Excel Coauthoring Shows Upload Pending Forever: Fix

When you work on an Excel file stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, the coauthoring status bar sometimes shows “Upload Pending” for minutes or even hours. This means your changes are not being saved to the cloud, which blocks other collaborators from seeing your edits. The problem usually occurs because of a stalled sync connection, a corrupted local cache, or an add-in that interferes with the real-time coauthoring protocol. This article explains why the upload gets stuck and provides tested steps to force the file to sync again.

Why Excel Gets Stuck on “Upload Pending” During Coauthoring

Excel coauthoring relies on a continuous sync channel between the local Excel application and the cloud server (OneDrive or SharePoint). When the status shows “Upload Pending”, the local file has changes that Excel cannot push to the server. The root cause is almost always one of three things: the Office Document Cache has a corrupted entry, a COM add-in or real-time protection tool is blocking the sync port, or the file contains a volatile function (like RAND or NOW) that recalculates on every save and triggers an endless upload loop. Additionally, if the file is stored in a synced OneDrive folder and the OneDrive desktop app has its own sync conflict, Excel defers to the app and waits indefinitely.

Steps to Force the Upload and Resume Coauthoring

Use the following methods in the order listed. Each method targets a different layer of the sync chain. Test coauthoring after each method before moving to the next.

Method 1: Save As a Local Copy and Reupload

1. Save a local backup
   Press Ctrl+S to attempt a save. If the status remains “Upload Pending”, close the file without saving.
2. Open the file from the cloud directly
   Go to your browser, sign in to Office.com or SharePoint, and open the same file. Excel Web App opens it in a new tab.
3. Trigger a manual sync from the web app
   In the Excel Web App, make a small edit (type a space in any cell) and then press Ctrl+S. The web version forces a sync write to the server.
4. Reopen the file in the desktop app
   Close the web app. In Excel desktop, go to File > Open and select the same cloud location. The file should now show a healthy sync status.

Method 2: Clear the Office Document Cache

1. Close all Office applications
   Close Excel, Word, Outlook, and OneDrive completely. Check Task Manager to ensure no Office processes remain.
2. Navigate to the Office cache folder
   Press Win+R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache and press Enter.
3. Delete all files in the folder
   Select all files (Ctrl+A) and delete them. Do not delete the folder itself.
4. Restart Excel and open the file
   Open Excel, go to File > Open, and select the coauthored file from OneDrive or SharePoint. Excel rebuilds the cache and initiates a fresh sync.

Method 3: Disable COM Add-ins That Interfere With Sync

1. Open Excel in safe mode
   Press Win+R, type excel /safe, and press Enter. If the file uploads normally in safe mode, an add-in is the cause.
2. Identify the problematic add-in
   Go to File > Options > Add-ins. At the bottom, set Manage to COM Add-ins and click Go. Uncheck all add-ins, then restart Excel normally.
3. Re-enable add-ins one by one
   Enable one add-in at a time and test coauthoring. When the upload stalls again, you have found the culprit. Keep that add-in disabled.

Method 4: Reset the OneDrive Sync Relationship

1. Pause OneDrive sync
   Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select Pause syncing > 2 hours.
2. Unlink and relink your account
   Click the OneDrive icon, select Help & Settings > Settings > Account > Unlink this PC. Confirm. Then sign in again and set up sync.
3. Reopen the Excel file
   Open the file from the newly synced OneDrive folder. The upload pending status should clear within 30 seconds.

If Excel Still Shows Upload Pending After the Main Fix

Excel Coauthoring Shows Upload Pending Only for Specific Cells

If only a few cells trigger the pending status, those cells likely contain volatile functions like RAND, RANDBETWEEN, NOW, or TODAY. These functions recalculate every time Excel saves, which creates an endless loop. Replace volatile functions with static values. Select the cells, copy them, then right-click and choose Paste Values. After that, save the file. The upload pending status should disappear.

Upload Pending Appears on Every File in the Same Library

This points to a SharePoint library setting that blocks coauthoring. Go to the SharePoint library in a browser. Click the gear icon > Library settings > Versioning settings. Ensure Require Check Out is set to No. Also check that the library allows editing by multiple users. If Require Check Out is Yes, only one person can edit at a time, and Excel shows upload pending for all other users.

Real-Time Antivirus Blocks Excel Sync Traffic

Some antivirus software scans every file write operation, which delays the upload. Temporarily disable real-time protection for 1 minute and check if the upload pending status clears. If it does, add the Excel executable (EXCEL.EXE) and the OneDrive executable (OneDrive.exe) to the antivirus exclusion list.

Clear Office Cache vs Reset OneDrive: Key Differences

Item	Clear Office Cache	Reset OneDrive
Scope	Affects only Excel cached copies for coauthored files	Affects all OneDrive sync relationships for the user account
Data loss risk	None — cache is rebuilt from the server	None — files remain on the server and local folder
Time to complete	2 minutes	5-10 minutes
Required when	Only one Excel file shows upload pending	Multiple files across OneDrive show sync errors

You can now resolve the “Upload Pending” status in Excel coauthoring by clearing the Office cache, disabling interfering add-ins, or resetting OneDrive sync. Start with the file-level fix (Method 1) because it is the fastest and least disruptive. If you coauthor frequently, consider disabling volatile functions and setting SharePoint libraries to not require check-out. For persistent cases, add Excel and OneDrive to your antivirus exclusion list to prevent real-time scanning from blocking sync traffic.