Microsoft fixes bug crashing Office apps when opening cloud documents

Microsoft has fixed a known issue causing Office applications like Word and Excel to crash when working with cloud documents.

The complete list of affected Office apps includes Excel for Microsoft 365, Word for Microsoft 365, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

"Word, Excel, and PowerPoint might close unexpectedly when opening, closing, saving, uploading, or downloading cloud files in Office Version 2205," the company described the issue on its support website.

According to Redmond, users wouldn't know the cause of these crashes since "no errors are displayed when the application suddenly closes."

Microsoft says the Microsoft 365 issue has been addressed in Office Version 2206 Build 16.0.15330.20230, with the fix currently being rolled out to affected customers via an update.

Those impacted by this problem who don't want to wait until the update rolls out to their system can manually install it by opening the Office app and clicking "Update Now" under File > Account > Update Options.

Excel 365 freezing issues

Microsoft has also fixed another Excel 365 issue today where the app might stop responding or experience performance issues when switching between worksheets.

"Excel for Microsoft 365 might experience performance problems or stop responding when switching between worksheets of an existing file containing a PivotTable to which a filter has been applied," Microsoft explained.

This known issue affects multiple Microsoft 365 Apps builds, including:

• Office 365 Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Version 2108 (Build 14326.20962 )
• Office 365 Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (Preview) Version 2202 (Build 14931.20392)
• Office 365 Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC) Version 2203 (Build 15028.20248)

Redmond says the fix is available for customers in the Current channel Version 2204 or later (Build 15128.20280) and those in the Monthly Enterprise Channel Version 2204 (Build 15128.20280).

The fix will also roll out to Office 365 subscription customers this month for those in the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (Version 2202) and the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Preview (Version 2202).

Microsoft also provides a workaround for Office 2021 or Office 2019 customers who will not be provided with a fix.

"If a fix is not available for your current version of Excel 365, you can work around the problem by removing the filter from the affected worksheet by selecting File > Home > Sort & Filter > Clear," Redmond added.

Those familiar with the Windows Registry can also set a registry key that will have the same effect using the steps detailed here.

Microsoft fixes bug crashing Office apps when opening cloud documents