Your spreadsheet won't load, changes won't save, or the cells refuse to let you edit. Getting Google Sheets working again starts with separating a service or connection failure from a browser, app, or file problem. Start with the quick checks below, then follow the section that matches your symptom, including offline failures and formulas that stop updating.
Check for an outage and retry the spreadsheet
Open the Google Workspace Status Dashboard to check the Google Sheets and Google Drive rows. Open any relevant incident for details. A service outage affecting your spreadsheet requires waiting for Google to restore service.
For a temporary server or editing error, wait five minutes before reloading the spreadsheet. In desktop Chrome, reload with Ctrl+R or F5 on Windows or Linux, or Command+R on Mac.
If loading or rendering still fails, bypass cached content with Ctrl+Shift+R or Shift+F5 on Windows or Linux, or Command+Shift+R on Mac. If Sheets still fails and there is no relevant outage, move to the connection and browser checks below.
When the connection or browser is the problem
These checks address connection failures and problems confined to one browser or device. Reconnect to the internet, then retry the spreadsheet. If Trying to connect persists, switch to another network or a wired connection.
Open the same spreadsheet in another updated browser or on another device to distinguish a local problem from a file problem. Google recommends one of the two most recent browser versions, with JavaScript and cookies enabled.
To update desktop Chrome, open More > Help > About Google Chrome. Chrome checks for updates there. Select Relaunch when offered. Distribution-installed Linux builds use their package manager for updates.
Retry Sheets in the updated browser. If Chrome freezes, close unused tabs and applications to free memory.
Quit Chrome completely, reopen Chrome, and retry Sheets. Restart the computer if freezing continues.
Rule out interfering browser extensions
Test Chrome online in Incognito, then check extensions or add-ons in the affected browser.
- 1.In Chrome, open More > New Incognito window. Offline Sheets does not work here, and extensions explicitly allowed in Incognito still run.
- 2.Sign into the Google account with spreadsheet access, open the affected file, and test the action that failed.
- 3.If it works, return to your normal Chrome window and open More > Extensions > Manage extensions. Turn extensions off individually, retrying Sheets after each change.
- 4.For Edge, open Extensions > Manage extensions. Turn extensions off individually and retry Sheets.
- 5.On Mac Safari, open Safari > Settings > Extensions. Deselect extensions individually and retry Sheets.
- 6.For a Sheets editor add-on, open the spreadsheet's Extensions > Add-ons > Manage add-ons. Open the add-on's Options and turn off Use in this document.
Clear stored browser data carefully
Cookies and cached files are the next browser checks. Save or synchronize your work before deleting site data: deletion can remove offline data and require you to sign in again.
In desktop Chrome, open More > Delete browsing data. Choose All time as the time range. Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
Click Delete data. Reopen Sheets, then sign in again if prompted.
For Mac Safari, open Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data. Select the affected website. Click Remove, then click Done.
Retry Sheets in a normal window. If cleanup doesn't fix Chrome loading problems, enable JavaScript through More > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > JavaScript > Sites can use JavaScript. If the file opens but editing remains blocked, check its access settings next.
If the spreadsheet opens but you can't edit
When a spreadsheet opens in view-only mode or certain cells are locked, your account permissions determine what you can change. Start with the Google account you're using.
Open the account menu to check which account is signed in. If it is the wrong account, select Sign out. Sign into the account with spreadsheet access, then reopen the spreadsheet link.
For a view-only file, select View only > Request edit access > Send request. The owner must approve editing access before you can make changes.
If only certain cells are blocked, select View > Show > Protected ranges to identify locked cells. Ask an authorized owner or editor to adjust the protection.
As an authorized owner or editor, open Data > Protect sheets and ranges. Select the protection affecting those cells. Open Change permissions and adjust the allowed editors. Select Save or Done.
For copy-and-paste trouble, use keyboard shortcuts. On Windows or Linux, press Ctrl+C to copy, Ctrl+X to cut, or Ctrl+V to paste; on Mac, use Command+C, Command+X, or Command+V. Browser security can prevent menu-based clipboard operations.
Get the Sheets mobile app working again
For a native app that crashes or stops responding, start with an app update. Browser cache cleanup affects Sheets in the browser; the native app has separate storage.
On Android, open Google Play. Select your profile icon. Open Manage apps & devices > Updates available. Update Google Sheets if listed.
On iPhone or iPad, open the App Store. Select your profile picture. Open App Updates. Update Google Sheets if an update is available.
