2016 excel copy paste issue

Vedanth K G 0 Reputation points
2026-09-10T10:14:13.7033333+00:00

2016 excel copy paste issue , Any one having the quick solution or any patch from Microsoft .

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Other

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  1. Senthil kumar 2,410 Reputation points
    2026-09-10T10:24:29.5233333+00:00

    Hi @Vedanth K G

    Root Cause :

    there are known causes and a few Microsoft patches, but no single universal fix because Office 2016 is already out of support (Oct 2025). The issue you’re facing is happening to many users, especially after certain Windows Updates.

    Solution 1 :

    Steps:

    Control Panel → Programs & Features

    View Installed Updates

    Find KB5002914

    Uninstall → Restart

    This restores normal copy/paste for many users.

    Solution 2 :

    If two Excel windows run in separate processes, Excel switches to Windows Paste Special, showing only:

    Unicode Text

    Text

    …and loses formatting.

    This is a confirmed cause.

    Thanks.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-10T10:14:31.5233333+00:00

    For Excel 2016 copy/paste issues, the supported fixes depend on the symptom:

    1. If Paste Special is missing or not working:
      • Go to File > Options > Advanced.
      • Under Cut, copy and paste, make sure Show Paste Options button when content is pasted is enabled.
      • Close all web browser instances and test again, because browser conflicts can block Paste Special.
      • Start Excel in Safe Mode by holding Ctrl while opening Excel. If copy/paste works there, an add-in is likely causing the problem. Re-enable add-ins one at a time and leave the conflicting add-in disabled or uninstall it.
    2. If copying between two separate Excel instances:
      • Open both workbooks in the same Excel instance.
      • In Excel 2016, when files are opened in different Excel instances, Excel uses the Windows Paste Special dialog instead of the Excel one, and options such as Formulas, Values, Formats, and Comments are unavailable.
    3. If the issue is performance or hangs during copy/paste in large workbooks:
      • Microsoft shipped copy/paste performance improvements in Excel 2016 builds, including:
        • Build 16.0.8229.0 for copying conditional formats
        • Build 16.0.8327.1000 for slow pasting after filtered rows
        • Build 16.0.8431.2058 for filtering, sorting, and copy/paste responsiveness
      • Installing the latest available Office updates is the relevant Microsoft-side fix path.
    4. If Excel 2016 stops responding in a specific copy/paste scenario involving cells with the ID property and then using ClearContents:
      • Microsoft released a fix in the August 9, 2016 update for Excel 2016 (KB3115438).
    5. If the problem started after a recent update and even normal cut/copy/paste fails:
      • A reported workaround is to perform an Online Repair of the Office installation.

    There is also a paste-related Excel 2016 update, KB3114374, that adds the ReplaceCFOnPaste registry value. This involves registry editing and should be used carefully because incorrect registry changes can cause serious problems.

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