What Excel formats do you support?

We support every Microsoft Excel format in common use: .xls (Excel 97-2003) with RC4 encryption, .xlsx (Excel 2007 through Office 365) with AES-128 or AES-256 encryption, .xlsm macro-enabled workbooks, and .xlt / .xltx template files. We also support spreadsheet files created by LibreOffice Calc, Apache OpenOffice, and Apple Numbers when saved in Excel-compatible format. If you have a rare or very old Excel variant, upload it anyway — our system will detect the encryption type and let you know if recovery is possible.

Can you remove Excel sheet protection instead of the open password?

Sheet protection and workbook open passwords are two completely separate systems. Sheet protection prevents editing of specific cells or sheets but still lets you open and view the file. If that is your situation, you do not need password recovery — you can remove sheet protection yourself in seconds using a VBA one-liner, a Python script with openpyxl, or even by uploading to Google Sheets which ignores sheet protection entirely. Our service is designed for the other type of lock: the open password that prevents you from seeing any data at all.

How long does Excel password recovery actually take?

With our Deep Recovery + AI plan ($9.99 + $49.99 on success), most recoveries complete within 24 hours, and many are resolved in under 2 hours. XLS files from Excel 97-2003 use RC4 encryption which is computationally lightweight — passwords up to 8 characters with mixed case and digits often crack within minutes. XLSX files use AES-256 with PBKDF2 key derivation, which is intentionally slow to resist brute-force attacks. For AES-protected files, recovery time depends heavily on password complexity: a 6-character lowercase password might crack in minutes, while a 12-character password with special characters could take days or weeks. Providing password hints dramatically accelerates the process by focusing the attack on the most probable candidates first.

Are older Excel files (.xls) easier to recover than modern .xlsx?

Yes, significantly. XLS files (Excel 97-2003) use RC4 encryption with a 40-bit key derived through a much simpler algorithm. Our GPU cluster can test tens of millions of RC4-derived passwords per second. In contrast, modern XLSX files use AES-128 or AES-256 with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA1 key derivation — millions of iterations of hashing per password attempt — which reduces the testing rate to thousands per second, roughly 1,000x slower. This means the same password that takes 10 minutes to recover from an XLS file could take weeks in an XLSX file. If you have an old XLS backup, recovery will always be faster and cheaper.

Do password hints really improve success rates?

Yes, and the improvement is dramatic. With our Deep Recovery + AI plan, you can provide any information you remember about the password: approximate length (e.g., '8-10 characters'), character types used ('lowercase and numbers only'), partial strings ('starts with summer'), dates, names, or context ('it was my old company's tax ID'). Our system uses these hints to build targeted mask attacks and hybrid dictionary rules that prioritize candidates matching your description. For example, knowing a password is exactly 8 characters with only lowercase letters shrinks the search space from 200 trillion possibilities to 209 billion — a 1,000x reduction. Hints can turn an impossible recovery into a routine overnight job.

Is my data safe during the recovery process?

Absolutely. We extract only the small encrypted header from your file — typically just the first few kilobytes that contain the password verification data. Your actual spreadsheet content — numbers, formulas, charts, macros, PivotTables — is never read, accessed, or stored on our servers. Customer content is deleted as soon as it is no longer needed and no later than 14 days after upload. Terminal content is generally removed within 72 hours; delivery access may expire earlier. All communication uses TLS 1.3 encryption. We comply with GDPR data handling standards and never share or sell your data.

What if my password is not found?

If the Fast Check and Deep Recovery + AI attacks do not find your password, you pay nothing beyond the initial upfront fee. We do not charge a success fee unless we deliver a working password that opens your file. You can also request a refund of the upfront fee within 14 days if the recovery was unsuccessful and our algorithms exhausted their search scope. We are transparent about success probability upfront — before any payment, our system analyzes your file and gives you a realistic difficulty estimate. If the password appears too complex for our current hardware, we will tell you honestly and recommend alternatives.

