Excel arrow keys not working: 6 fixes

1. The sheet scrolls but the cell doesn't move: Scroll Lock

With Scroll Lock on, the arrow keys move the view of the sheet one row or column at a time, and the active cell stays where it was. It feels as if Excel is broken: you press Down five times, the rows slide past, and the Name Box still says A2.

Check the status bar at the bottom left. When Scroll Lock is on, Excel shows the words Scroll Lock there. If you never see it, right-click the status bar and make sure Scroll Lock is ticked, so the label appears next time.

Most full keyboards have a Scroll Lock or ScrLk key near Print Screen. Press it once and the arrows move the cell again. Laptops often hide it as a second label on another key, pressed with Fn; the key varies by maker, so look for small ScrLk lettering or check the laptop's manual.

1. No Scroll Lock key? Press Win+Ctrl+O to open the Windows On-Screen Keyboard (or search the Start menu for On-Screen Keyboard).
2. Click ScrLk. It's highlighted while Scroll Lock is on, so click it until it isn't.
3. Close the On-Screen Keyboard and try the arrow keys in Excel again.

2. Arrows move a cursor inside the cell: Edit mode

Excel has modes, and the status bar names the current one. Type into a cell and the mode is Enter: the arrow keys finish the entry and move to the next cell. Double-click a cell or press F2 and the mode is Edit: the arrow keys move the text cursor left and right inside the cell, and Up and Down do little or nothing.

If the arrows seem stuck inside a cell, look for Edit in the status bar. Press Enter to keep what you typed, or Esc to cancel, and the arrows move between cells again. While you're still in the cell, F2 switches between Edit and Enter mode, which is handy when you want to fix a typo with the arrows and then keep moving.

Building a formula has its own mode. After you type = or a comma, the status bar says Point and the arrow keys pick a cell to put into the formula. That's a feature, not a fault: press F2 if you'd rather move through the formula text.

3. Arrows jump to the end of the data: End mode

Press the End key on its own and the status bar shows End Mode. The next arrow key then jumps to the edge of the data, like Ctrl+Down or Ctrl+Right, instead of moving one cell. In this rota, End then Down from A2 goes straight to Femi in A7.

It's easy to tap End by accident while reaching for the arrows or Delete. End mode switches off after one jump, but if your arrows keep leaping, press End again and check that End Mode has left the status bar.

4. Arrows select cells instead of moving: Extend Selection

F8 turns on Extend Selection. The status bar says Extend Selection, and every arrow key grows the selection from where you started, as if you were holding Shift. Press F8 again or Esc to turn it off. Shift+F8 is a cousin, Add to Selection, which shows Add to Selection in the status bar and lets you pick several separate ranges; press Shift+F8 again or Esc to leave it.

5. Arrows skip cells or rows

On a protected sheet where the owner unticked Select locked cells, the arrow keys only land on unlocked cells and jump over everything else. That's how fill-in forms keep you in the input cells. To move freely, unprotect the sheet (Review > Unprotect Sheet) if you're allowed to.

Hidden rows and columns, filtered-out rows and collapsed groups are skipped too, so Down from row 3 can land on row 9. Look for missing row numbers or a gap in the column letters, then unhide or clear the filter.

On the number pad, the 2, 4, 6 and 8 keys are arrows only when Num Lock is off. With Num Lock on, they type digits into the cell. Use the separate arrow keys or turn Num Lock off.

6. Still stuck? Rule out the keyboard and Excel's options

Open Notepad or a browser text box and press the arrows. If they don't work there either, the problem is the keyboard or its software, not Excel: try another keyboard, check the batteries on a wireless one, and look for an Fn Lock that makes the arrow keys act as Home, End, Page Up and Page Down.

If only Excel is affected, check File > Options > Advanced, under Lotus compatibility. Transition navigation keys switches several keys to the old Lotus 1-2-3 behaviour; untick it unless you rely on it. Then try starting Excel in safe mode (hold Ctrl while you open it): if the arrows work there, an add-in is catching the keys, and you can turn add-ins off one at a time under File > Options > Add-ins.