Hyperlink in Excel Not Working (3 Reasons & Solutions)

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In Excel sheets, we often use Hyperlinks to link any sheet or page. Sometimes Hyperlinks may give you reference errors or links can be broken etc. In this article, I’m going to explain the reason and solution why Hyperlink in Excel not working.

For the demonstration purpose, I’m going to use a sample dataset that contains Hyperlinks of particular articles. The dataset has two columns; these are Topic and Article Name.

Sample Dataset


Hyperlink Not Working in Excel: 3 Reasons

1. Pound (#) Sign is Not Accepted in Hyperlinks

If your used link contains Pound (#) sign then the Hyperlink won’t work in Excel.

Here, I wanted to open the Hyperlink C4 cell article but it’s showing an error that says Reference isn’t valid.

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working

To know why the Hyperlink is not working,

Select cell C4 then right click on the mouse it will open a context menu.

From there select Edit Hyperlink.

A dialog box will pop up. From there check the Address bar.

⏩ The link contains a Pound (#) sign.

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working

⏩ Next, remove the Pound (#) sign.

Hence, click on the cell it will redirect you to the required page.

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working


2. HyperLink Not Working Because of Providing Different Name

It may happen that you or someone changed the actual file name but didn’t update it in Hyperlink for this type of reason Hyperlink also does not work.

Here, I will check C5 cell Hyperlink does work or not.

➤ Click on the C5 cell to open the Hyperlink.

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working

Here, it will redirect a page where it will show a 404 error.

To know why the Hyperlink is not working,

Select cell C5 then right click on the mouse it will open a context menu.

From there select Edit Hyperlink.

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working

A dialog box will pop up. From there check the Address bar.

Address bar link is https://www.exceldemy.com/vlookup-average-excel/

⏩ The actual file is https://www.exceldemy.com/vlookup-average-in-excel/

➤ Edit the Hyperlink in the Address bar.

Then, click OK.

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working

Now, select cell C5, it will redirect you to the page given below.


3. Hyperlink Not Working If Update Links on Save is Unchecked

It is very much possible to occur unwanted shutdown on your system for any types pc issue or power cut issue. If the Excel file is not saved properly before closing then Hyperlinks may not work.

To avoid this type of problem, you’ll need to change some settings.

➤ Open File

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working

Then, select Options.

It will open a dialog box of Excel Options.

⏩ Open Advanced tab >> Scroll down then select Web Options

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not WorkingAnother dialog box will pop up.

⏩ Open Files >> Check on Updates links on save

Then, click OK.

Now, it will save the updated link in case of any sudden shutdown.


Things to Remember

🔺 Except for those 3 reasons Hyperlink may not work in Excel if your file is corrupted.


Practice Section

You can practice the explained reason in the practice section.

Reasons & Solutions Hyperlink in Excel Not Working


Download to Practice


Conclusion

In this article, I have shown 3 reasons why hyperlink in Excel Not Working. These solutions will help you to solve any problem related to hyperlink. Feel free to comment down below for any types of queries and suggestions.


Excel Hyperlink Not Working: Knowledge Hub

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Shamima Sultana
Shamima Sultana

Shamima Sultana, BSc, Computer Science and Engineering, East West University, Bangladesh, has been working with the ExcelDemy project for 2 years. She has written over 75+ articles and reviewed 1000+ articles for ExcelDemy. She has also led several teams with Excel VBA and Content Development works. Currently, she is working as the Project Manager and oversees the day-to-day work, leads the services team, allocates resources to the right area, etc. Her work and learning interests vary from Microsoft... Read Full Bio

2 Comments
  1. I wish I had read this article sooner. I discovered that Excel does not like the “#” by chance!

    • Hi Helen,
      I’m glad that our article helped you. For any types of Excel related problems kindly check out our ExcelDemy site.

      Thanks
      Shamima

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