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File format or file extension Not Valid

In icloud, I am trying to access an excel file and I am getting the following message: "File format or file extension not valid" which results in not letting me access the file. I do not have the file opened in another deivce. I have free space in my iCloud storage. The file has been in iCloud for a couple of years now. I also tried opening the file in an iPad but I keep getting the same message. I restarted al my devices too. I also send the file via email, downloaded it and still the same message appears when trying to open the file.

What can I do to solve this issue?

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Apr 22, 2023 4:16 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 18, 2023 10:07 AM

I ran into this same problem using excel for iPad and iPhone. There seems to be very little helpful information from either Microsoft or Apple.


For me, I believe the issue was file size, which was in excess of 1.3MB. I opened an older copy of the file and stripped out a lot of tabs that were no longer needed, reducing the size to about 850KB. Since doing this I have had no recurring issues and my file that I share across all apple devices is working as one would expect.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 18, 2023 10:07 AM in response to carlosfig007

I ran into this same problem using excel for iPad and iPhone. There seems to be very little helpful information from either Microsoft or Apple.


For me, I believe the issue was file size, which was in excess of 1.3MB. I opened an older copy of the file and stripped out a lot of tabs that were no longer needed, reducing the size to about 850KB. Since doing this I have had no recurring issues and my file that I share across all apple devices is working as one would expect.

Jun 29, 2024 2:23 PM in response to carlosfig007

I have this same problem, with a twist. It all started after I set up my new Mac Studio. The Excel file performs perfectly fine on my new Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023). But when I copy it over to my MacBook Pro 13" (2019, i5 CPU) I always get this Error Popup on the MBP:

"Excel cannot open the file 'homeaccess.xlsx' because the file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file."


Both systems are on the same MacOS, latest version (Sonoma, 14.5). The kicker is that this Excel file is password protected in Excel because it holds around 350 different WWW logon passwords. And yes, this Excel file password is known and hasn't ever changed. I can open the file with the password on the Mac Studio. But I always get the same Lock-Out error on the 2019 Intel MBP.


Is this perhaps a Microsoft security "feature" that saves the locked file within the .XLSX file, with an Apple Silicon-specific security key, which does not function properly on the Intel-based MBP? This Seems Plausible.


Another theory is that while both the Mac Studio and the MBP have encrypted file systems running, the MacOS (Apple Silicon) is applying a security key that is not accepted on the MBP's encrypted file system for some reason? (Perhaps because an M2-specific security key is not installed in the MBP because it does not have Apple Silicon???)


If you have any insights into this error (or perhaps just complexity), you would be a Life Saver, due to the nature of the file's contents locking my life out, while I'm on the road away from my home office and my brand new Mac Studio.


File format or file extension Not Valid

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