How to Fix Cells Not Updating on Microsoft Excel

Can’t figure out why your spreadsheet cells are not updating on Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is the leading spreadsheet program in the world with over 700 million users. It has been around since 1985 and is included with the Microsoft Office Suite package. 

Despite being the best tool for number and data processing, this doesn’t mean that Microsoft Excel is safe from problems and errors. Like any software, Excel can also suffer from bugs and glitches. 

If you are here, we can assume that you are experiencing a weird issue with Excel. 

Recently, there have been reports from users who complain about their spreadsheet cells not updating on Excel. 

Based on the reports, users don’t see results from formulas unless they double-click on the cell. Some users also experience the issue while editing the values or data inside a cell in their worksheet. 

In this guide, we will show you what to do if cells are not updating on Microsoft Excel. 

Let’s get right into it!

1. Restart Your Computer. 

As a good practice, we suggest users restart their systems whenever they encounter issues with Microsoft Excel or any other app. This way, you can ensure that there are no temporary bugs and glitches in your system. 

Here’s how you can restart your computer: 

1. First, tap on the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start Menu. 
2. After that, access the Power Options tab. 
3. Lastly, click on Restart to reboot your computer. 

Go back to Microsoft Excel and check if the problem is solved.

2. Set Calculations to Automatic. 

One of the quickest ways to fix this issue on Microsoft Excel is to set your calculations to automatic. This way, cells will instantly show results from your formula after hitting Enter on your keyboard. 

See the steps below to enable auto calculations: 

1. Open your file on Microsoft Excel. 
2. Next, go to the Formulas tab and click on Calculation Options. 
3. Finally, choose the Automatic option from the drop-down menu. 

Go back to your worksheet and check if the problem is solved.

3. Check Your Formatting. 

Another reason why you encounter cells that are not updating on Microsoft Excel is if there’s a problem with your formatting. After digging into this problem, we’ve found out that it usually occurs when users accidentally put a space in the cell before entering the formula. 

This issue also occurs when you have an apostrophe in your equation, which signals a text value. 

To avoid problems, double-check your formatting and ensure that you’ve used the correct equations, symbols, and texts. 

4. Toggle Show Formulas Button. 

The Formulas button on Microsoft Excel allows users to hide or show formulas used in cells on their spreadsheet. If you can’t see the results of your equation after using a formatting option, try toggling the show formulas button. 

See the steps below: 

1. First, launch Microsoft Excel and go to your file. 
2. After that, go to the Formulas tab. 
3. Lastly, click on Show Formulas under the Formula Auditing tab. 

Toggle the button a few times and see if something happens. 

5. Disable Add-Ins. 

You might be using some add-ins that cause this issue on Microsoft Excel. If this is the case, we recommend disabling all your add-ins and enabling them one at a time to identify which add-in causes the problem. 

Here’s how you can turn off Add-ins: 

1. On your computer, launch Microsoft Excel and open your workbook. 
2. Next, go to File > More > Options. 
3. Finally, access the Add-Ins tab and ensure that your add-ins are turned off. 

Go back to your spreadsheet and check if the problem is solved. 

That sums up our guide for fixing cells that are not updating on Microsoft Excel. If you have questions, please drop a comment below, and we’ll do our best to help. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