By Richard Speed
Publication Date: 2026-01-06 15:02:00
For many, the start of a new year is a time to take stock. For Microsoft, it was a time to stop giving it as the company kicked off 2026 with a bug that broke Excel’s StockHistory function.
A Register reader reported the problem to us over the weekend. It also turned up on social media and in Microsoft’s feedback forums.
The function, which usually returns data about a stock, began returning connection errors. We suspect checking a financial position was the last thing on the minds of many over Christmas, but as the problem dragged on into the New Year, more users found themselves faced with an “unable to connect” error.
The problem affected both the web and desktop versions of Microsoft’s spreadsheet application and, according to affected users, has happened before. “It’s down at least twice a year,” grumbled one customer, who said their Microsoft 365 subscription was paid purely to gain access to the…
