​The root cause of your issue is a misunderstanding of how the default Excel Online connector in Power Automate works when combined with an active desktop user session.
​The Cause: File Locking and Cached Excel Sync
​When an Excel file is open on a computer that enters sleep mode, the Excel desktop client or browser session can leave the file in a "locked" or unsynced state in OneDrive/SharePoint.
​When MS Forms submits data, it uses a background API to inject the row into Excel. However, if your Power Automate loop uses "List rows present in a table" while the file is concurrently locked or out-of-sync due to the sleeping machine's session, the Graph API cannot reliably query the live table data. It gets stuck until you wake up the PC, forcing Excel to sync its state with the cloud.
​The Solution: Keep It Dynamic Without the Loop
​You can achieve your goal of a dynamic workflow (ignoring fixed Form internal IDs) without waiting for Excel to sync.
​Instead of waiting for Excel to write the row and looping to read it, you can bypass the Excel sync issue entirely by using the standard "Get response details" action dynamically, or extracting the raw JSON payload straight from the Forms trigger.
​Method 1: The Zero-Code Dynamic Approach (Recommended)
​You do not have to hardcode fields from the "Get response details" action. You can parse the response dynamically using a Parse JSON block. This gives you all fields (even new ones) instantly without touching Excel.
- ​Keep your trigger: When a new response is submitted.
- ​Add the action: Get response details.
- ​Pass the outputs of "Get response details" into a Parse JSON action.
- ​Turn off your Excel looping structure completely. You now have a dynamic object containing all current Form fields in real-time, independent of your PC's sleep status.
​Method 2: Force Excel Sync/Refresh (If you must keep the loop)
​If your architecture strictly requires reading from the Excel file, you must prevent the file from locking:
- ​Close the File: Do not leave the Excel sheet open on your desktop when leaving your desk. If closed, Excel Online handles the API requests flawlessly in the cloud.
- ​Add a Delay: Inside your Power Automate loop, ensure you have a Delay action (e.g., 30 seconds to 1 minute) between checks. Rapidly hitting an un-synced Excel table via "List rows" will cause the API to serve cached results.
