Add-Ins Won’t Enable in Office? Try This

By Lloyd Ingram Updated October 10, 2026

Quick Tips

Office will often automatically disable add-ins that cause crashes or other stability problems, so they usually won’t enable because they don’t work in their current form.
Make sure to recheck every third-party add-in reviews, as untrustworthy ones may be blocked by Office.
On a work or school PC, grayed-out options mean there are admin controls enforced on the PC which need to be managed by IT, an administrator, or a group policy setting.

Office add-ins not working usually means they don’t get enabled or show up in their space in the toolbar. This is usually a protective measure against add-ins that may be trustworthy or simply not work properly or fail to load. Here’s how to get them running again.

Fix 1 – Restore Items for Office Add-Ins Not Working Due to a Crash

There’s a “secret” Disabled Items list where Office apps put all add-ins that repeatedly crash when the program is opened. It’s usually the first place to look when an add-in keeps switching itself off.

Step 1. Go to “File,” then to “Options,” and open the “Add-ins” tab.

Step 2. Set the “Manage” drop-down on the bottom to “Disabled Items” and click on “Go.”

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Step 3. Select the add-in and click “Enable,” then click on “Close.”

Step 4. If the add-in is a COM add-in, go back to “Manage” and choose “COM Add-ins” to enable it again. Otherwise, simply exist settings.

Step 5. Restart the app.

If Office disables the add-in again, it may still be causing a stability problem or may be incompatible with your current Office version. Check for an updated version from the add-in’s publisher on its website or the add-in store.

Fix 2 – Adjust Trust Center Settings

The Trust Center can block add-ins across the board while still technically letting you download them. They just won’t show up on the list. You’ll need to provide broad permissions for third-party add-ins for it to get bypassed.

Step 1. Find “Options” and go to the “Trust Center” tab, then click on “Trust Center Settings.”

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Step 2. Open the “Add-ins” tab.

Step 3. Make sure that the setting for “Disable all Application Add-ins” is unchecked.

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Step 4. If the add-in is relatively unknown or made privately (such as an internal feature for your work), check whether “Require Application Add-ins to be signed by Trusted Publisher” is blocking it.

Step 5. Click “OK” and restart the app.

If these options are grayed out, they’re set by Group Policy and are managed by a separate account that you likely won’t have access to if you’re using a work or school PC.

Fix 3 – Clear the Add-In Cache

Office Add-ins use local caches to store resources and data. A corrupted cache can cause an add-in to load incorrectly or display errors.

Step 1. In “Trust Center Settings,” open “Trusted Add-in Catalogs.”

Step 2. Check “Next time Office starts, clear all previously-started web add-ins cache” and click on ”OK.”

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Step 3. Restart the app.

If that option isn’t there, close all Office apps, open the Run utility with “Win + R,” and go to the following folder:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Wef

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Then, remove all files from the folder.

Fix 6 – Check the Clock, Then Update or Repair Office

Add-ins rely on signed certificates and manifests. This means if you’ve changed your time settings for testing, they may become out of sync.

Step 1. Open Settings and go to “Time & language.” Make sure to use the option “Set time automatically.”

Step 2. Go to “File” and “Account,” then update Microsoft Office.

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Step 3. If add-ins still won’t load, open “Settings” and go to “Installed apps,” then try to “Modify” Microsoft Office to repair it. This may remove all add-ins so you can add them separately.