Why cant I save and upload files - Google Chrome, Microsoft Office?

If there was no issue in Safe mode then that means the problem is not with macOS Sonoma or the M1. Safe mode means the Mac boots without loading any third party extensions, add-ons, or modifications by third party software. Safe mode means the machine is running on Apple software only.

First troubleshooting method is create a new account on your Mac and see if the problem exists there. If it doesn’t then you have something going on in your main account.

As previously mentioned make sure you have the latest versions of Office installed. Please tell us what version you are using currently.

To answer your question directly, no, it is not typical of M1. I am running Sonoma 14.2.1 on my M1 Mac Studio and I have no such issues. I’m running version 16.80 of all Office apps

Sensorrc wrote:

When I try to use the browser-based file explorer or Microsoft Office-based file explorer -- i.e., whenever I want to either upload a file for some reason or whenever I want to save a file using "Save as" function -- I am completely unable to interact with the interface in any way. The "Save" button is grey and I cant push any buttons using the mouse pointer. The only functionality available is tabbing using the keyboard.

The only way to solve the issue is restarting the software or the macbook. But in several minutes after that issue occurs again.

Tried to reboot the macbook in Safe mode. It looks like in Safe mode there is no issue. But issue occurs again after restarting in normal mode.

The device is Macbook pro M1 pro, MacOS Sonoma 14.2.1.

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/5367b07c-1c2f-4d26-9ab3-e1a31653ac54

I would look for some update to make your third party apps compatible

if in doubt search the developers website or contact their: Support/Help/FAQ/Known issues/compatibility/updates…

Contact a third-party vendor - Apple Support

Contact a third-party vendor - Apple Support

In your Safeboot mode—

This test tells you if third party interference; most* extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.

Microsoft support

https://support.microsoft.com

Ask the Microsoft Community

https://answers.microsoft.com/

Google Chrome Help

How to Update Chrome to the Latest Version

Great detective work! Not sure why Stage Manager would cause this behavior though.