Arrows keys not working in Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft that is used for calculations or data analysis. The Microsoft Excel program requires a lot of use of the keys on the keyboard, especially the up and down arrow that enables users to move from one cell to another, but in some cases, these keys may stop working, and you have no clue what to do. In this tutorial, we will explain how to fix the issue that is causing the Arrow keys to stop working in Excel.

Excel sheet is often lauded as one of the most utilitarian pieces of software. With the help of Excel, we can create spreadsheets, crunch numbers and prepare a business report. Generally, we press arrow keys to move from one cell to another. However, sometimes pressing arrow keys will move the entire worksheet.

Arrows keys not working in Excel

Are you frustrated that pressing the arrow key is moving the entire spreadsheet instead of a single cell? You are not alone. This is a very common occurrence, and in this article, we will tell you how to fix Arrow Keys not working in Microsoft Office. This particular error occurs due to unintended behavior of Scroll Key.

Follow the methods below to fix the issue that is causing the Up, Down or Side arrow keys to stop working in Excel.

1. Disable scroll lock
2. Use the on-screen keyboard to disable scroll lock
3. Enable Sticky keys
4. Disable Excel Add-ins

1] Disable Scroll Lock

You may not be able to use the up and down arrow keys due to the scroll lock key being turned on.

• To know if the scroll lock key is turned on, look for a light on your keyboard’s scroll lock button.
• To disable the scroll lock button, press the scroll lock button.
• When the light is turned off, it means that the scroll lock button is disabled.

2] Use the on-screen keyboard to disable scroll lock

Disabling the Scroll Lock key was easy, but newer laptops don’t come with Scroll Lock. If your keyboard doesn’t come with a scroll key, you need to press “Fn” and disable the Scroll Lock. That apart you can also use the on-screen keyboard and turn off the Scroll Lock. The Scroll Lock status is displayed on the Excel sheet; this will help you to double-check. Additionally, you can use SHIFT+F14 to toggle the Scroll Lock to the Off Position.

Follow the steps below to bring up the on-screen keyboard:

• Press the Windows Key
• Type on-screen keyboard and press Enter.

Observe the screenshot. The Scroll Lock is in On position since the “ScrLk” key is in blue. Click on the “ScrLk” key to turn off the Scroll Lock. Make sure that the key is not in blue. As we explained earlier, you can use the Scroll Lock indicator in the status bar. Meanwhile, you can also disable/enable the scroll key by using the feature on Microsoft Excel, as shown in the image.

Read: Excel Cursor is stuck on white cross

3] Turn on the Sticky Key

Disable Scroll Lock didn’t work? Well, try this method. Many users have reported that the Arrow Keys issue on Excel is fixed by enabling the Sticky key. Follow the steps below to enable Sticky Key,

• Type Control Panel in Start Menu
• Click on Control Panel
• Select Turn On Sticky Keys option and click OK
• Go back and uncheck the Turn On Sticky Keys option

To enable the sticky keys on a Windows 11 computer, follow the steps below:

• Type sticky key into the search bar
• The settings interface will open on Accessibility.
• Ensure that the option Keyboard shortcut for Sticky Keys is enabled.
• Press the Shift key five times quickly to enable the sticky keys.

4] Disable Excel Add-ins

The Add-ins may be the reason that the issue is occurring. To disable the Excel Add-ins follow the steps below:

• Launch Excel.
• Click on the File tab.
• On the backstage view, click Options.
• An Excel Options dialog box.
• Click Add-ins on the left pane.
• On the right select Excel Add-ins from the drop-down list.
• Then click Go.
• Deselect all the add-ins and click OK.

We hope this tutorial helps you understand how to fix the issue of the up and arrow key not working in Excel.

The malfunctioning Arrow keys on Excel should be fixed by now.

The Arrow key not working is a pretty old Excel annoyance that crops up for users from time to time.

Why are my keyboard arrows not working?

There are multiple reasons why your keyboard arrow keys are not working on Windows 11/10. The most common cause is the corrupted keyboard driver. Update or reinstall your keyboard driver to fix the problem. If you have not cleaned your keyboard for a long time, the issue might be occurring due to dust accumulation. Your keyboard may also be damaged but the chances of this are rare.

That’s it. I hope our step-by-step guide helped you fix the issue.