Office Settings & Configuration

Fix Office @Mentions Not Suggesting Names in Word and Excel Comments

Khadija Khan Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users are unable to tag coauthors using @mentions in Word and Excel comments because the auto-suggest feature has stopped working.

How to Fix Office @Mentions Not Suggesting Names in Comments

Product: Microsoft Word and Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to tag colleagues for feedback in shared documents via desktop or online applications.
Observed behavior: Typing '@' in a comment no longer displays a dropdown list of suggested coauthors, affecting multiple files and users with work accounts.

Before you start

Ensure your document is actively saved in SharePoint or OneDrive, as the @mentions feature will not work for files saved locally on your hard drive.

Solution 1Recommended

Verify Account Type and Cloud Storage Prerequisites

The @mentions feature requires specific cloud storage and Microsoft 365 account configurations to function correctly.

Microsoft limits the @mention functionality to users with active Microsoft 365 subscriptions who are signed into work or school accounts. Guest accounts and environments operated by 21Vianet may not support this feature.

Check your account sign-in

Open Word or Excel, click on 'File' > 'Account', and verify that you are signed in using your official Microsoft 365 work or school account.

Save to cloud storage

Click 'File' > 'Save As' and ensure the document is saved to your organization's SharePoint or OneDrive for Business.

Test user status

Confirm you are not accessing the file as a Guest user, as @mentions are restricted for external guests in most organizational setups.

Verify Account Type and Cloud Storage Prerequisites

File Scope: Test this on multiple files. If the issue only occurs in one specific file, the document itself might be corrupted or saved in an older format.

Solution 2

Update Microsoft Office to the Latest Build

Outdated versions of Microsoft Office may contain bugs that prevent the @mentions directory from loading properly.

Solution 3

Contact Your Microsoft 365 Administrator

If multiple users in your organization are experiencing the same issue, it may require a tenant-level fix from your IT department.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do @mentions only work for some users in our organization?

The @mentions feature may not function for guest users or external accounts. It requires an active Microsoft 365 subscription and users must be signed in with a valid work or school account. Additionally, environments operated by 21Vianet do not support this feature.

Can I use @mentions in Word documents saved locally on my computer?

No, the @mentions feature requires the document to be saved and actively syncing in a cloud environment, specifically Microsoft SharePoint or OneDrive for Business.

What should I do if updating Office doesn't fix the mentions issue?

If updating Office and verifying your cloud storage settings doesn't resolve the problem, the issue is likely at the tenant level. You should contact your Microsoft 365 IT administrator so they can check organizational settings or open a support ticket directly with Microsoft.

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