"The file is corrupt and cannot be opened".
Excel says "The file is corrupt and cannot be opened" when its workbook parser cannot build a usable .xlsx from the package. Upload the workbook for a separate repair attempt and see a free watermarked preview of worksheet pages recovered into a validated copy.
Free preview — pay only if you download ($14 USD)
Your files auto-delete — delete them sooner anytime
No person looks at your file as part of repair
Uploading your file.
Keep this tab open while the file transfers. Large files can take longer.
Starting upload...
Recovering what we can.
- Upload received
- Repair in progress
- Result ready
Analyzing your file...
Here's what we recovered.
Review the watermarked preview before checkout.
Repair your file
Choose a supported file to see what can be repaired before checkout.
Simulated checkout — no payment is processed.
Optional — we'll email your private download link.
You preview before you pay. If the download is materially worse than the preview you approved, we'll refund you.
Your files auto-delete — delete them sooner anytime
No person looks at your file as part of repair
We couldn't recover this one.
The file is too damaged to rebuild, so there is nothing to preview and no charge.
What stopped you continuing? One tap tells us why.
Try a deep repair
The repair engine can try a longer pass on the file you already uploaded.
Machine-only processing; no human views files; nothing is sent to an outside AI.
Have another clip from the same device?
A healthy video recorded on the same device — ideally the same settings — gives the repair engine a template to rebuild from. It can unlock repairs that fail on their own.
Unrepaired files are kept encrypted for up to 30 days, then deleted.
FileFix can't fix that kind of file yet.
Right now we repair video, audio, document, and image files (MP4, MOV, M4V, MKV, AVI, TS, MTS, M2TS, MPG, MPEG, VOB, 3GP, WebM, FLV, M4A, WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, OPUS, AIFF, XLSX, DOCX, PPTX, ODT, ZIP, RAR, PDF, AI, HEIC, and HEIF). We're adding support for more formats over time.
Something went wrong.
The request could not be completed.
Why this happens
In Excel, this message means the application recognized a workbook file but could not read a consistent ZIP package and workbook model. The central directory may be missing, or worksheet, shared-string, workbook, and relationship XML may be truncated or malformed.
Excel needs those parts to agree before it presents the grid, so one broken package member can stop the application even when other worksheet records remain readable. Rebuilding requires extracting surviving members and writing a fresh workbook container rather than changing the filename or extension.
FileFix scans local ZIP records, repairs worksheet and shared-string XML where possible, and validates the new .xlsx with an independent workbook reader. The free preview shows limited watermarked worksheet pages from that output without promising unrecovered formulas, styles, charts, or relationships.
What we can and can't recover
We can usually fix
- Files that show "Excel found unreadable content"
- Files Excel calls an invalid format or extension
- Workbooks cut off mid-save or mid-transfer
- Files that show the right size but won't open
We can't fix
- Password-protected/encrypted workbooks
- Genuinely empty (0-byte) files
- Deleted or formatted files (that's data recovery, a different job)
- The old binary .xls format (this repair is for .xlsx)
How it works
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Upload Drop the file in. It uploads over an encrypted connection. The repair runs automatically — no person looks at your file.
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Free watermarked preview You see watermarked pages of the recovered worksheets.
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Pay & download If the preview shows what you need, unlock the repaired Excel file for a one-time $14 USD.
You see watermarked pages from your rebuilt workbook before you decide anything — so you never guess.
See what's recoverable.
Free watermarked page preview · private & auto-deleted
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Questions
Excel could not assemble a consistent workbook from the .xlsx ZIP package. The archive directory or workbook, worksheet, shared-string, or relationship XML may be missing, truncated, or malformed.
Yes. Some worksheet records may remain readable even when one broken package part prevents Excel from presenting the grid. A rebuild places surviving data into a fresh workbook package.
It shows watermarked pages of the recovered worksheets from the rebuilt workbook. It does not promise unrecovered formulas, styles, charts, or relationships.
A one-time $14 USD — and only if the repair works. Seeing what was recovered is free, and checkout is only offered when the engine produces a validated repaired file.