[Fixed!] Excel AutoSum Not Working (4 Possible Solutions)

In this tutorial, I am going to show you 4 possible solutions to Excel AutoSum not working. You can quickly use these fixes even in large datasets to solve AutoSum problems. Throughout this tutorial, you will also learn some important Excel tools and functions that will be very useful in any Excel-related task.

Excel AutoSum Is Not Working: 4 Possible Solutions

We have taken a concise dataset to explain the steps clearly. The dataset has approximately 6 rows and 3 columns. For all the datasets, we have 2 unique columns which are Item and Price. Although we may vary the number of columns later on if that is needed.

1. Changing the Cell Format

One of the commons for AutoSum not working in Excel is that there might be a wrong data format set up in the dataset. Let us see how to tackle this problem.

Steps:

• In the beginning, select all the cells from C5 to C9.
• Now, go to the Number section under the Home tab and select the General format from the drop-down.

• Next, click on cell C10 and click on AutoSum under Formulas.

• Finally, press Enter and this should perform the AutoSum operation properly.

2. Trying Shortcut from Keyboard

You can try this fix as a quick and effective alternative to the AutoSum feature in Excel if it is not working. Follow the steps below.

Steps:

• To begin with, go to cell C10 and press Alt and = at the same time.

• Then, press the Enter key and immediately this will calculate the sum of the above cells.

Read More: How to Use AutoSum In Excel

3. Using SUM Function

The SUM function in Excel calculates the arithmetic addition of the values that we supply as the inputs. We can use this function to perform the sum operation if the AutoSum is not working. Let us see how to do this.

Steps:

• To begin this solution method, double-click on cell C10 and insert the formula below:

• Next, press the Enter key and consequently, this will find the Total for the above input prices inside cell C10.

Read More: How to Autosum Column in Excel

4. Sum Using VBA Code

Another way to replicate the function of the AutoSum feature if it is not working is to use VBA in Excel. Follow the below steps.

Steps:

• First, go to the Developer tab and select Visual Basic.

• Now, select Insert in the VBA window and click on Module.

• Furthermore, type in the formula below in the new window:

Sub Test()
    Range("C10") = Application.WorksheetFunction.Sum(Range("C5:C9"))
End Sub

• Then, open the macro from the Developer tab by clicking on Macros.

• After that, in the Macro window, select the Test Macro and click Run.

• Consequently, the VBA code should solve the problem and properly do the sum operation.

Things to Remember

• Use the shortcut Alt+F11 to open the VBA window as an alternative.
• If you are a Mac user, you can use the option key instead.
• We can insert individual values or a range of cells inside the SUM function.
• Note that this function can take up to 255 arguments as inputs.
• Use the Alt+F8 shortcut keys to open the Macros window to see the macro.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from here.

Conclusion

I hope that you were able to apply the methods that I showed in this tutorial on 4 possible solutions to Excel AutoSum not working. As you can see, there are quite a few ways to fix this problem. So wisely choose the method that suits your situation best. If you get stuck in any of the steps, I recommend going through them a few times to clear up any confusion. If you have any queries, please let me know in the comments.

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