Office Apps Freezing

Fix Excel Freezing When Printing on Windows 11

Emma Brown Sep 28, 2026 868 views

Question details

Microsoft Excel becomes unresponsive, takes more than ten seconds to print, or gets stuck displaying repeated printing messages.

How to Fix Excel Freezing When Printing on Windows 11

Product: Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: Windows 11 version 23H2
Scenario: Attempting to print a spreadsheet document.
Observed behavior: The Excel application freezes, becomes entirely unresponsive, or gets stuck in a continuous printing message loop requiring a force quit.

Before you start

Ensure you have saved your current workbook or enabled AutoSave to prevent data loss, as you may need to force close the unresponsive application using Task Manager.

Solution 1Recommended

Update Printer Drivers and Test in Safe Mode

Outdated printer drivers or conflicting third-party add-ins can cause Excel to hang during the print spooling process on Windows 11.

Windows 11 version 23H2 has introduced specific changes to how print spooling works, which can cause older printer drivers or certain Excel add-ins to freeze the application when querying printer status.

Open Excel in Safe Mode

Hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard while clicking the Excel shortcut to launch it in Safe Mode. Attempt to print your document to see if the freeze still occurs.

Disable Add-ins

If printing works in Safe Mode, go to File > Options > Add-ins. At the bottom, manage COM Add-ins and click Go. Uncheck all add-ins and click OK, then restart Excel normally.

Update Printer Drivers

Right-click the Windows Start button and select Device Manager. Expand the 'Print queues' section, right-click your active printer, and select 'Update driver'. Restart your computer after the update finishes.

Default Printer Check: Try changing your default printer to 'Microsoft Print to PDF' in Windows Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. If Excel prints to PDF without freezing, the issue is strictly related to your physical printer's driver.

Solution 2

Escalate to Microsoft Windows Support

If standard troubleshooting fails, the issue is likely a known bug within Windows 11 version 23H2 requiring official Microsoft intervention.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Try WPS Office to Avoid Excel Printing Freezes

If Microsoft Excel continues to freeze or hang during printing on Windows 11, consider switching to WPS Office. It is a highly compatible, lightweight, and free alternative that seamlessly handles your spreadsheets without the heavy OS-level resource conflicts.

1. Download and Install: Download WPS Office Free from the official website and install it on your Windows 11 PC.
2. Open Your Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Spreadsheets and open your existing .xlsx or .xls files directly.
3. Print Smoothly: Click File > Print or press Ctrl+P to print your document instantly without hanging or crashing.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel formats (.xlsx, .xls, .csv).Lightweight architecture ensures fast, responsive printing without freezing.Familiar user interface that requires no learning curve or retraining.Free to use with comprehensive spreadsheet, document, and presentation tools.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Excel only freeze when I try to print on Windows 11?

This is usually caused by communication issues between Excel and the Windows 11 print spooler service. Outdated printer drivers, network printer latency, or incompatible add-ins can disrupt the print dialog box, causing the application to hang.

Does Windows 11 version 23H2 have known printing bugs?

Yes, some users and system administrators have reported that specific updates in Windows 11 version 23H2 cause Office applications to become unresponsive when querying local or network printers. This often requires a Windows update or patch rather than an Office fix.

How do I force close Excel if it is completely frozen during printing?

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager. Locate 'Microsoft Excel' in the list of background processes, right-click it, and select 'End task'. Note that any unsaved changes may be lost.

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