How to break an Excel Password

There are many ways to protect an Excel spreadsheet from viewing and editing. One of them is to protect cells of selected ranges of the sheet against editing, changing the formatting, etc. There are situations, for example, that we forget our password to the sheet that we would like to unlock. We may also remember a password that, in fact, is incorrect.

The first thing to do is to check if CapsLock is on or off. The most common mistake in typing an incorrect password is CapsLock turned on. Before trying to crack a password in Excel, I suggest checking the password in both uppercase and lowercase.

  • Right Click on the name of the sheet
  • Click Unprotect Sheet…
  • Enter password what you remember
  • Click CapsLock
  • Enter again the same password

In addition, it may be worth trying to check frequently used passwords, such as 123456 or 654321. If these attempts do not help, you can try to crack the password in the sheet by using one of the three methods I have listed below.

Method 1. Using Macro VBA

Break password using macro (VBA).

File with extension (.xls) version 2003 or before

  • Open a visual basic editor. Alt + F11
  • Right click on Sheet
  • Select Insert > Module
  • Paste code below in the General Declaration page
Sub BreakPassword()

Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer
   Dim l As Integer, m As Integer, n As Integer
   Dim i1 As Integer, i2 As Integer, i3 As Integer
   Dim i4 As Integer, i5 As Integer, i6 As Integer

On Error Resume Next

For i = 65 To 66: For j = 65 To 66: For k = 65 To 66
   For l = 65 To 66: For m = 65 To 66: For i1 = 65 To 66
   For i2 = 65 To 66: For i3 = 65 To 66: For i4 = 65 To 66
   For i5 = 65 To 66: For i6 = 65 To 66: For n = 32 To 126

ActiveSheet.Unprotect Chr(i) & Chr(j) & Chr(k) & _
   Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & Chr(i3) & _
   Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)

If ActiveSheet.ProtectContents = False Then
      Exit Sub
   End If

Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
   Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next

End Sub
  • Run the macro, press F5
  • If you received message below your sheet is unprotected.

Method 2. Break password removing relevant code.

File with extension .xlsx version 2007 or later

  • Open a visual basic editor Alt + F11

  • Find relevant Sheet name

  • Unzip Excel file (e.g. you can use 7-Zip). Right Click on the file and select from the menu 7-Zip —> Open archive

  • In the archive, go to the xl —> worksheets folder and set on the xml file with the code name you are looking for

  • Press F4 to go to editing in the default text file editor (most often it will be Notepad)

  • Open relevant file

  • Find, Select and delete text (blue selection below) from <sheetProtection…/> to before <pageMargins…>

  • Save changes

The new file should be with unprotected relevant Sheet.

Method 3. Break password using Google Sheet

You have to be login-In to Google Account.

  • Start a new spreadsheet

  • Select File > Import

  • Select Upload from the menu.

  • Drag relevant file from your device and drop in the box above

  • Browse to the Excel spreadsheet on your computer. Select it, and click Open.

  • In the Import file window, select Replace spreadsheet and select Import Data.

  • Download as > Microsoft Excel (xlsx)

  • Choose where to save the document

  • Select Save As, give a name and Save

Now Your Excel Spreadsheet should be unprotected.

Send file: How to crack password in Excel?

Each of the methods presented may not be sufficient in specific cases. There are different reasons for that. Different types of security are used, which requires additional complex actions. In such cases, we can try unlocking our Excel spreadsheet.

You can request unprotect your Sheets, Workbook or access to VBA code. Just click the link below and send the file for reviewing.