Remove Excel sheet protection
Upload an .xlsx with a protected sheet and download it unlocked, with formulas and formatting intact.
Why it can be removed without the password
Excel's sheet protection does not encrypt anything. It is an interface lock: it stops you editing cells by accident, but the content is still there, in the clear, inside the file. That is why it can be lifted without the password — and why it was never real security, just a barrier against accidental changes.
The tool opens the .xlsx, walks through its sheets and removes that lock wherever it finds it. It is meant for the legitimate case: it is your file and you have lost the sheet password, or someone who is no longer around set it and you need to keep working.
Everything else is preserved
Unlike other tools, this one works on the raw file, not on a copy of the values. That means formulas stay formulas, formatting, colours and column widths are kept, and every sheet stays intact. The only thing that changes is that the edit lock is gone.
What it does NOT do: break encryption
Here it pays to be clear so nothing is overpromised. Two different things share the word "password":
- Sheet protection: the edit lock. This does get removed.
- Password to open: this encrypts the whole file's content. Without it the file is unreadable, and that is genuine security.
This tool does not open a file encrypted with an open password: it cannot and it does not try. If you upload one, it will fail to read it and tell you so. An encrypted file truly protects its content and there is no shortcut.
.xlsx only
It works with the modern .xlsx format. The old binary .xls uses a different protection mechanism the tool does not handle; promising it would mislead you.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to remove the protection?
The tool is meant for your own files: regaining access to a sheet you protected and whose password you lost. Removing protection from someone else's file to get around a restriction is a different matter and not what is offered here.
Are formulas or formatting lost?
No. The tool works on the original file and only removes the lock. Formulas, formatting and every sheet are preserved exactly as they were.
I set a "password to open" — will this help?
No. That password encrypts the file and without it the content cannot be read, here or anywhere. It is real security. This tool only removes the edit lock from sheets that can already be opened.
Does it work with an old .xls?
No, only with .xlsx. The binary .xls protects sheets in a different way this tool does not support.
What if the sheet was not protected?
Then there is nothing to remove and the tool tells you so, rather than handing back an identical file with no explanation.