Why Excel Keeps Safe Mode Bypass and How to Fix It

This guide walks you through office for mac issues using Microsoft-supported steps first, with WPS only where it genuinely helps.

Problem Description: Mac Opening Today

Microsoft Error Report says, There was a problem with Microsoft Excel and we apologize for the inconvenience. Microsoft Excel will attempt to recover your work. I've reinstalled Excel, gotten rid of everything I can find in the library with no success around this. Below is part of the Report from the error... Microsoft Error Reporting log version: 2.0   Error Signature: Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS ExceptionEnumString: 1 Exception Code: KERN_MEMORY_ERROR (0x000000013a988aca) Date/Time: 2026-01-11 18:38:22 +0000 Application Name: Microsoft Excel Application Bundle ID: com.microsoft.Excel Application Signature: XCEL Application Bitness: x64 Application Version: 16.104.1.26010228 Crashed Module Name: dwrite10 Crashed Module Version: 16.104.26010228 Crashed Module Offset: 0x000000000014383d Blame Module Name: dwrite10 Blame Module Version: 16.104.26010228 UnsymbolicatedChecksum: 5E203F3268BF36CFED7AD7A34692923D Blame Module Offset: 0x000000000014383d StackHash: d02c07a5d15d4f58_1_main Application LCID: 1033 Extra app info: Reg=en Loc=0x0409 Build Type: Release Crashed thread Stack Pointer: 0x_00007ff7b8efa230 Crashed thread: 0     Thread 0 crashed (0x48616):   #  1  0x000000010bc7283d in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x000000000014383d) 0x0000000000000000 #  2  0x000000010bb6b737 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x000000000003c737) 0x0000000000000000 #  3  0x000000010bb704b8 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x00000000000414b8) 0x00007ff7b8efa640 #  4  0x000000010bb6fe9d in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x0000000000040e9d) 0x00007ff7b8efa6e0 #  5  0x000000010bb72251 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x0000000000043251) 0x00007ff7b8efa760 #  6  0x000000010bb84789 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x0000000000055789) 0x00007ff7b8efa790 #  7  0x000000010bb8294d in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x000000000005394d) 0x00007ff7b8efa840 #  8  0x000000010bb6f351 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x0000000000040351) 0x00007ff7b8efa900 #  9  0x000000010bb588ce in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x00000000000298ce) 0x00007ff7b8efa9c0 # 10  0x000000010bb62e1f in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x0000000000033e1f) 0x00007ff7b8efaa10 # 11  0x000000010bb5f276 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x0000000000030276) 0x00007ff7b8efaa70 # 12  0x000000010bb4144e in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x000000000001244e) 0x00007ff7b8efaa90 # 13  0x000000010bb418b8 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x00000000000128b8) 0x00007ff7b8efab10 # 14  0x000000010bb5123e in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x000000000002223e) 0x00007ff7b8efabd0 # 15  0x000000010bb3fdfe in Unknown + 0x00000000 (dwrite10 + 0x0000000000010dfe) 0x00007ff7b8efabf0 # 16  0x000000010f30b06c in Unknown + 0x00000000 (mso40ui + 0x000000000008b06c) 0x00007ff7b8efac10 # 17  0x000000010f30bfb1 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (mso40ui + 0x000000000008bfb1) 0x00007ff7b8efad60 # 18  0x000000010704dcd8 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000004ecd8) 0x00007ff7b8efae20 # 19  0x000000010704ccae in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000004dcae) 0x00007ff7b8efb1d0 # 20  0x000000010704c407 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000004d407) 0x00007ff7b8efb240 # 21  0x000000010704a5d5 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000004b5d5) 0x00007ff7b8efb3d0 # 22  0x000000010704a0f5 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000004b0f5) 0x00007ff7b8efd1c0 # 23  0x0000000107049ffe in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000004affe) 0x00007ff7b8efd240 # 24  0x000000010710e56e in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000010f56e) 0x00007ff7b8efd300 # 25  0x000000010710e199 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000010f199) 0x00007ff7b8efd410 # 26  0x00000001071633dd in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x00000000001643dd) 0x00007ff7b8efd450 # 27  0x00000001071f9ec3 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x00000000001faec3) 0x00007ff7b8efd520 # 28  0x00000001071f9ad6 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x00000000001faad6) 0x00007ff7b8efd5e0 # 29  0x0000000107109f6e in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000010af6e) 0x00007ff7b8efd7b0 # 30  0x0000000107109bf2 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x000000000010abf2) 0x00007ff7b8efd960 # 31  0x00000001070d18c1 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x00000000000d28c1) 0x00007ff7b8efd9a0 # 32  0x00000001070d1404 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x00000000000d2404) 0x00007ff7b8efdd70 # 33  0x0000000109c0c406 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x0000000002c0d406) 0x00007ff7b8efde30 # 34  0x0000000109c0bcdf in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x0000000002c0ccdf) 0x00007ff7b8efdea0 # 35  0x0000000108d7e06f in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x0000000001d7f06f) 0x00007ff7b8efe070 # 36  0x0000000108d7df8b in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x0000000001d7ef8b) 0x00007ff7b8efe0d0 # 37  0x0000000108b3efc3 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (Microsoft Excel + 0x0000000001b3ffc3) 0x00007ff7b8efe190 # 38  0x00007ff80cedcb2c in ___CFNOTIFICATIONCENTER_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_AN_OBSERVER__ + 0x00000089 (CoreFoundation + 0x0000000000070b2c) 0x00007ff7b8efe1d0 # 39  0x00007ff80cf682c2 in ____CFXRegistrationPost_block_invoke + 0x00000058 (CoreFoundation + 0x00000000000fc2c2) 0x00007ff7b8efe210 # 40  0x00007ff80cf68217 in __CFXRegistrationPost + 0x00000203 (CoreFoundation + 0x00000000000fc217) 0x00007ff7b8efe240 # 41  0x00007ff80ceacf6b in __CFXNotificationPost + 0x000002FB (CoreFoundation + 0x0000000000040f6b) 0x00007ff7b8efe310 # 42  0x00007ff80e04a316 in _postQueueNotifications + 0x0000019A (Foundation + 0x000000000007b316) 0x00007ff7b8efeca0 # 43  0x00007ff80cee6f0d in ___CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_AN_OBSERVER_CALLBACK_FUNCTION__ + 0x00000017 (CoreFoundation + 0x000000000007af0d) 0x00007ff7b8efee20 # 44  0x00007ff80cee6e29 in ___CFRunLoopDoObservers + 0x000001FF (CoreFoundation + 0x000000000007ae29) 0x00007ff7b8efee30 # 45  0x00007ff80cee64a5 in ___CFRunLoopRun + 0x0000046C (CoreFoundation + 0x000000000007a4a5) 0x00007ff7b8efef00 # 46  0x00007ff80cee5a02 in _CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 0x00000218 (CoreFoundation + 0x0000000000079a02) 0x00007ff7b8effc60 # 47  0x00007ff8189d60d4 in _RunCurrentEventLoopInMode + 0x00000119 (HIToolbox + 0x00000000000a80d4) 0x00007ff7b8effcf0 # 48  0x00007ff8189d8f97 in _ReceiveNextEventCommon + 0x000001F3 (HIToolbox + 0x00000000000aaf97) 0x00007ff7b8effd40 # 49  0x00007ff818b6219a in __BlockUntilNextEventMatchingListInModeWithFilter + 0x0000003F (HIToolbox + 0x000000000023419a) 0x00007ff7b8effdc0 # 50  0x00007ff810948dc1 in __DPSNextEvent + 0x00000390 (AppKit + 0x000000000003fdc1) 0x00007ff7b8effde0 # 51  0x00007ff8113d7097 in -[NSApplication(NSEventRouting) _nextEventMatchingEventMask:untilDate:inMode:dequeue:] + 0x000004EF (AppKit + 0x0000000000ace097) 0x00007ff7b8f001e0 # 52  0x00007ff810939ea9 in -[NSApplication run] + 0x00000262 (AppKit + 0x0000000000030ea9) 0x00007ff7b8f003d0 # 53  0x00007ff81090d005 in _NSApplicationMain + 0x00000323 (AppKit + 0x0000000000004005) 0x00007ff7b8f00450 # 54  0x00007ff80ca58530 in Unknown + 0x00000000 (UnknownModule + 0x0000000000000000) 0x00007ff7b8f004a0   x86_64 Thread State(64bit):   __rax: 0x0000000000000100   __rbx: 0x00007f9a538dd410   __rcx: 0x000000000000608e   __rdx:0x0000000000000400   __rdi: 0x00007ff7b8efa430   __rsi: 0x0000000000000002   __rbp: 0x00007ff7b8efa610   __rsp:0x00007ff7b8efa230   __r8: 0x000000013a982a3c    __r9: 0x0000000000007a34    __r10: 0x000000000000daca   __r11:0x00007f9a53800000   __r12: 0x0000000000000046   __r13: 0x0000000000000001   __r14: 0x00007f9a538dd400   __r15:0x00000000ffff4d02   __rip: 0x000000010bc7283d   __rflags: 0x0000000000010202   __cs: 0x000000000000002b   __fs:0x0000000000000000   __gs: 0x0000000000000000    OS Information Operating System: Mac OS X 15.7.3 (Build 24G419) CPU: Intel x86, Logical CPU Count: 6, Frequency: 3000 MHz Physical Memory: 65536 MB Device_model: iMac19,1 Screen: 2560.000000 x 1440.000000, bitsPerPixel = 24, frame = 0.000000, 0.000000, 2560.000000, 1440.000000 CrashedApp_Virtual_Memory_Size_MB: 35012.300781 CrashedApp_Resident_Memory_Size_MB: 126.957031 CrashedApp_Memory_Footprint_MB: 57.761719 ErrorReportingDeviceUUID: [Moderation note: PII removed] ErrorReportingUUID: [Moderation note: PII removed] CrashedLogSessionId: [Moderation note: PII removed] TimeFromLaunch: 0 hours, 0 minutes, 21 seconds CrashedSessionDuration: 21 Total errors on this client: 2

