Excel's live stock prices, currency conversions, and geographic data stopped working for many users in early January 2026. A server-side outage from Microsoft broke the connection to their financial data provider. Here's what happened and how to fix it.

The error message:

"Sorry, our server is temporarily having problems. We're working to fix it."

You may also see #CONNECT!, #BUSY!, or COULDN'T REFRESH DATA TYPES in your cells.

What Caused This

Microsoft's connection to LSEG Data & Analytics (formerly Refinitiv) went down. The likely cause was an expired security certificate or API token on December 31, 2025 that didn't auto-renew. This happens periodically around year-end.

The outage hit all linked data types (Stocks, Currency, Geography) and the STOCKHISTORY() function across Microsoft 365, Excel Online, and Excel desktop for Windows and Mac. No client-side fix could resolve it during the outage. For other connectivity issues and software problems, our team provides expert Seattle IT support and Tacoma IT support.

Current Status

Microsoft resolved the core outage on January 5, 2026, after about 96 hours. Some users still see incorrect cached data. If your data isn't refreshing, try these steps.

Step 1: Refresh Your Excel Connection

Start by clearing your local application state.

  1. Open Excel.
  2. Click File > Account.
  3. Click Sign out.
  4. Close Excel and restart your computer.
  5. Reopen Excel and sign back in with your Microsoft 365 credentials.
  6. Try refreshing your data types.

Step 2: Repair Office

If sign-out doesn't work, repair your Office installation.

  1. Close all Office applications.
  2. Open Windows Settings (Win + I) and go to Apps > Installed apps.
  3. Find Microsoft 365, click the three dots, and select Modify.
  4. Choose Quick Repair. If that doesn't work, run Online Repair.
  5. Open Excel, go to File > Account, click Update Options > Update Now, and restart.

These steps also fix other persistent application errors, similar to our guide on fixing Outlook error 0xc0000409 and other Windows fixes.

Workaround: Pull Stock Data with Power Query

If the built-in data types stay unreliable, use Power Query to pull data directly from Yahoo Finance.

  1. In Excel, go to Data and select Get Data > From Other Sources > From Web.
  2. Enter a URL like https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSFT (swap MSFT for your ticker).
  3. Use Power Query Editor to find the table with price data.
  4. Load the data into your worksheet. You can set this query to refresh automatically.

For businesses that depend on reliable data, building redundant systems like this is a key part of proactive managed IT services.

Preventing Future Outages

These Excel data type outages happen periodically, often without official incident reports from Microsoft. To reduce future risk:

  • Use a hybrid approach. Keep the built-in Stocks data type for convenience, but maintain a backup sheet using Power Query with Yahoo Finance or a financial API.
  • Report issues. When outages happen, use Help > Feedback > Report a Problem in Excel. More reports increase visibility.

We'll update this post if Microsoft releases new information or fixes.

Having trouble with Excel or other business applications? We can help set up stable, redundant solutions. Contact us for support.