Re-enabling failed office add-ins

30 July 2026

How to re-enable a failed Office add-in (Outlook, Word & Excel)

If you encounter an error where an add-in for Microsoft Office core applications (e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) has stopped working, you can perform the following steps to re-enable the add-in.

  1. Close and re-open the Office application that is encountering issues (e.g. Word).
Word 2016 - File
Word 2016 - Manage
Click to enlarge
  1. When the ‘Add-Ins’ window opens, click on the 'Manage:' drop-down menu at the bottom of the window.
  1. Ensure you change this to be 'Disabled Items', then click the 'Go...' button to the right of the drop-down menu.
  2. If there are any options available here, click on each one individually - then select the 'Enable' button.
  3. Once there is nothing appearing here, click the 'Close' button to go back to the 'Add-Ins' overview screen.
  4. Change the dropdown menu option from 'Disabled Items' to 'COM Add-ins' and click the "Go..." button.
  5. Ensure that the add-in you require is ticked. If it is not ticked, click the checkbox to the left of the add-in you require.
  6. Once you have ticked the add-ins you need, you can then click on the 'OK' button.
  7. Close and re-open your Office application(s) and confirm that the add-in is functioning as expected.
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