How is LostMyPassPro different from PassFab or other desktop tools?

The core difference is infrastructure and pricing model. Desktop tools like PassFab or iSunshare run on your own computer and require you to have a powerful GPU (NVIDIA RTX series or better) for reasonable speeds. LostMyPassPro runs on a dedicated GPU cluster in the cloud — our hardware is faster than what most consumers own, and it runs 24/7 without tying up your workstation. We also offer a pay-on-success model: if we do not find the password, there is no success fee. Desktop tools charge upfront regardless of outcome. Finally, our service requires no installation, no technical configuration, and no understanding of hash extraction — just upload your file and we handle the rest.

Can you recover Excel passwords from Excel Online or Microsoft 365?

Excel Online and the Microsoft 365 web app do not support file-level encryption in the same way that the desktop application does. If your file was created and encrypted in the desktop version of Excel, the encryption travels with the file regardless of where you open it. So yes, an .xlsx file that was encrypted on the desktop version of Excel 2019 and then uploaded to OneDrive is still encrypted and still recoverable by our service. However, if you used Microsoft 365's built-in 'Password Protect' feature through the web interface, that is a different mechanism — contact our support team for guidance.

Excel Password Recovery

Recover Forgotten Excel Passwords

Professional Microsoft Excel password recovery for XLS, XLSX, and XLSM files. Whether you are locked out of a critical financial report, an old client database, or a payroll spreadsheet you created years ago, our GPU-accelerated servers work around the clock to recover your password. We support all Excel versions from 97 through Office 365, and you only pay when we succeed.

XLS + XLSX support

GPU-accelerated cluster

Results within 24h

All Excel versions

Quick answer

First identify the Excel protection

Workbook encryption and worksheet restrictions are different problems. Uploading the file identifies the protection and lets us show the correct recovery path before payment.

Recovery process

How it works

1
Upload Your File
Upload your password-protected XLS or XLSX file through our TLS-encrypted portal. Our system automatically detects the encryption type — RC4 for legacy XLS or AES-128/256 for modern XLSX — and estimates recovery difficulty, password length, and expected time to crack. You receive an instant analysis before any commitment.
2
Server-Powered Recovery
Our dedicated GPU cluster runs millions of password combinations per second using dictionary attacks, brute-force algorithms, mask attacks, and AI-driven pattern matching. You can optionally provide password hints — keywords, dates, character types — which narrows the search space and dramatically improves both speed and success rate.
3
Get Your Password
Once your password is found, you receive it via email with a detailed breakdown of the recovery time and method used. You pay only on successful recovery. Simple 4-digit PINs and passwords from the top 10,000 most common passwords are recovered completely free during the Fast Check phase — no payment needed at all.

XLS (Legacy)

Older Office formats can follow a different recovery path from modern workbooks. The file type is identified before recovery begins.

Excel 97-2003 format
RC4 encryption (40-bit)
Faster to recover — often minutes

XLSX (Modern)

Modern workbook encryption is designed to resist broad guessing. Details you remember can make a targeted search more relevant.

Excel 2007 through Office 365
AES-128 / AES-256 encryption
Password hints improve success significantly

Common situations

Common Excel Recovery Scenarios

Excel is the backbone of business data across every industry. We help users regain access in situations like these:

Financial reports, budgets, and P&L statements locked with a forgotten password
Accounting ledgers and bookkeeping records from a former employee who left without handing over credentials
Client databases and CRM exports protected years ago with a password nobody remembers
Inventory and stock tracking spreadsheets created for a project that has since been archived
Payroll records and HR spreadsheets containing salary data that must be accessed for tax filing
Sales forecasts, revenue projections, and investor decks locked before a key meeting

Frequently Asked Questions

Next step

Ready to Recover Your Excel Password?

Upload your protected spreadsheet and regain access to your data. Free analysis included — no payment required to check if your password is recoverable.

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