to save my excel sheets on my home computer - what has happened to Excel? (macOS Sonoma)

Susan Roe 0

I am trying to find someone to help me - excel says you don't support excel and is trying to sell me a product - I need to just do simple excel sheets and save them - who. can i talk to - a person not a chat bot

Moderator note: thread updated with operating system (macOS)

Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T20:39:30.03+00:00

Why are to asking me to do puzzles to see if i am human - I am human. Can you find. me a human to help me?
Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T20:41:15.2166667+00:00

How do I find a person to talk to
Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T20:41:54.7766667+00:00

AI bot replied:

The sales message indicates that Excel needs its Office licence or subscription verified before the desktop app can save normally; check the displayed activation status and then contact Microsoft’s human support team if the licence should already be active [---]

You haven't helped me at all - please find a person
Jeronimo Fuerte 48,525 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-29T00:41:12.1633333+00:00

One possible explanation is that Excel is experiencing an activation or licensing issue. When Office cannot verify its license or a subscription has expired, certain features, including editing and saving, may become unavailable. However, this does not necessarily mean that you need to purchase another product. Could you please confirm whether you previously purchased Microsoft Office as a one-time purchase or have a Microsoft 365 subscription? Also, what is the exact message Excel displays when you attempt to save your spreadsheets? This information will help determine whether you already have a license that simply needs to be reactivated.
Xavier-D 14,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-29T01:11:25.2566667+00:00
Hello Susan Roe,

I understand that you are having issue with your Excel.

Before I could further help you, could you please tell me:

Are you using Excel on Windows or Mac?

What exactly does the message in Excel say?

Can you save a new blank workbook to your Desktop, or does this happen with every spreadsheet?

If possible, please share a screenshot of the message, but cover any email address or other personal information.

These details will help me determine whether this is an Excel saving issue or a product/licensing message.

Feel free reply back to this post and update me on this issue, I'll be happy to help
Jeronimo Fuerte 48,525 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-29T04:16:55.52+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Could you please share this information?
Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-29T12:06:14.49+00:00

I purchased a Excel as a package when I first bought my computer in 2017. This was later transferred to my new mac when my computer had to be replaced. i have never had any trouble with Excel. Last night i did purchase the trial just so I could access and use. my spreadsheets. This actually has not helped. My question is are we now having to purchase excel yearly? There seems to be no one that can answer that question. I have 30 days to find this out and resolve this problem - can you help

1 answer

Your answer

Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T20:39:30.03+00:00

Why are to asking me to do puzzles to see if i am human - I am human. Can you find. me a human to help me?
Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T20:41:15.2166667+00:00

How do I find a person to talk to
Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T20:41:54.7766667+00:00

AI bot replied:

The sales message indicates that Excel needs its Office licence or subscription verified before the desktop app can save normally; check the displayed activation status and then contact Microsoft’s human support team if the licence should already be active [---]

You haven't helped me at all - please find a person
Jeronimo Fuerte 48,525 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-29T00:41:12.1633333+00:00

One possible explanation is that Excel is experiencing an activation or licensing issue. When Office cannot verify its license or a subscription has expired, certain features, including editing and saving, may become unavailable. However, this does not necessarily mean that you need to purchase another product. Could you please confirm whether you previously purchased Microsoft Office as a one-time purchase or have a Microsoft 365 subscription? Also, what is the exact message Excel displays when you attempt to save your spreadsheets? This information will help determine whether you already have a license that simply needs to be reactivated.
Xavier-D 14,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-29T01:11:25.2566667+00:00

Hello Susan Roe,

I understand that you are having issue with your Excel.

Before I could further help you, could you please tell me:

Are you using Excel on Windows or Mac?

What exactly does the message in Excel say?

Can you save a new blank workbook to your Desktop, or does this happen with every spreadsheet?

If possible, please share a screenshot of the message, but cover any email address or other personal information.

These details will help me determine whether this is an Excel saving issue or a product/licensing message.

Feel free reply back to this post and update me on this issue, I'll be happy to help
Jeronimo Fuerte 48,525 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-29T04:16:55.52+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Could you please share this information?
Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-29T12:06:14.49+00:00

I purchased a Excel as a package when I first bought my computer in 2017. This was later transferred to my new mac when my computer had to be replaced. i have never had any trouble with Excel. Last night i did purchase the trial just so I could access and use. my spreadsheets. This actually has not helped. My question is are we now having to purchase excel yearly? There seems to be no one that can answer that question. I have 30 days to find this out and resolve this problem - can you help

Answer 1

To answer your main question directly, no, you are not required to purchase Excel every year. Microsoft still offers one-time purchases, including Office Home 2024 and standalone Excel, without a recurring subscription. Since you originally purchased Office in 2017 and subsequently transferred it to your Mac, I suspect the problem may involve an older Office installation or a licensing compatibility issue rather than a new requirement to pay annually. Microsoft recently documented that, starting July 13, 2026, certain older Mac and Office configurations may stop allowing users to edit or save documents. Could you please select Apple menu > About This Mac and let me know your macOS version?

One additional possibility is that Excel was installed through the Mac App Store, which requires a Microsoft 365 subscription for editing and does not recognize older one-time Office licenses.

If you have a compatible one-time license, the appropriate Office version must be installed directly from Microsoft instead.

However, before reinstalling anything, I recommend checking the version and license information first to avoid losing access to your existing installation. You can also review Microsoft's instructions for updating older Mac installations here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/update-m365-office-macos-ios.

Since you already started a trial, please check https://account.microsoft.com/services to verify its expiration date and recurring billing status so you are not charged unexpectedly.

Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-30T11:58:49.2033333+00:00

The Version that I have is Sonoma 14.5. This has not been a problem until this week. The only reason that the license was moved to my new computer was that it broke. This is extremely frustrating and I have spent several hours trying to get answers. Seems crazy to purchase this again. I really appreciate your help.
Susan Roe 0 Reputation points

2026-10-31T11:35:17.01+00:00

No one answered me back on the response that I gave above.