How To Completely Uninstall And Remove An Excel Add-in

Learn how to disable or completely uninstall and remove an Excel Add-in from the Add-ins menu.

To disable an add-in:

1. Open Excel and go to the Options Menu.
– This varies depending on your version of excel.
– 2007 – Office Button, Excel Options
– 2010 & 2013 – File, Options
2. Click the “Add-Ins” option on the left-side menu, and then click the “Go…” button.
– You may have to wait a few seconds for the window to appear.
3. Uncheck the box next to the name of the add-in.
4. Click OK.

The add-in will be disabled and closed in the background. It will NOT open next time you open Excel.

To completely remove an add-in:

1. Open Excel and go to the Options Menu.
– This varies depending on your version of excel.
– 2007 – Office Button, Excel Options
– 2010 & 2013 – File, Options
2. Determine where the add-in file is saved on your computer.
3. Close Excel.
4. Delete the add-in file or rename it.
5. Open Excel.
6. Navigate back to the Add-ins menu in the Options window.
7. Press the Go button to open the Add-ins Window.
8. Click the add-in you just deleted.
9. A message box will appear asking you if you want to permanently delete the add-in.
10. Click Yes.

The add-in will now be permanently deleted from the Add-ins Window menu.

Here is a link to the article with written instructions and images for uninstalling an add-in:

Checkout my video on how to INSTALL an excel add-in:

Here is an article with written instructions and images on how to install an add-in. You can also download a pdf version and print it.

[michelledunn]

After almost ten years this tutorial is STILL USEFUL. Thank you very much and God Bless!

[waynerushing]

Was digging through trying to figure out how to remove an add-in. Don't know how many sites and docs i looked at. Then came across this...well spoken, direct to the point, and accurate. Well done sir. You've got a new subscriber.

[omarkhan]

Solid video! No fluff, all action... Thank you.

[rga]

Thank you very much! Every time opened Excel had the boring message, now solved! Thank you!!!

[JocelynGarcia]

this video was a big help. I was having a Pupv7 issue where the file got moved and it would not open properly. thanks to this video, I was able to successfully delete and reinstall which solved the issue. thank you!

[ozimerman]

Chief! Thank you very much. It makes Excel start faster. I do not use some add-ins

[Sikarate]

Thank you so much, I cannot completely remove the Excel Add-ins until I found your VDO. Big

[davidanderson]

Thank you! Worked like a charm (although I had to change the filenames in both Program Files and Program Files (x86) to totally get rid of them).

[JCFreak]

Just as "Vincent", every time I open excel it gives me the message of "sorry we couldn't find <add in>" even though I already deleted. I manually change it every time, but if I completely close Excel it tells me the same thing next time I open it. Why doesn't the new add-in save??

[mcanbolat]

If the suggested steps are not working and you are getting "sorry we couldn't find..." every time you open Excel, then the only solution is to go to Apps and Features -> Office -> Modify -> Repair

[nedlin]

I use the method elucidated in the video and got the problem solved. thanks!

[girishghadge]

Bigo ! just content crisp and clear Thanks !!

[markfannin]

Right on! Exactly what I was looking for. Quick and effective. New subscriber here!!!

[nikolaypodkhalyuzin]

Useful!
Made my Excel and Word loading much faster after deactivating PDF Add-in.
Thanks Jon!

[shivkumar-mhgx]

thank you sir. it's very useful for me..

[JackLaPoire]

Thanks so much! First time I get a method to truly uninstall these annoying ribbon tabs that always came back, other than “uncheck the tab in the options”.

[ironmask]

How would you run a specific xll in Excel but without it being added to the AddIn?
If let say it has a ribbon and buttons, it will show up and will be active, but the moment the Excel is being closed, it all goes away.
Thanks,

[MythicFajita]

Hello. I followed these steps and deleted an add in from the folder listed in the "add ins" section. I then click on the add in and I am prompted to delete it. However, after I close excel and re-open, the add-in is back and the file is not located in that folder. Do you know how to remove the add in for that scenario?

[Standammit]

You may also have to restart the computer after removing an Excel add in if you have changed the location and want to reinstall it. Excel kept reverting back to the original folder location I first downloaded it to and installed it from. It was maddening. It must have kept the original location in a buffer area. Once I restarted the machine I was able to reinstall the Excel add in and the location was correct.

[binyao]

Hi Jon, thanks for sharing the video. But I couldn't get ride of add-ins following your steps. I deleted the actual files and remove them from the add-in list. But when I open the excel file again, it is still on the list. Could you please give me a clue what is happening?