Apple M5, Tahoe 26.5, Word and Excel always updated, ramdomly I can work on files, save them and as I try reopening them Word or Excel just will not open get stuck (color wheel turning indefinitely). There seems to be no reason or rhyme to it, but once a file acts like that it crashes Word / Excel every single time (even though it was created on the same Mac). This is getting extremely frustrating and I have not found a solution
MacBook Air 15″, macOS 26.5
The fact that the same file can be created and saved successfully, then consistently hangs Word/Excel when reopened, is a useful clue: I’d suspect the failure is occurring during document parsing or while Office is resolving something associated with that document, rather than a generic Office launch problem.
On macOS, Office files can trigger access to security-scoped file URLs, sandbox/container data, fonts, linked content, cloud-provider extensions, and Office’s own recovery/cache state during the open operation; a damaged document-specific relationship, embedded object, font, or stale OneDrive/Office container entry can therefore make one file reproduce the hang while other files open normally.
Since the web version can open the affected files, I’d first test whether the local Office environment is the problem by downloading one of those files from the web interface as a fresh copy to a completely local folder such as ~/Desktop and opening that, rather than opening the original from OneDrive/iCloud/Downloads.
If the fresh local copy still hangs, duplicate the file and test it with Word/Excel launched in macOS Safe Mode or with third-party font loading eliminated... if it opens there, you’re looking at an interaction with a local service/extension/font rather than document corruption.
If only particular files reproduce it regardless of location, I’d inspect those documents for embedded objects, external links, unusual fonts, or workbook-level corruption.
The most useful diagnostic at that point is actually Console/Unified Logging while reproducing the hang, looking for Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, OfficeFileCache, OneDrive, sandbox, security-scoped, or font-related errors... that will tell you whether Office is stuck in document parsing, file-provider access, or macOS sandbox/file coordination rather than simply assuming Tahoe itself is broken.
The fact that the same file can be created and saved successfully, then consistently hangs Word/Excel when reopened, is a useful clue: I’d suspect the failure is occurring during document parsing or while Office is resolving something associated with that document, rather than a generic Office launch problem.
On macOS, Office files can trigger access to security-scoped file URLs, sandbox/container data, fonts, linked content, cloud-provider extensions, and Office’s own recovery/cache state during the open operation; a damaged document-specific relationship, embedded object, font, or stale OneDrive/Office container entry can therefore make one file reproduce the hang while other files open normally.
Since the web version can open the affected files, I’d first test whether the local Office environment is the problem by downloading one of those files from the web interface as a fresh copy to a completely local folder such as ~/Desktop and opening that, rather than opening the original from OneDrive/iCloud/Downloads.
If the fresh local copy still hangs, duplicate the file and test it with Word/Excel launched in macOS Safe Mode or with third-party font loading eliminated... if it opens there, you’re looking at an interaction with a local service/extension/font rather than document corruption.
If only particular files reproduce it regardless of location, I’d inspect those documents for embedded objects, external links, unusual fonts, or workbook-level corruption.
The most useful diagnostic at that point is actually Console/Unified Logging while reproducing the hang, looking for Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, OfficeFileCache, OneDrive, sandbox, security-scoped, or font-related errors... that will tell you whether Office is stuck in document parsing, file-provider access, or macOS sandbox/file coordination rather than simply assuming Tahoe itself is broken.
What version of word/excel?
Standalone installation of office or MS365 subscription?
MS365 subscription. Only ‚workaround‘ to at least open the files is open them online…
Try macOS 26.7.
Also consider Apple Numbers or LibreOffice, as alternatives.
Will try the update, thanks. If I can I’d like to stay away from libre / numbers since I am exchanging documents daily with all kinds of third parties. Sticking with MS Office is non-negotiable (from the third party side). So I am pretty much MS doomed…
anapplenewb wrote:
... If I can I’d like to stay away from libre / numbers since I am exchanging documents daily with all kinds of third parties.
So do I, and have been for the better part of two decades. There are no Microsoft products on any of my Macs.
Sticking with MS Office is non-negotiable (from the third party side).
Suit yourself, but consider the possibility, however remote, that you may have been led astray.
Life is better without Microsoft.
John Galt wrote:
anapplenewb wrote:
... If I can I’d like to stay away from libre / numbers since I am exchanging documents daily with all kinds of third parties.
So do I, and have been for the better part of two decades. There are no Microsoft products on any of my Macs.
I’ve been swapping files for about as long, without Office, and with nothing worse for compatibility than the typical oddities than can sometimes arise from one version of Office to the next. Few (no?) correspondents have even noticed.
Word Excel crashing / won‘t open
