Excel Tools

Unprotect an Excel sheet or workbook

Forgot the protection password on your own spreadsheet? Remove sheet protection, workbook structure locks, protected ranges and the read-only recommendation in your browser.

For files you own or have permission to edit. This tool removes editing locks (sheet and workbook protection). It does not crack, guess or recover passwords, and it can’t open files encrypted with a password to open.

No file at hand? (a workbook with locked sheets, structure and a read-only recommendation).

How to unprotect an Excel sheet without the password

  1. Choose the file. An .xlsx, .xlsm or .ods workbook that you created, or that you have the right to edit, and whose protection password you forgot.
  2. Check what is locked. You see every protected sheet, the actions it still allows, protected ranges, locked workbook structure, the read-only recommendation and “Marked as final”.
  3. Untick anything you want to keep and confirm that you own the file or have permission to edit it.
  4. Download the unprotected copy. All data, formulas, formatting and macros stay as they were; only the protection elements are removed. You can protect it again in Excel with a password you will remember.

Protection is not encryption

Excel has two very different kinds of password. Sheet and workbook protection only stops people from changing cells or sheets. The data is stored unencrypted, and the password is kept as a hash next to it. Microsoft says it plainly on its support page about protecting a worksheet:

Worksheet-level protection “isn’t intended as a security feature.”

Source: Microsoft Support, “Protect a worksheet”.

A password to open (File › Info › Protect Workbook › Encrypt with Password) is different: the whole file is encrypted with AES, and without the password it can’t be read. This tool detects encrypted files and tells you so. It never tries to guess or brute-force a password.

What this tool removes

How to remove sheet protection in Excel when you know the password

On the Review tab, click Unprotect Sheet (or Protect Workbook to turn off structure protection) and type the password. If you have forgotten it, Excel has no built-in way to recover it, which is why people end up editing the file’s XML by hand: rename the .xlsx to .zip, delete the sheetProtection tag from each sheet and zip it again. This page does exactly that for you, for every sheet at once, without breaking the package.

Limitations

Frequently asked questions

Is it really free?

Yes. It is 100% free, with no usage limits, no account and no sign-up. There is no paid plan and no feature is locked.

Are my files uploaded?

No. The workbook is opened and unprotected inside your browser. The page only downloads its own code and libraries from this site. If you accept analytics cookies, Google Analytics receives anonymous usage data such as page views, never the contents or names of your files.

Can I unprotect an Excel sheet if I forgot the password?

Yes, for sheet and workbook protection. Those passwords only lock editing; the data itself is not encrypted, so the lock can be removed without knowing the password. The tool does not reveal or recover the old password.

Can it remove the password to open a workbook?

Not without the password. A password to open encrypts the whole file with AES. The tool detects encrypted files and explains your options; it never guesses or brute-forces passwords. If you know the password, the Password-protect Excel tool can remove it.

Will my data, formulas or macros change?

No. Only the protection elements are removed from the XML; every other part of the file is copied byte for byte, including formulas, formatting, charts and macros.

Does it work with .xls files?

Not directly. Convert the .xls to .xlsx with the XLS to XLSX tool first, then unprotect the new file.

Is it legal to unprotect an Excel sheet?

Use it only on files you own or have permission to modify. Microsoft itself says worksheet protection is not a security feature, but protection in shared files is often there for a reason, so ask the file’s owner if it is not yours. This is not legal advice.

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