Microsoft has finally patched a known issue that was causing Excel 2016 users to experience frustrating copy-and-paste problems after installing the recent security update KB5002914. This bug, which resulted in silent failures without any error messages or beeps, had been plaguing users on Microsoft’s support forums and Reddit for some time.
The issue appears to have arisen from a code regression, where a change made during the development process inadvertently broke certain paste operations. While this problem affects Excel 2016 users specifically, it’s worth noting that other versions of Excel, including Excel Online and those running on Office 2024, 2021, and 2019, were also impacted.
Microsoft has released an update, KB5002655, which specifically addresses the issue for Excel 2016 users. However, it’s essential to note that this fix only applies to the Microsoft Installer (.msi)-based edition of Office 2016 and does not resolve the problem for Office 2016 Click-to-Run editions, such as those found in Microsoft Office 365 Home.
For now, affected users can try using the “Paste Special” option to get around the issue. To do this, they need to select Paste Special from the “Paste” drop-down after opening the “Home” tab and choose what to paste using the Ctrl+Alt+V keyboard shortcut: Formula, Formula and number formats, Values, or Paste Link.
Some users have also reported that uninstalling the KB5002914 security update can restore copy-and-paste functionality on their systems. However, this approach comes with a warning: removing the update will also uninstall important patches for remote code execution and information disclosure vulnerabilities. To do this safely, users must open a Command Prompt window with administrator privileges and run specific commands depending on their Office version.
Microsoft has been busy addressing various issues in its software recently. Just last month, it fixed another problem that blocked Windows 365 users from downloading and installing the Office suite, as well as one that prevented Office for the web users from opening Excel and PowerPoint files. In June, it also resolved an issue that stopped third-party applications from launching Microsoft Office apps on up-to-date Windows systems.
In light of this latest patch, affected Excel users should take a moment to review their update history and consider uninstalling KB5002914 if they’re experiencing copy-and-paste issues. While the temporary fix using “Paste Special” may be sufficient for now, it’s always best to stay up to date with the latest patches and security updates from Microsoft to ensure optimal performance and safety.
Source: Bleeping Computer — 2026-09-18