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How to Fix Excel for Mac Freezing When Opening a New Workbook
Question details
The user experiences slow performance or freezing in Excel for Mac when opening a new workbook while another is already running.
- Product
- Microsoft Excel
- Device & OS
- macOS
- Scenario
- Attempting to open a new Excel workbook while an existing workbook is actively running in the background.
- Observed behavior
- Excel becomes slow, stops responding, or freezes entirely. Reinstalling the application often does not resolve the issue as it may be tied to macOS services.
Before beginning the troubleshooting steps, ensure you have saved any critical work in other applications and that your Mac is connected to a reliable internet network to download necessary system updates.
Update Microsoft Excel and macOS to the Latest Versions
Since reinstalling the app often fails to resolve freezing caused by system-level conflicts, keeping both Excel and macOS updated is the most reliable way to fix performance bugs and compatibility issues.
Software freezing often stems from miscommunications between an outdated application and the operating system's background services. Microsoft frequently releases patches specifically to address performance drops when managing multiple workbooks.
Open Excel on your Mac. Click on 'Excel' in the top Apple menu bar, and select 'About Microsoft Excel' to check your current build (e.g., Version 16.86).
Click 'Help' in the top menu bar, then choose 'Check for Updates'. Follow the prompts in the Microsoft AutoUpdate tool to install any pending Excel patches.
Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner, select 'System Settings' (or 'System Preferences'), go to 'General', and click 'Software Update'. Install any available macOS updates and restart your MacBook.
Switch to WPS Office for a Seamless, Crash-Free Mac Experience
If Excel continues to freeze on your MacBook and troubleshooting doesn't help, consider switching to WPS Office. It is a highly optimized, lightweight alternative designed to handle multiple complex spreadsheets effortlessly on macOS without lagging or crashing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Excel freeze specifically when I open a second workbook?
Opening an additional workbook demands more memory allocation and CPU resources. If there is a conflict in how Excel interacts with macOS background services, or if cache files are corrupted, the application may fail to manage the concurrent load and freeze.
Does reinstalling Excel fix the freezing issue on Mac?
Not always. As many users report, simply reinstalling Excel may not clear out corrupted preference files or resolve underlying OS incompatibilities. System-wide updates for macOS are often required alongside app updates.
How can I recover my work if Excel freezes before I can save?
Force quit the frozen Excel app by pressing Option + Command + Esc and selecting Excel. When you relaunch the program, the Document Recovery task pane should automatically appear, allowing you to restore the last AutoRecovered version of your file.