Quick Answer for Excel Won't Complete Task

Excel on Mac is crashing early due to EXC_BAD_ACCESS in dwrite10, likely from corrupted preferences, font issues, add-ins, or an update regression.

Likely Causes Behind Common Office for Mac Issues Triggers

• The Microsoft account or license context may not match the purchase or device.

• Cached credentials, outdated builds, or damaged local components can trigger office for mac issues.

• A file-specific corruption or add-in conflict can mimic a broader application failure.

Recommended Solution: Repairing Excel Startup Issues

When to use this: Apply these steps when the symptoms match and you can access the relevant Microsoft account or administrator.

1. Start Excel in Safe Mode to bypass startup items.

2. If that works, disable third-party add-ins.

3. Clear corrupted Office preference data and reset the font cache.

4. If the issue persists, check for recent Office updates or reinstall Office.

Alternative Solutions for Broader Office for Mac Issues Workarounds

1. Retry the Microsoft-side steps after restarting the app and device.

2. Test the same action in a private browser session or a new blank file to isolate account vs file issues.

3. Run Quick Repair, then Online Repair from Programs and Features if the app still fails.

4. Capture exact error text and screenshots before contacting Microsoft Support or your administrator.

Working with WPS Office: Using WPS While Excel Is Unavailable

WPS Office cannot replace Microsoft account, activation, or cloud fixes for this scenario. It remains one of the best free Microsoft Office-compatible alternatives for opening and editing local files.

1. Download and install WPS Office from the official website.

2. Open local Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF files in the matching WPS app.

3. Save a working copy locally while Microsoft-side issues are resolved.

4. Return to Microsoft Office after the primary fix succeeds.

If you need a practical local workspace in the meantime, try WPS Office.

Prevention Tips for Avoiding Repeat Office for Mac Issues

• Keep one primary Microsoft account for subscriptions and Office sign-in.

• Install updates for Office and Windows before retrying failed workflows.

• Back up important files before repair, reset, or reinstall actions.

• Document exact error messages before the next troubleshooting attempt.

FAQs About Mac Troubleshooting FAQ

Can WPS Office fix this office for mac issues issue directly? Only when the WPS steps match the formatting or file task. Account, activation, and cloud issues stay on the Microsoft side.

Should I reinstall Excel before trying these steps? Not first. Confirm account, license, and the exact error before reinstalling.

What should I send to Microsoft Support? The affected account email, device type, Office version, exact error text, and screenshots with personal data hidden.