Microsoft fixes Excel's copy-paste bug, but only for a small group of people

Microsoft 365 app on Windows 11 with shortcuts to create documents in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other Microsoft 365 applications. — (Image credit: Future)

Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed a bug in Excel that breaks copy and paste. The issue was caused by the Patch Tuesday September update. That update included almost 1,000 security fixes, but it also brought some pesky bugs to the operating system.

Microsoft had to issue an out-of-band update to address broken Hyper-V Linux folder shares, Remote Desktop freezes, and USB audio failures. The company has also had to ship an update to address the copy and paste bug in Excel.

Unfortunately, the update is rather limited at this time. The fix is only for Excel 2016 and it has some known issues. Microsoft notes that if a workbook contains conditional formatting paste operations may continue to fail. The workaround to this is to use the "Paste Special" feature. Microsoft outlines the steps in a support document:

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On the Home tab, select the Paste dropdown list, and then select Paste Special.
In the Paste Special window, select one of the following options:
- Formulas
- Formulas & Number Formatting
- Values
- Values & Number Formatting
- Link

Microsoft is still looking into the issue and will hopefully have broader fixes soon.

Windows 11 is in the middle of a refresh that will reduce pain points in the operating system. One of the many ways Microsoft will improve Windows 11 is by smoothing the update process. People are supposed to get fewer updates each month and have updates with fewer bugs.

At least in September, that has not been the case and there is clearly still a lot of work to do. I've had to install three updates on my PC in just over one week. In my case, the second and third updates were only needed to fix problems caused by the first update.

While issues like the Excel copy and paste bug are frustrating, they usually affect a small subset of users. I happened to be in that group this month, but I don't believe this was a widespread problem.

Hopefully we will reach a point at which a monthly Patch Tuesday update plugs security holes and improves the OS without introducing any bugs that break workflows.

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Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.