"this feature has been disabled message" o my Samsung Galaxy S21 when trying to open excel / words docs in email

Question

"this feature has been disabled message" o my Samsung Galaxy S21 when trying to open excel / words docs in email

Jim Campbell 20

Hi there,

           I have just came across this issue today, seems to only happen since yesterday as far as I'm aware.

When receiving an email with excel or word document attachments, then trying to open / access them I get the following message.

"This feature has been disabled by your administrator"

The feature works no issues on my PC but not on my mobile, of course sometimes when out of office I need to access these files.

Can you helps please?

Jim

Jim Campbell 20 Reputation points

2026-08-06T14:03:07.85+00:00

Can anyone advise on this?

In plain speak preferably if possible.

Much appreciated

Jim

Answer accepted by question author

0 additional answers

Your answer

Jim Campbell 20 Reputation points

2026-08-06T14:03:07.85+00:00

Can anyone advise on this?

In plain speak preferably if possible.

Much appreciated

Jim

Answer 1

Aetherin 1,465 Independent Advisor

Hi @Jim Campbell,

Based on my experience, the message "This feature has been disabled by your administrator" usually means your work/school Microsoft account is subject to a security policy on mobile devices. In other words, your organization's Microsoft 365/Intune policies may be preventing Outlook on Android from opening attachments in Word, Excel, or the Microsoft 365 app.

First, I'd recommend ruling out any client-side issues:

Update Outlook, Word, Excel, and Microsoft 365 to the latest versions.
Restart your phone after updating.
Sign out of your work account and sign back in.

If the issue still occurs, please contact your organization's IT administrator/helpdesk and ask them to review the Android Intune App Protection Policy, especially any settings related to data transfer and opening organizational documents on mobile devices.

Thank you for taking time and I hope this helps point you in the right direction.

Aetherin 1,465 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-07T07:10:44.0033333+00:00

Hi @Jim Campbell,

I’m just checking in to see whether you’ve had a chance to review my previous response. If anything I shared isn’t clear yet, or if you have any follow-up questions or concerns around the information provided, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Looking forward to hearing from you!
Jim Campbell 20 Reputation points

2026-08-07T10:37:51.53+00:00

Hi there, and many thanks for getting back to me with your response.

It was definitely helpful, although I'm still more than a little confused if I'm honest.

I contacted my IT dept and explained the issues, he checked several things and then asked me to go to the Play store and try to update / download Word and Excel.

I did this and BOTH showed as asking to install, which I did, and this fixed the problem, but....

The thing is, I'm sure over the years I have received, downloaded and opened these files with no issues, so something, somewhere must've changed, but without my knowledge, can't fathom it really.

Anyhow, problem resolved.

Thanks for your input much appreciated

Best, Jim
Aetherin 1,465 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-07T11:00:45.3+00:00

Glad to hear it is working now, @Jim Campbell.

The most likely explanation is that your phone was no longer opening the attachments through the full Word and Excel apps. It may have previously been using an older Office/Microsoft 365 viewer, a cached app component, or another built-in preview method. After a recent Outlook, Microsoft 365, Android, or company policy update, the phone may have started requiring the actual Word and Excel apps to be installed or updated separately before opening those attachments.

So, as you suspect, even though it worked in the past, something may have changed in the background. Since this involves your device or your organization's environment, I'm unfortunately not in a position to determine the exact cause with certainty. That said, I'm glad to hear the issue has been resolved and that your workflow is back on track.
Jim Campbell 20 Reputation points

2026-08-07T11:13:12.08+00:00

@Aetherin

I'm sure you are correct, that's likely what's happened.

Really appreciate your input, helped point me in the right direction, all sorted now.

Thanks, have a great day

Jim
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Aetherin 1,465 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-07T11:17:48.9966667+00:00

Thank you very much for your kindness and understanding, @Jim Campbell.

If you found my reply helpful, please kindly take a moment to click the "Yes" button below my initial response. It may help others experiencing similar issues find this discussion and identify the right team or contact point within their organization.

Have a great day!!