[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
In how to lock cells in Excel<\/a>, we explored various locking methods that ensure the safety of your spreadsheet at a cell, sheet, and formula level. This helps you avoid the risk of having to edit mistakes manually, thus improving the levels of productivity and efficiency in your organization. But what happens if you want to unlock cells in Excel to edit again?<\/p>\n This article will show you how to edit your Excel data and grant editing privileges to others by offering a step-by-step on how to unlock cells in Excel, unprotect sheets, and edit a locked Excel spreadsheet. If the whole file opens as read-only instead, see how to remove read-only from Excel<\/a>.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_id=”how-to-unlock-cells-in-excel” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Firstly, it\u2019s important to note the following things when it comes to unlocking cells in Excel:<\/p>\n In Excel, the concept of \u201cprotection\u201d relates to preventing unwanted changes to a sheet by adding a password. When you protect a sheet in Excel, all cells become automatically protected as well.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say that in my Excel, no specific cells have been locked, however, I have protected the entire sheet instead.<\/p>\n Use the following steps to learn how to unprotect your cells in Excel by unprotecting the entire sheet:<\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> Go to the \u201cReview\u201d tab in your Excel file. Go to the sheet where you want to unprotect cells. If protected, then the \u201cUnprotect Sheet\u201d status to the far right will appear.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/how-to-unlock-cells-in-excel-unprotect-sheet-button.webp” alt=”How to unlock cells in Excel \u2014 Review tab with the Unprotect Sheet button highlighted” title_text=”Review tab with the Unprotect Sheet button highlighted” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/how-to-unlock-cells-in-excel-protected-sheet-alert.webp” alt=”How to unlock cells in Excel \u2014 alert saying the cell is on a protected sheet” title_text=”Alert saying the cell is on a protected sheet” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/how-to-unlock-cells-in-excel-enter-password.webp” alt=”How to unlock cells in Excel \u2014 Unprotect Sheet password prompt with Cancel and OK” title_text=”Unprotect Sheet password prompt with Cancel and OK” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n IMPORTANT:<\/strong> In case you need to unlock cells without a password, whether you forgot or simply don\u2019t know, read the article on how to remove a password from Excel<\/a>.<\/p>\n 4.<\/strong> If successful, the “Protect Sheet” option should appear again in the “Review” tab.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/how-to-unlock-cells-in-excel-protect-sheet-status.webp” alt=”How to unlock cells in Excel \u2014 Review tab showing Protect Sheet and Protect Workbook again” title_text=”Review tab showing Protect Sheet and Protect Workbook again” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/how-to-unlock-cells-in-excel-unprotected-cell.webp” alt=”How to unlock cells in Excel \u2014 cell E3 open for editing with no alert” title_text=”Cell E3 open for editing with no alert” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n So far, we have explained how to unlock cells in Excel by unprotecting the sheet. But what if you want to keep the sheet protected while only unlocking specific cells? Let\u2019s move on to the next steps to see how this would work.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_id=”how-to-unlock-specific-cells-in-excel” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say I have previously locked specific cells in my Excel. Now, I want to unlock these to edit them.<\/p>\n Before you can do this, you need to make sure that the spreadsheet is unprotected. Go to the \u201cReview\u201d tab and click on \u201cUnprotect Sheet\u201d. Next, we will show you how to edit a locked Excel spreadsheet by unlocking specific cells.<\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> Select the cell(s) you want to unlock. To unlock a whole column, click its column letter to select it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-select-cells.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 loan amount column selected on the Home tab” title_text=”Loan amount column selected on the Home tab” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong> In the \u201cHome\u201d tab, click on the \u201cFormat\u201d option to the far right.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-format-button.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 Format button at the far right of the Home tab” title_text=”Format button at the far right of the Home tab” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n 3.<\/strong> From the drop-down menu, select \u201cFormat Cells\u201d.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-format-cells-menu.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 Format drop-down menu with Format Cells under Protection” title_text=”Format drop-down menu with Format Cells under Protection” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n 4.<\/strong> In the \u201cFormat Cells\u201d window, go to the \u201cProtection\u201d tab and untick the \u201cLocked\u201d option.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-locked-ticked.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 Format Cells Protection tab with Locked ticked” title_text=”Format Cells Protection tab with Locked ticked” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n 5.<\/strong> Click \u201cOK\u201d.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-locked-unticked.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 Format Cells Protection tab with Locked unticked” title_text=”Format Cells Protection tab with Locked unticked” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n 6.<\/strong> Proceed to \u201cProtect Sheet\u201d so that the other cells maintain their locked status. Go to the \u201cReview\u201d tab.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-protect-sheet.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 Protect Sheet button on the Review tab” title_text=”Protect Sheet button on the Review tab” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n 7.<\/strong> Enter the password and keep both \u201cSelect locked cells\u201d and \u201cSelect unlocked cells\u201d ticked. Then click on \u201cOK\u201d.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-protect-sheet-password.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 Protect Sheet dialog with password and Select locked and unlocked cells ticked” title_text=”Protect Sheet dialog with password and Select locked and unlocked cells ticked” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n 8.<\/strong> To check that your selected cell range has been unlocked, simply double-click one of the unlocked cells and it should allow you to edit.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-edit-unlocked-cell.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 unlocked cell H9 edited to 3400″ title_text=”Unlocked cell H9 edited to 3400″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/static.sheetgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/unlock-specific-cells-in-excel-locked-cell-alert.webp” alt=”Unlock specific cells in Excel \u2014 protected sheet alert after double-clicking a locked cell” title_text=”Protected sheet alert after double-clicking a locked cell” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_id=”how-to-unlock-a-sheet-in-excel-without-a” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Unlocking or unprotecting a cell or sheet in Excel requires knowing the password. In case you don\u2019t know the password, you can try out the three methods outlined in How to remove a password from Excel<\/a>. If Excel says the file is locked for editing by another user, that’s a separate issue, covered in our guide to the Excel file locked for editing by me error<\/a>.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_id=”conclusion” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n By the end of this article, you should now understand the basics of unlocking and unprotecting features that Excel offers. We would like to remind you that this may vary depending on your Excel version. If you work with more sensitive or confidential information, you will find the article on How to password protect an Excel file<\/a> useful. To stop others from adding, moving, or deleting sheets, you can also protect an Excel workbook from editing<\/a>. Don’t forget that Microsoft 365 plans also include OneDrive, Microsoft\u2019s online platform, which also offers a Personal Vault feature<\/a>.<\/p>\n Not an Excel user? Protection and locking methods are not restricted to Excel. Take a look at our article on how to password-protect a Google Sheet<\/a> to keep your spreadsheet data protected, or see how to protect cells or pages in Google Sheets<\/a>.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" D\u00e9couvrez comment d\u00e9verrouiller des cellules dans Excel. \u00d4tez la protection de la feuille, d\u00e9verrouillez uniquement les cellules n\u00e9cessaires pendant que les autres restent verrouill\u00e9es, et voyez quoi faire sans le mot de passe.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-264976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-excel-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheetgo.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How to unlock cells in Excel?<\/h2>\n
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How to unprotect cells in Excel?<\/h3>\n
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How to unlock specific cells in Excel?<\/h2>\n
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How to unlock a sheet in Excel without a password?<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n