How to Open a Password-Protected Excel File

This article explains how to remove the password from a protected Excel sheet and how to break the password of an encrypted Excel file. In most cases, unlocking a worksheet in an Excel file that is locked for editing is quick and simple! However, if you need a password to open the file, the process becomes more complicated. There is no official way to decrypt an Excel file without using a password-cracking tool – usually a resource-intensive process depending on the password's complexity. Nevertheless, it’s still worth trying!

Understand the requirements to perform this action. If the worksheet in the Excel file is protected (meaning you can open the file and view its contents but cannot edit them), you can use this method to remove the password protection on both Windows and Mac computers.

• If the Excel file is encrypted and asks for a password to view the contents, this method won’t work. You may attempt to use a password-cracking program, but it’s not a guaranteed solution.
• This method may not be effective if the file is protected with Microsoft 365 Excel.

Check if the Excel file is password protected. The simplest way to do this is by double-clicking the Excel file. If the file opens and you are able to click on Read Only to view the document, or if the file opens normally upon double-clicking, it means the file is not encrypted.

• If you are prompted to enter a password immediately after double-clicking the file and cannot see the option to open in read-only mode, the file is encrypted, and you won't be able to use this method to open it.

Create a copy of the Excel file. In Finder or File Explorer on Windows, right-click on the Excel file containing the worksheet you need to unlock, then press Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac), and paste it into another folder by pressing Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac).

• This step is important in case you accidentally damage the original file while working with it.

Enable file extensions visibility. Skip this step on Mac. For Windows users, make sure you can see and modify the file extension by following these steps:

• Open File Explorer by pressing Windows key + E.
• Click on View.
• Check the box for "File name extensions".

Convert the Excel file to a ZIP folder. Follow these steps:

• Windows — Right-click on the Excel file, select Rename, delete the "xlsx" extension, and type zip. Make sure to keep the dot between the file name and "zip". Press Enter and click Yes when prompted.
• Mac — Select the Excel file, click File, choose Get Info, remove the "xlsx" extension from the file name, and type zip. Ensure the dot stays between the file name and "zip". Press Return and click Use .zip when prompted.

Extract the ZIP folder. The process will vary depending on your operating system:

• Windows — Right-click the ZIP folder, select Extract All... from the menu, and click Extract when prompted. The extracted folder will appear immediately.
• Mac — Double-click the ZIP folder and wait for the extracted folder to open.

Double-click the xl folder. This is the action to open the folder.

• If the extracted folder doesn't open, you need to double-click the folder with the same name as the ZIP folder first.

Double-click the worksheets folder. You will find it near the top of the "xl" folder.

Open the worksheet in a text editor. Depending on your computer's operating system, you will need to follow one of these methods:

• Windows — Right-click on the worksheet you want to unlock (such as "Sheet1"), select Open with from the menu, and then choose Notepad from the options that appear.
• Mac — Click on the worksheet you want to unlock (such as "Sheet1"), click File, select Open With, and choose TextEdit.

Remove the password protection. Locate the "sheetProtection" section within the angle brackets "< >", and delete everything from "<sheetProtection" to the closing tag ("/>") on the opposite side of the sheet protection algorithm.

Save your changes and close the text editor. Press Ctrl + S (Windows) or Command + S (Mac), then click on X (or the red circle on Mac) at the corner of the text editor window.

• If multiple worksheets in the Excel file are protected, you need to unlock each one. Open each protected worksheet in the text editor, delete the corresponding line, and save each sheet as you go.

Sao chép thư mục "worksheets". Nhấp vào nút "Back" (Trở về) để trở về thư mục "xl", rồi chọn thư mục "worksheets" và ấn Ctrl + C (Windows) hoặc Command + C (Mac) để sao chép.

Mở tập tin ZIP (trên Windows) hoặc thư mục mới (trên Mac). Đây là tập tin mà bạn đã đổi tên và giải nén trước đó (tập tin có đuôi .zip, nếu bạn sử dụng Windows). Nếu bạn sử dụng Mac, hãy nhấp đúp vào thư mục mới cùng tên với tập tin ZIP.

Thay thư mục "worksheets" bằng thư mục vừa sao chép. Truy cập thư mục "worksheets" bằng cách nhấp đúp vào thư mục "xl", và xóa thư mục "worksheets". Tiếp theo, nhấp phải vào vùng trống trong cửa sổ và chọn Paste (Dán) để dán phiên bản đã sao chép.

• Nếu sử dụng Windows, bây giờ bạn đã thêm thư mục đã sao chép vào tập tin ZIP hiện có.
• Nếu sử dụng Mac, bạn đã thêm thư mục đã sao chép vào thư mục được giải nén.

(Chỉ dành cho Mac) Chuyển thư mục thành tập tin ZIP. Nếu bạn sử dụng Mac, hãy ấn Control trong khi nhấp vào thư mục đã giải nén trước đó - thư mục cùng tên với tập tin Excel. Tiếp theo, chọn Compress (Nén) trong trình đơn. Bây giờ thư mục đã trở thành tập tin ZIP.

