How to unlock excel cells

Answer

Unlocking Excel cells is the process that removes cell-level protection so the cells remain editable after the worksheet is protected. Excel locks all cells by default, which means protection prevents edits until selected cells are unlocked.

How to Unlock Excel Cells

To unlock cells in Excel:

1. Select the cells that should be editable.

2. Open the Home tab.

3. Click Format in the Cells group.

4. Choose Format Cells.

5. Open the Protection tab.

6. Clear the Locked checkbox.

7. Click OK.

The cells are unlocked but remain editable only after the worksheet is protected because Excel applies locking during worksheet protection.

How to Protect the Worksheet After Unlocking Cells

A worksheet must be protected for the unlock action to take effect.

1. Open the Review tab.

2. Click Protect Sheet.

3. Enter a password when needed.

4. Click OK.

Unlocked cells stay editable; locked cells remain protected.

What Is Different between Windows and Mac?

Windows places the Format option inside the Home tab under the Cells group.
Mac places the Format Cells option inside the Format menu on the top menu bar, and the Protect Sheet option sits under the Review tab with a layout that matches the Windows version.

Why Some Cells Remain Locked After Unlocking

Cells remain locked because worksheet protection stays active. Unlocking changes the cell property; protection enforces it.

How to Check Whether a Cell Is Locked

1. Select the cell.

2. Open Format Cells.

3. Check the Locked box status in the Protection tab.

A checked box means the cell is locked during protection.

How to Unlock All Cells at Once

1. Press Ctrl + A to select the worksheet.

2. Open Format Cells.

3. Clear the Locked box.

4. Protect the sheet again when required.

All cells become editable because locking is disabled.

How to Unlock Specific Ranges While Keeping Others Locked

1. Select the range that stays editable.

2. Open Format Cells.

3. Clear the Locked box.

4. Protect the sheet with Protect Sheet.

5. Enter the password and confirm.

The unlocked range accepts edits while the locked range blocks them.

How to Unlock Cells in a Shared Workbook

Yes. A shared workbook lets users unlock cells only after the workbook is unshared because protection settings do not apply in shared mode.

1. Open Review.

2. Choose Unshare Workbook.

3. Unlock cells.

4. Protect the worksheet again.

5. Share the workbook after updates.

How to Unlock Cells When the Password Is Forgotten

No. Excel does not provide a native method to remove a forgotten sheet protection password. Third-party tools exist with a success rate range of 40%–95%, based on reported recovery efficiency across multiple vendors. Password recovery depends on password length and character complexity.

Best Practices When Unlocking Cells

1. Unlock only the cells that require editing.

2. Assign strong passwords to protect sensitive ranges.

3. Maintain a secure list of passwords.

4. Protect worksheets after unlocking cells to apply the changes.

5. Document which cells remain unlocked for clarity.

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