Unprotect Excel Sheet
Make protected worksheets editable again. The sheet protection record is removed in your browser - no password needed, nothing uploaded.
Know the password? Unprotect the sheet in Excel:
- Go to the Review tab.
- Click Unprotect Sheet.
- Enter the password and click OK.
Forgot it? Drop the file below - no password needed.
Removes worksheet protection without the password - nothing is uploaded. More
The <sheetProtection> record is deleted from every protected worksheet (and the equivalent records from a legacy .xls), so locked cells become editable. Cell values, formulas and macros are left untouched.
A file that demands a password just to open is encrypted, not sheet-protected - drop it in and you'll be asked for that password. Only use on files you own or have permission to edit.
Drop your files here or choose filesTap to choose files
Opened on your device - never uploaded · up to 50MB
Supports .xlsx, .xlsm, .xls · or paste a file from your clipboard
Know the password? Unprotect it in Excel
If you remember the password, Excel removes sheet protection in seconds - you do not need this tool. Open the workbook, go to the Review tab and click Unprotect Sheet (type the password if prompted). To let sheets be added or renamed again, use Review › Protect Workbook to clear structure protection.
- Open the workbook in Excel.
- On the Review tab, click Unprotect Sheet and enter the password if asked.
- Repeat for each protected sheet.
- For structure locks, click Review › Protect Workbook to toggle it off.
In Google Sheets: Data › Protect sheets and ranges, open the entry and click the trash icon to remove it.
How to Unprotect an Excel Sheet Without the Password
- Open the workbook - Drop your .xlsx or .xlsm file above. It is analyzed in your browser and never uploaded.
- Sheet protection is removed - The tool deletes the
<sheetProtection>record inside every protected worksheet. Locked cells, locked formatting, and locked ranges all become editable. - Download and edit - The result screen names each sheet that was unprotected. Open the copy in Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice and edit freely.
This Page Is for Protected Sheets Specifically
Sheet protection is the lock an author applies to one worksheet so its cells can't be changed - the file opens fine, but editing a cell shows "The cell or chart you're trying to change is on a protected sheet." That is exactly what this page removes, sheet by sheet, and the removal also works when nobody remembers the password.
Two related locks are different jobs. If sheets can't be added, renamed, or deleted, that is workbook structure protection - our Excel password remover clears sheet and workbook protection together in one pass. And if Excel demands a password before showing anything at all, the file is encrypted: enter that password above and it is decrypted here, or see Excel password recovery for what is realistically possible without it.
If instead Excel says the file is "locked for editing by another user", or it opened read-only or in Protected View, nothing inside the file is protected at all - it is open elsewhere or in a safety mode. Our unlock Excel diagnosis tells those cases apart and explains the fix for each.
The Manual Alternatives
If you know the password, Excel itself is quickest: open the sheet, then Review → Unprotect Sheet, and type it in. If you don't, the classic manual route is renaming the file to .zip, editing each worksheet's XML to strip the protection element, and re-zipping - fiddly and easy to get wrong. This page automates exactly that edit, locally and instantly, so the manual surgery is never necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Upload the .xlsx or .xlsm file above. The tool finds the <sheetProtection> record inside each protected worksheet and deletes it, then hands back a copy where every sheet is editable. Nothing is guessed or cracked, because sheet protection is a removable flag, not encryption.
Every protected sheet in the workbook is unprotected in one pass, and the result screen lists each sheet by name. If you want just one sheet protected again afterwards, open the file in Excel and re-protect that sheet from the Review tab.
Sheet protection locks the cells inside one worksheet. Workbook structure protection stops sheets being added, deleted, renamed, or reordered. This page focuses on sheets; the general Excel password remover handles both in one pass.
No. Only the protection records are removed. Cell values, formulas, formatting, and macros in .xlsm files are untouched.