For an unresponsive iPhone app, open the app switcher by swiping up from the bottom and pausing on Face ID models, or double-clicking Home on Home-button models. Swipe the Sheets preview up. Reopen Sheets, then test the affected file.
On a Pixel, open Settings > Apps > See all apps > Sheets > Force stop. Select OK, then reopen Sheets.
If the Pixel app still fails, open Settings > Apps > See all apps > Sheets > Storage & cache > Clear cache. On Samsung Galaxy, use Settings > Apps > Sheets > Storage > Clear cache. Menus vary by Android manufacturer and One UI version.
Preserve unsynchronized offline edits before any full app-data reset or reinstall, since those actions remove local data. If the app still fails, open the same spreadsheet on another device to check whether the problem follows the file.
Prepare files for offline use
While connected, install Google Docs Offline for desktop offline access in Chrome or Edge. In Chrome, select Add to Chrome > Add extension. Offline access requires sufficient local disk space and does not support private browsing.
Ensure Google Docs Offline is enabled in the browser's Extensions > Manage extensions screen. From the Sheets home screen, open Menu > Settings. Turn on Offline.
Open the spreadsheet. Select File > Make available offline. Select the cloud-shaped See document status control beside the title to check offline readiness.
If an existing offline file is not synchronizing, reconnect to the internet. Preserve unsynchronized edits before resetting the file's offline state. Turn off File > Make available offline. Turn Make available offline back on.
Wait for synchronization to finish. In the Android or iPhone/iPad Sheets app, select the file's More > Make available offline while connected. Access prepared mobile files through Menu > Offline.
Tip: Use separate desktop browser profiles for different offline accounts, because only one Google account per profile can have offline access enabled.
Deal with a single broken or sluggish file
These fixes address file-specific editing errors, slow calculations, and results that stop updating. For a spreadsheet that fails across browsers or devices, right-click it in Drive and select Make a copy. Copying requires permission and does not retain the original version history.
Open the new copy. If the green calculation progress indicator is advancing, allow calculations to finish. Editing remains available while calculations run.
When results stop updating because manual calculation is enabled, open File > Settings > Calculation > Calculation Mode. Choose Automatic. Select Save settings.
For formula-heavy files, replace unnecessary whole-column references with the actual data range, such as SUM(A1:A1000). Calculate a repeated expression once in a helper cell. Reference that helper cell wherever the same result is needed.
To split an oversized workbook, open a sheet tab's dropdown and select Copy to > New spreadsheet or Existing spreadsheet. Google's documented limit for spreadsheets created in or converted to Sheets is up to 20 million cells or 100 MB.
For a connection-related #REF! error in IMPORTRANGE, select the destination cell. Access to the source spreadsheet is required. Click Allow Access.
To force a refresh of IMPORTDATA, IMPORTHTML, or IMPORTXML, overwrite the formula cell with the same formula. Reloading the spreadsheet does not force these imports to refresh.
When the usual fixes don't resolve it
If you cannot create or upload files and your Google account storage is full, open Drive's Storage page to identify large files you no longer need. Delete unneeded files, then empty the relevant Drive, Gmail, and Photos trash to reclaim their storage. Large deletions can take 48 to 72 hours to appear in the storage total.
On a work or school account, ask your administrator to review restrictions affecting Sheets access, file creation, external sharing, or offline use. If the failure happens only on the organization's network, ask its network administrator to check firewall or proxy filtering.
If Sheets still fails after the relevant fixes, report the error and the steps that reproduce it through Help > Help us improve. The editor must open far enough to access that menu; feedback reports the problem but does not provide an immediate repair.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are add-ons or protected ranges unavailable in an Excel file?
These features require a native Google Sheets file. Open the Office file through Open with > Google Sheets, then select File > Save as Google Sheets.
Why does Google Sheets keep reloading after I leave the tab idle?
Chrome Memory Saver can discard inactive tabs. Open More > Settings > Performance > Always keep these sites active > Add > Add sites manually. Enter docs.google.com and select Add.
Can I restore a spreadsheet that worked before a recent change?
Editors with version-history access can select Last edit, choose an earlier version, and select Restore this version > Restore. This changes the current document for collaborators. To preserve the current file, open the earlier version's More > Make a copy, enter its name and location, and select OK.
Why won't a script button work in the Sheets mobile app?
Clicking an image or drawing assigned to an Apps Script does not execute the script on mobile. Open the spreadsheet in a desktop web browser and click the image or drawing there.