Chuyển thư mục ZIP thành tập tin Excel. Đóng tập tin ZIP, rồi thực hiện theo cách sau:

• Windows — Nhấp phải vào thư mục ZIP, rồi nhấp vào Rename (Đổi tên), thay "zip" bằng "xlsx", và ấn Enter. Nhấp vào Yes (Có) khi được hỏi.
• Mac — Nhấp vào thư mục ZIP, nhấp vào File (Tệp), nhấp vào Get Info (Lấy thông tin), thay "zip" trong tiêu đề thành "xlsx", và ấn Return. Nhấp vào Use .xlsx khi được hỏi.

Double-click the Excel file to open it. Now that you've removed the password protection from the worksheet, you can make edits as needed.

• If you receive an error message stating that the Excel sheet is corrupted, it is likely that you accidentally deleted some code when removing the password protection. Repeat the previous steps, ensuring that you only delete content within the angle brackets (</>) and the brackets themselves.

Understand that sometimes you cannot crack the password. Newer versions of Excel, such as Excel 2019 and Microsoft 365, use advanced encryption techniques that render password-cracking methods ineffective due to the time required to break the password. You won’t have trouble cracking short passwords without special characters, and you can still crack complex passwords with the right tool.

• You cannot crack an Excel file without purchasing a password recovery program, as the free versions of popular tools generally only handle files up to Excel 2010.
• If your Excel file is encrypted, double-clicking the file will immediately ask you for a password before you can access the file's content. In this case (and if you don’t know the password), you’ll need a password-cracking program to view the content.

Download and install PassFab for Excel. You can download the program from https://www.passfab.com/products/excel-password-recovery.html. While many applications claim to unlock password-protected Excel files, PassFab is considered safe and easy to use. This program also decrypts Excel files created with any version of Excel, including 2019 and Microsoft 365. However, you should note two drawbacks:

• First, the application only works on Windows, so Mac users will need to access a Windows computer. There are other options for Mac, but none have been proven reliable. If you can't access a Windows machine, try searching for other Excel password cracking applications. Just make sure to research the application before downloading and installing, as many apps are unprofessional.
• Second, this software is not completely free—some basic features in the trial version allow you to crack passwords, but you'll need to purchase a license to deal with complex passwords. If you only need to crack one file, you can choose the one-month option for $15.95 (approximately 370,000 VND). Be sure to cancel your subscription before the month expires to avoid extra charges.

Launch PassFab. After installing the application, you’ll find it in the Windows Start menu.

Click on Recover Excel Open Password (Recover the open password of Excel). This is the first option of the two displayed. You will select this option if prompted to enter a password when opening the Excel file.

• If you only need to remove the password protection from the worksheet within the Excel file and cannot do so by editing the XML file, you can choose Remove Excel Restriction Password (Remove the Excel restriction password) and follow the on-screen instructions.

Click on + and select the Excel file. This step informs PassFab which file needs to be unlocked.

Select the password recovery mode. Note that no matter which method you choose, cracking the password will take time. The app needs to try all possible combinations of letters, numbers, and special characters. This could take anywhere from minutes to months! There are three options available:

• Dictionary Attack is a good choice if you believe the password is a simple word from the dictionary. You can also provide your own word list in addition to using the dictionary, such as common passwords used by your organization. Simply add potential passwords to a text file, save it, click on Settings next to "Dictionary Attack" and select that file.
  • This is the only free option, and it only integrates a limited word list. If you want access to other options, click Upgrade Now to pay for a license.
• Brute Force with Mask Attack is suitable if you know part of the password, or want to add letters, numbers, or special characters when attempting to crack the password. If you choose this option, click Settings next to it to customize the password length, characters to use, and prefix and/or suffix. Depending on the length and complexity of the password, this option could take a lot of time – from hours to days, even weeks!
• Brute Force Attack is similar to the previous option, but works even when you cannot guess the password. This option will try every possible combination until it finds the password, so it can take a lot of time depending on the password length.

Click on the Recover button. The password cracking process will start immediately! PassFab will try all possible combinations based on your selected option. The app continuously tests various combinations until it guesses the password or exhausts all options.

• This may take a while and could consume a lot of resources on your computer. If you need to pause the cracking process, click the stop button (square icon) until you're ready to continue, then click the play button to restart.
• When PassFab finds the password, the information will be displayed as plain text – you can either copy it or type the password into Excel when opening the file to view its contents.
• Depending on the file's contents, you may want to abandon the process if the password isn’t found within a reasonable amount of time.

• Only use these methods if you are the file owner or an authorized user. Cracking the password of someone else's file is not only unethical but may also be illegal, depending on the content of the file and your location.
• In most cases, you can crack the password of an encrypted Excel file.
• Microsoft cannot assist in recovering lost passwords.