Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 2 hrs ago
Microsoft fixes Excel 2016 copy-and-paste bug caused by October update
Microsoft's October update caused copy-and-paste to fail in Excel 2016 when a workbook contained conditional formatting.
The affected update, KB5002934, was distributed through Windows Update, but it was an Excel update rather than an update to Windows itself.
The bug affects Excel 2016 only, and newer Excel versions are not affected.
The failure can happen without an error message, so users may not know why copying and pasting stopped working.
Microsoft has released a fix in Excel build 16.0.5574.1006 or later, which users can check under File > Account > About Excel.
If the problem continues, users can try Paste Special and select a paste option such as Values or Formulas.
This is the second month in a row that an Excel update caused a copy-and-paste problem, though the new build is intended to resolve this one.
Microsoft fixed a copy-and-paste bug affecting Excel 2016 after its October update.
The KB5002934 update could stop copying and pasting in workbooks that contain conditional formatting.
The problem was limited to Excel 2016, and newer versions were not affected.
Microsoft released a new Excel build that resolves the issue.
The fix is included in build 16.0.5574.1006 or later.
- Who
- Microsoft and users of Excel 2016.
- What
- An update caused copying and pasting to fail in some workbooks, and Microsoft released a fix.
- When
- The issue followed the October update; reports were published on November 3 and 4, 2026.
- Where
- In Microsoft Excel 2016.
- Why
- The KB5002934 update could prevent copying and pasting when a workbook contained conditional formatting.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Microsoft released the KB5002934 update for Excel 2016, which could disrupt copying and pasting in workbooks with conditional formatting.
Neowin reported that Microsoft had confirmed the problem and issued a fix.
Windows Central reported that Microsoft had released a new Excel build that fixes the issue.
- Affected update
- KB5002934
- Affected version
- Excel 2016
- Trigger
- Workbook contains conditional formatting
- Fixed build
- 16.0.5574.1006 or later
3 sources
What people are saying
I'm glad that Microsoft fixed the problem so quickly, but it's concerning that updates caused the same issues two months in a row.