Data Import & Export

Fix Microsoft Forms Date and Time Missing in Excel Responses

Bushra Parveen Oct 10, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to troubleshoot an issue where the automatically recorded date and time values are missing from the Excel workbook generated by Microsoft Forms.

Fix Microsoft Forms Date and Time Data Missing from Excel Responses

Product: Microsoft Forms / Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Reviewing survey or quiz responses by exporting the collected Microsoft Forms data into an Excel spreadsheet.
Observed behavior: The Start time and Completion time columns are blank or missing in the generated Excel response workbook.

Before you start

Ensure that your Microsoft account is active and that you have sufficient permissions to view and edit the underlying response spreadsheet stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.

Solution 1Recommended

Isolate the Issue with a New Test Form

Determine if the missing timestamp issue is isolated to your current form or if it is a system-wide synchronization problem.

Microsoft Forms sometimes experiences workbook synchronization glitches where data is collected but fails to write to the connected Excel file. Creating a test form helps identify whether the original workbook is corrupted or if the entire service is experiencing an outage.

Create a New Test Form

Open Microsoft Forms in your web browser, click 'New Form', and add a simple multiple-choice or text question.

Submit a Test Response

Click 'Preview' or 'Collect responses' to fill out the form yourself and submit a test entry.

Open Responses in Excel

Navigate back to the 'Responses' tab of your new test form and click the 'Open in Excel' button.

Verify Timestamp Data

Check the downloaded or synced Excel workbook to see if the 'Start time' and 'Completion time' columns are populated. If they appear correctly, your original form's workbook is likely suffering from a corrupted connection.

Next Steps After Testing: If the new form works perfectly, you can try disconnecting and reconnecting the original form to a new Excel workbook by selecting 'Sync all responses to a new workbook' in the Responses tab menu.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Manage Your Exported Survey Data with WPS Office

While Microsoft Forms controls the initial data synchronization, you can seamlessly open, analyze, and format your exported survey responses using WPS Spreadsheet—a free, lightweight, and highly compatible alternative to Microsoft Excel.

1. Download and Install: Download WPS Office from the official website and complete the quick installation.
2. Open the Exported Workbook: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open the .xlsx file you downloaded from Microsoft Forms.
3. Analyze Survey Data: Use WPS Spreadsheet's built-in filters, pivot tables, and conditional formatting to analyze your response timestamps and data.

100% compatible with Microsoft Excel formats (.xlsx, .csv) used by Microsoft Forms exports.Free and lightweight suite with a familiar user interface for immediate productivity.Advanced data analysis and filtering tools to organize survey responses efficiently.Seamless offline and cloud capabilities without forced synchronization errors.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are the Start time and Completion time columns blank in my Excel export?

This usually happens due to a synchronization delay or a corrupted link between Microsoft Forms and the live Excel workbook hosted in OneDrive or SharePoint. It can also occur if the respondent's session was interrupted.

How can I reconnect a broken Excel workbook to Microsoft Forms to retrieve missing data?

Go to the Responses tab in Microsoft Forms, click the three-dot menu (More options), and select 'Sync all responses to a new workbook'. This forces the system to generate a fresh Excel file containing all historical data, which often restores missing timestamps.

Are timestamps lost forever if they don't appear in the first Excel download?

Usually, they are not lost. Microsoft Forms stores the response data on its own servers independently of the Excel file. As long as the responses were successfully submitted, generating a new Excel sync workbook will typically fetch the complete dataset including dates and times.

Excel & Data Problems