Excel Online (Business) connector returns HTTP 500 for Group-backed SharePoint Excel file

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Posted on by MD-26021147-0 Microsoft Employee

Issue Description

Excel Online (Business) connector consistently returns HTTP 500 when accessing an Excel workbook stored in a Microsoft 365 Group-backed SharePoint site via Copilot Studio.

Configuration

Location: Selected Group – MCL from connector drop-down

Document Library: Documents (drop-down)

File: Selected via file browser (Documents / S360 Management / MCL-vulnerability-patching-tracking.xlsx)

No manual URLs or identifiers entered

Observed Behavior

The file browser successfully locates and selects the workbook, but connector execution fails at runtime with HTTP 500 (Internal Server Error) when retrieving worksheets or tables.

Expected Behavior

Connector should return worksheets/tables from the selected Excel workbook.

Impact

Blocks Copilot Studio agent publishing and automation scenarios that rely on reading Excel data from Group-backed SharePoint locations.

Categories:

Calling actions from Copilot Studio

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Karan_Shewale_MSFT Microsoft Employee on at

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Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. We will check and update you soon.

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MD-26021147-0 Microsoft Employee on at

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@KS-17111010-0 thanks for looking into it; I've also attached a screen shot of the action execution details to reflect that the Location, Library and File IDs were resolved via drop-down and populated correctly in the Inputs, but still got the HTTP 500 response.

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Karan_Shewale_MSFT Microsoft Employee on at

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This behavior is usually caused by how the Excel Online (Business) connector resolves files in Microsoft 365 Group-connected SharePoint sites. Although the file can be selected in the picker, the connector may fail at runtime while resolving the underlying SharePoint site/drive, resulting in a generic HTTP 500 error. This is a connector-level issue, not a Copilot Studio publishing issue.

Common Causes:

The workbook does not contain at least one formatted Table (the connector requires tables, not raw ranges).

The connection account does not have proper access to the Microsoft 365 Group site.

Drive/site resolution fails when using the “Group” location option.

The file is locked or currently open.

Recommended Fixes:

Open the workbook and ensure the data is formatted as a Table. Save and close the file.

Recreate the Excel Online (Business) connection using an account that is a member of the Group.

Instead of selecting “Group”, choose “SharePoint Site” and enter the full site URL manually.

Test the same action in Power Automate to confirm whether it is a connector-level failure.

Official Documentation:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/connectors/excelonlinebusiness/ : Excel Online (Business) connector:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/power-automate/limits-and-config: Power Automate limits and considerations:

Thanks,

Karan Shewale

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JM-09040956-0 2 on at

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Hi Karan,

Are there any planned improvements for the Excel Online (Business) connector, and if so, is there an estimated timeline?

I would like to highlight that these connectors are, in our case — and I believe for many other customers as well — an essential part of business infrastructure. The connector itself is named Excel Online (Business), and all of this is part of a very expensive Microsoft package. Unfortunately, across all subscription levels, we continue to encounter a long list of bugs, errors, and limitations.

Could you please clarify why the connector is restricted to tables only and does not support ranges?

When can we expect this limitation to be addressed?

Additionally, when will it be possible to assign all available connection options without restrictions?

Thank you in advance for your support.

Kind regards,

Jan

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