Can’t Scroll in Microsoft Excel? 5 Ways to Fix

Nothing slows you down like opening an Excel file and realizing—you can’t scroll. Whether you’re stuck in place or the scroll bar is grayed out, it’s a frustrating issue that hits at the worst time. But don’t worry—this post will walk you through 5 fixes that actually work.

1. Check if Scroll Lock is On

This one’s easy to miss. If your keyboard has a Scroll Lock key and it’s turned on, Excel won’t scroll like you expect—it just jumps between cells.

How to fix it:

• Look for a Scroll Lock key on your keyboard and tap it once.
• No key? On Windows, press Fn + C (some laptops), or open the On-Screen Keyboard (osk in the Start menu) and turn off Scroll Lock there.

2. Unfreeze Panes

If scrolling only works in part of your spreadsheet, you might have frozen panes—either rows or columns—that are locking the view.

How to fix it:

• Go to the View tab.
• Click Freeze Panes.
• Select Unfreeze Panes.

Now try scrolling again. You should be good to go.

3. Check for Protected Sheet or Workbook

Excel lets you lock parts of a sheet or an entire workbook. That protection can block scrolling in some cases.

How to fix it:

• Go to the Review tab.
• Click Unprotect Sheet or Unprotect Workbook.
• Enter a password if required.

If you didn’t set protection and you’re working on a shared file, check with your team.

4. Update or Restart Excel

Sometimes Excel just glitches. Maybe you left it open too long, or a recent update didn’t finish cleanly.

Try this:

• Save your work and close Excel completely.
• Reopen it and check for updates:
  • Go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.

If it’s a random bug, this will usually fix it.

5. Check Excel Add-ins

Third-party add-ins can mess with Excel’s normal behavior—including scrolling.

How to disable them:

• Go to File > Options > Add-ins.
• At the bottom, next to “Manage: Excel Add-ins,” click Go.
• Uncheck everything and click OK.

Restart Excel and see if scrolling works. If it does, turn add-ins back on one at a time to find the culprit.

Final Tip: Test with a New Workbook

Still stuck? Try opening a brand-new workbook. If scrolling works there, the issue is with the original file, not Excel itself.

Got another Excel problem bugging you? Drop it in the comments—I’m happy to help.