Paste function no longer works in Excel 2023

Martin Feinberg 0 Reputation points
2026-09-11T18:12:35.25+00:00

I can no longer paste anything, cells, ranges or sheets. After I copy a cell and try to paste it into another cell nothing happens.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-11T18:12:50.33+00:00

    Try these checks in order:

    1. Enable paste options in Excel
      • Go to File > Options > Advanced.
      • Under Cut, copy and paste, make sure Show Paste Options button when content is pasted is checked.
    2. Test whether Paste Special works
      • Copy a cell.
      • Go to Home > Paste and try Values, Formulas, or Formatting.
      • If these work, the issue is with normal paste behavior rather than copying itself.
    3. Start Excel in Safe Mode to rule out add-ins
      • Find the Excel shortcut.
      • Hold CTRL and double-click Excel.
      • Select Yes to open in Safe Mode.
      • Test copy and paste again.
      • If paste works in Safe Mode, an add-in is likely causing the conflict. Re-enable add-ins one at a time and leave the problematic one disabled.
    4. Close web browsers
      • Close all browser windows and test again.
      • Browser conflicts can interfere with Paste Special.
    5. Make sure both workbooks are in the same Excel instance
      • If copying between two workbooks, open both in the same Excel session.
      • When workbooks are opened in different Excel instances, Excel may not use its normal internal paste behavior.
    6. If the problem started after a recent Office update
      • A reported cause is update KB5002914.
      • If the issue began immediately after updating Office, uninstalling that update and restarting Windows has been reported as a fix.
      • If that does not help, an Online Repair of Office has also been suggested.

    If the problem happens even in a brand-new workbook and also in Safe Mode, the update-related fix or Office repair is the most relevant next step.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Martin Feinberg 0 Reputation points
    2026-09-11T18:22:10.82+00:00

    Thanks, paste special works but not paste. I cannot find the KB5002914 to try and uninstall. I cannot find it in the Windows Update area of Settings.

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  3. Hendrix-V 18,605 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-11T23:38:05.81+00:00

    Hi Martin Feinberg,

    Based on the information you've shared, the behavior you're seeing is consistent with a recently documented Excel issue where standard Paste fails silently, while Paste Special may continue to work. Microsoft has acknowledged that this can affect multiple Excel versions and is currently being investigated.

    Since you cannot find KB5002914 in Windows Update, it's likely that your Office installation is using a Click-to-Run build rather than an MSI-based installation. In that case, the update would not appear in the Windows Update history, and uninstalling it through Settings would not be available.

    As a quick check, you can try:

    • Open Excel.
    • Go to File > Account.
    • Note the Product Name, Version, and Build Number shown under About Excel.

    If you're using a Click-to-Run installation, reviewing the Office build version may help determine whether rolling back to a previous Office build is an available workaround while the investigation continues.

    In the meantime, using Paste Special may provide a temporary way to continue working where possible.

    I hope this helps clarify why the update isn't visible in Windows Update. If you can share your Excel version and build number from File > Account, the community may be able to suggest the most appropriate next step for your installation type.

    Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  4. EmilyS_726 27,560 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-12T03:49:13.81+00:00

    There's no Excel 2023, could you possibly mean 2024?

    If so, please type cmd in the search on the taskbar. Don't press enter key yet. Instead, choose "run as administrator" to launch Command Prompt.

    Then run this command:

    "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun\OfficeC2RClient.exe" /update user updatetoversion=16.0.20326.20112

    The command is to remove the latest update, which is causing this issue.

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