Excel files corrupted when opened on iPad

This is still a problem. The problem is with iCloud. If the Excel file is located on in a iCloud folder, and opened and modified in a Microsoft Office iOS app, it will corrupt it where you no longer can open it. However, if you do this on a file in a OneDrive folder, you are able to open and edit normally with out corrupting it. Additionally, you can use the Files app to go to a OneDrive folder and it does the same without corrupting it.

I'm not sure where the fault lies. But the problem is isolated to Microsoft files located on an iCloud folder edited in a Microsoft iOS app.

I hope this focuses someone's attention to this.

I found something that helped me a little maybe it can help you too. Use your Mac, locate the excel on your icloud, try opening it with Numbers. Probably your numbers is gonna give some sort of an error just like excel does however this time it asks you if you want to browse this file's history and restore it. If you accept, it shows a page in which it allows you to scroll through all past variations of this file. Locate the last file right before you used your ipad and restore it. Open it with numbers and export it to excel. Now this will not give you the same excel but at least it will show you your data right before using your ipad which could be some sort of a guideline to create the same excel sheet for yourself.

This is as close as I got to fixing the issue, honestly it's way better than not having anything. Try it hopefully it works for you too.

Terrible from both Apple and Microsoft to leave customers in the middle on this.

I’ve just lodged a return within 14 days for my newly purchased iPad due to this issue. It’s useless to me if I cannot have confidence on using Excel in iOS without corrupting files.

I have the same issue for excel files saved on icloud. This is a serious problem/risk for any excel files saved on icloud and needs to be fixed. The corrupted file is now 66kb, which is significantly different from the size of the "good" file.

I think I have found the root cause of the issue. For me at least.

The company I work for mandates the installation of a Management Profile, in the settings Mobile Device Management.

When I try and save personal excel files to my icloud above a certain size they get corrupted.

I removed the Profile for a few days and had no issues.

I need the Management Profile to access my work resources, and don't want to carry 2 phones!

My fix, remove all Microsoft apps from my mobile, and read only in the iOS native viewer, then use Team Viewer if I want to edit and save (its rare I am a long way from my MacBook).

Far from ideal!!!

No solution, Sorry!

The problem I have is when I use a Shortcut or iOS Files App to open an Excel file, sometimes I can read only, close and reopen (but not always), and modifying a cell always corrupts the file when there is more than one sheet, several formulas or its >70kb.

However, before the file becomes corrupted, this work around appears to be working for me

I am opening excel first, then selecting the file to open from the Folder option within excel, or if it's a file used regularly from Recents. I am able to make changes, exit and reopen.

I have also found if the file is in OneDrive I have had no instances of it being corrupted and no instances of other 365 files, Word etc., being affected.

An alternative work around that appears to work - in the iOS Files App, copy the file from iCloud to On My iPhone, edit and exit, then copy the modified file from On My iPhone back to iCloud, no instances of corruption, but I have only tried this a few times!

RobeDoke Said:

"Microsoft support is having a technical problem, as I have!"

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Thank you for the screenshot.

XML Format:

See that little "X" at the end of the file extension? Nowadays' MS Office formats are of XML-type. So, that is likely

As your screenshot in part reads: "Alert - Excel cannot open the file 'Timesheet.xIsx' because the file format or file extension is not valid."

Yep, I've seen this. In my case it was a file name Excel didn't like. The problem is your iPad apps just may not be able to do exactly as your Mac apps do.

I wanted a certain file to always be at the top of a sorted list view. I started the file name with *** . iMac Excel open it fine; iPad Excel refused to with your same error message. More than likely you've changed some aspect of the file iPad Excel just doesn't like.

MattL1974 Said:

"Excel files corrupted when opened on iPad: [...]Alert - Excel cannot open the file ’Portfolio Valuation TEST.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."

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Troubleshooting Excel App:

Contact Microsoft Support:

They are the developer of the software.Perform a chat session with Microsoft using a computer, as it would be more user-friendly doing so. The site to use: https://vsa.services.microsoft.com/en-us/v1.0/

Is anyone aware of a solution to this issue? Ive now had 2 files corrupted and no solution works to recover them.

This is a fundamental flaw between the Microsoft App and iCloud that is damaging personal file.

Still no robust solution, however;

whilst installing the latest iOS , I was asked if I wanted to re-accept my employer permissions (to use my personal devices for work they install a profile for security)

I obviously accepted this, but then reviewed the profile details provided in my company T&Cs and it installs certain apps and license access (I'm not techy and don't know exactly what's happening)

what I then did was delete the apps I don't use, specially for this thread OneDrive.

now I can open the file, it defaults to read only, then if I want to edit I first have to save a copy. (Replacing original file)

This just another work around, but appears fairly stable.

Is there possible conflicts caused by employer permissions and/or OneDrive, whilst using iCloud Files?

My robust solution is to do real work on an actual computer ... 2020 27" iMac Retina. There's just nothing like the enhanced productivity of a 27" screen filed from side to side with a multi sheet Excel file.

This is beyond frustrating from both Apple's perspective and Microsoft's perspective. Clients use both systems, both file sharing apps, etc. I am still receiving the same corrupted error when opening .xlsx or .docx files and it is completely ruining the functionality and seamlessness of working from varying devices.

Has anybody come up with a solution for this corruption? Or is there a way to submit a ticket to both Apple and Microsoft to fix this? It was not an issue before and now it is... something has to change.

This happened to me multiple times. I have the excel files stored in iCloud. The excel files become corrupted and cannot be opened or repaired using desktop excel. MS 365 excel on iOS is now unusable for excel. This is a total screwup. What is not clear is where the issues is. Is it iOS, is the iCloud or is it MS 365 running on iOS.

I will have to start storing the files on my Mac and using VNC as jjaggred is doing.

DonGringo wrote:

Is anyone aware of a solution to this issue? Ive now had 2 files corrupted and no solution works to recover them.

This is a fundamental flaw between the Microsoft App and iCloud that is damaging personal file.

I doubt if it is iCloud that is corrupting the Excel files. If iCloud Drive was damaging personal files, we'd be hearing a lot more about it, in the context of many applications – not just Microsoft Excel.

My suspicion is that Excel on the Mac and Excel on the iPad might not be entirely compatible. If Excel on the iPad does not fully understand whatever Excel on the Mac is doing, or vice versa, one might be "corrupting" the other's files.

The same problem would then exist no matter how you transferred the files between the Mac and the iPad … even transfers via.a USB flash drive, or via the Microsoft cloud (OneDrive), would not be immune.