Microsoft fixes the fix that broke Excel paste – partly

Microsoft has released a partial solution for the Excel bug that prevents paste operations from functioning correctly. The patch is specifically designed for Excel 2016 users, with Microsoft cautioning that pasting may still fail in workbooks utilizing conditional formatting. In September, Microsoft released a security update for Excel to resolve remote code execution and information disclosure vulnerabilities.

However, the update inadvertently caused another issue: in Excel 2024, 2021, 2019, and 2016, the paste operation might fail silently. Users attempting to paste content would see the source remain selected while the destination remained unmodified, with no indication of the failure such as a beep or error message. Workarounds included using Paste Special, but some users had to wait for Microsoft's response.

A fix has now emerged for Excel 2016, temporarily hanging precariously in a doorway. September has been a challenging month for Microsoft, its updates, and the emergency updates required to rectify them. The Windows security update in September required an out-of-band release to address multiple problems, but even that left some unfinished.

Another issue involving domain-joined devices has now been added to Microsoft's list of known issues. While users with newer Excel versions continue to wait, Microsoft has addressed another problem stemming from an August update. The bug that caused Windows Security to incorrectly report Microsoft Defender Antivirus as disabled was resolved in a September update.

Microsoft's team has done commendable work, though the best solution remains preventing issues from occurring in the first place.