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Excel changing position of characters when scanning barcode

Elizabeth Ritter 5 Reputation points
2025-11-11T14:53:13.1533333+00:00

I am using Excel Mac and whenever I scan a barcode into an Excel cell, random characters change their position in the cell in relation to the scanned barcode. Scanning a barcode containing 1312335 will change to 3213351, 3112335, 3121335, etc... I have tried using three different scanners and scanning into other programs with no issues, only Excel has this issue. I also tried opening older spreadsheets where the scanning entered correctly in an older version Excel and that Does scan correctly. And I have tried signing into PC and scanning into the same version of the files does work, so it seems that it is an issue only affecting Mac OS. Resetting all scanners to factory defaults also did not fix the issue.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | MacOS

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  1. Tammy-Ng 5,510 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-12T00:35:28.8666667+00:00

    Dear Elizabeth Ritter
    Welcome, and thank you for sharing your issue in the Q&A forum.
    Based on the information you provided, I understand you are experiencing difficulties when scanning barcodes into Excel for Mac. Below are some troubleshooting steps you could try according to my research:

    1. Disable AutoCorrect and AutoFormat
    • Go to Excel > Preferences > AutoCorrect
    • Turn off all options such as: Correct two initial capitals/ Capitalize names/ Replace text as you type

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    1. Set the Cell Format to Text Before Scanning
    • Select the column or cell → Format Cells → Category: Text
    • This prevents Excel from interpreting the scanned data as numbers or formulas.
    1. Check Input Source Settings on macOS
    • Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input
    • Select your current input source (e.g., U.S.) and disable: Correct spelling automatically/ Capitalize words automatically/ Add period with double-space

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    If the issue persists, we recommend checking your version and considering a rollback to a previously stable build.

    This depends on how you installed Office:

    • If installed from the Mac App Store:

    You cannot roll back to a previous version. Your only option is to uninstall the App Store version and reinstall Office by downloading it from the Microsoft website:

    Download, install, or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 on a PC or Mac

    • If installed from the Microsoft Website (Retail/Web Download):

    You can roll back by:

    • Uninstalling your current version of Office
    • Visiting the Update history for Office for Mac page and downloading the installer package for a stable older version (e.g., 16.100 or 16.99).
    1. Disable Auto-Update

    After updating or rolling back, to prevent automatic updates and reduce version-related issues:

    • Go to Excel >> Help >> Check for Updates
    • Uncheck Automatically download and install
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    We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while this issue is resolved. We hope these steps are helpful. If you need further assistance or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to support you.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

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