"Refresh Paused" in Shared Excel Files: What to Do.

March 06, 2025

How to Handle "Refresh Paused" When Multiple Users Edit an Excel File.

The First Two Steps You Should Try Is Disconnecting and Re-Connecting The Microsoft Account To Refresh The Application Status And Restarting The Computer.

Step-by-step instructions to sign out and sign back into a Microsoft Account in common applications like Excel, Teams, and Outlook.

To Sign Out:

Open the application (e.g., Excel, Teams, Outlook) on your device.

Look for your profile picture or initials in the top right or left corner of the screen.

Click on your profile picture or initials to open the account menu.

From the menu, select "Sign Out" or a similar option to log out of your Microsoft Account.

Confirm the sign-out action if prompted.

To Sign Back In:

Open the application again.

Look for the "Sign In" or "Log In" option, usually found in the top right or left corner.

Click on the "Sign In" option.

Enter your Microsoft Account email address associated with the application.

Follow the prompts to enter your password and complete the sign-in process.

Remember that the exact steps might vary slightly depending on the version of the application and the platform (Windows, Mac, etc.) you are using.

Step-by-step instructions for restarting a computer or laptop on both Windows and Mac:

For Windows:

Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Select the "Power" icon, usually represented by a circle with a vertical line inside.

Choose "Restart" from the options provided.

Confirm the restart if prompted.

Your computer will shut down and then automatically restart.

For Mac:

Click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen.

Choose "Restart" from the drop-down menu.

A confirmation dialog will appear; click "Restart" to proceed.

Your Mac will shut down and then automatically restart.

Remember that on both Windows and Mac, you can also use keyboard shortcuts to restart:

For Windows: Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, then select "Restart" from the options.

For Mac: Press Control + Command + Eject (or Control + Command + Power on Macs without an optical drive), then confirm the restart.

If the issue still persist, Try the following below:

If the file is located in SharePoint, I suggest you go to Site-> File-> Version history to check if other users edited this file. And if yes, please contact them to close this file at their end. If you are the only one user who accessed this file, we suggest you close this file and remove it from Excel-> File-> Recent list. Go to SharePoint Online site-> Open this file in browser-> Click the “Open in Desktop App” and check the behavior.

Helpful Resources:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/refresh-paused-error-on-a-shared-excel-file/8be4c445-1578-4d64-8190-c14e10dc9423

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