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Excel VLOOKUP repair

Fix an Excel VLOOKUP formula that is not working.

Paste the VLOOKUP formula that is failing, describe what should match, and get a focused repair path for exact-match mode, lookup-column position, text-number mismatches, column indexes, and safer fallbacks.

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Purpose-built inputs

A focused workflow for everyday spreadsheet work.

Structured formula builder

Task, table context, target range, and function hint keep the request specific.

Write / Explain / Fix modes

Generate a new formula, translate a pasted one, or diagnose common syntax issues.

Excel and Sheets toggle

Compatibility notes call out modern functions and platform-specific behavior.

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Common formulas

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Excel formula help

Get help writing, explaining, or fixing one Excel formula with range notes and checks before you paste.

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Percentage formulas

Build percent of total, percent change, discount, markup, tax, tip, and completion-rate formulas.

Fix my Excel formula

Paste a broken formula and get a corrected version with checks for errors, text cells, ranges, and fallbacks.

Excel formulas not working

Fix formulas that stop calculating after imports, copied ranges, locale settings, or text-number mismatches.

Excel formula wrong result

Fix formulas that calculate the wrong value because of references, parentheses, stored types, or lookup settings.

Formula returns 0 or blank

Fix formulas that return 0, blank, or an empty string because of lookup return cells, IF logic, or hidden zero settings.

Excel SUMIFS not working

Fix SUMIFS formulas that return 0, #VALUE!, or wrong totals because of criteria, ranges, dates, or argument order.

Excel COUNTIFS not working

Fix COUNTIFS formulas that return 0, #VALUE!, or wrong counts because of criteria, range sizes, dates, or closed workbooks.

Excel #VALUE! error

Repair formulas blocked by text values, hidden spaces, wrong argument types, dates, or subtraction syntax.

Excel #NAME? error

Fix formulas with misspelled functions, undefined names, missing quotes, or unsupported functions.

Excel #DIV/0! error

Fix formulas blocked by zero or blank denominators, ratio logic, averages, and IFERROR tradeoffs.

Excel #SPILL! error

Fix dynamic array formulas blocked by spill ranges, tables, merged cells, whole-column references, or changing array sizes.

Excel #CALC! error

Fix dynamic array and FILTER formulas blocked by empty results, nested arrays, range references, or unsupported calculations.

Excel #NUM! error

Fix formulas blocked by invalid numeric values, formatted constants, non-converging IRR or RATE inputs, or numbers outside Excel limits.

Excel circular reference

Fix formulas that point back at their own result cell or need deliberate iterative-calculation checks.

Excel #REF! error

Repair formulas broken by deleted rows, moved cells, invalid references, or shifted lookup ranges.

VLOOKUP #N/A error

Fix lookup formulas that return #N/A because of exact-match settings, text-number mismatches, or range setup.

XLOOKUP #N/A error

Fix XLOOKUP formulas with missing matches, mismatched stored types, lookup-array issues, or fallback decisions.

Date formulas

Create due dates, workday counts, month-end dates, date differences, and overdue checks.

FILTER formulas

Return matching rows for status, region, date, text, and threshold conditions.

Text formulas

Split, extract, join, trim, clean, and replace text from messy imported cells.

Data validation formulas

Block bad IDs, duplicate values, missing fields, and invalid entries with custom TRUE/FALSE rules.

XLOOKUP formulas

Return matching values with separate lookup and return ranges.

INDEX MATCH formulas

Build flexible lookup formulas for left lookups, two-way lookups, and older Excel files.

SUMIFS formulas

Total rows that match status, date, category, customer, or region rules.

Use case

Excel VLOOKUP repair for spreadsheet work.

Help Excel users repair one VLOOKUP formula where the visible problem may be #N/A, #VALUE!, an unexpected approximate match, a lookup table that starts on the wrong column, or a return-column number that no longer matches the selected range.

What this page gives you

  • A focused repair pass for one VLOOKUP formula returning #N/A, #VALUE!, a wrong value, or a blank-looking result.
  • Checks for exact-match mode, first-column lookup behavior, return-column numbers, text-number mismatches, and locked table ranges.
  • A revised VLOOKUP path you can test on one known matching row and one missing-match row before changing a report.

When to use it

Use this page when VLOOKUP is close but not trustworthy: it returns #N/A, chooses the wrong match, returns the wrong column, fails after columns move, or breaks after imported IDs are stored as text. Paste the formula and one row that should match.

Do not hide a VLOOKUP problem with IFERROR before checking the lookup range and match mode. A missing result may be real, and an omitted fourth argument can make VLOOKUP use approximate matching when you expected an exact match.

Worked example

A product table has SKUs in A, category in B, and price in C. A VLOOKUP can return the category for the SKU in E2 when the lookup range starts with the SKU column and exact match is explicit.

=IFERROR(VLOOKUP(E2,$A$2:$C$500,2,FALSE),"Not found")

The formula searches for E2 in the first column of A2:C500, returns the second column from the same row, and uses exact match. The fallback appears only after the range, column number, and source values have been checked.

Check before you paste

  • Use FALSE or 0 for exact match unless approximate matching is intentional.
  • Confirm the table range starts with the column being searched.
  • Count the return column from the first column of the selected table range.
  • Check whether the lookup value and first lookup column store matching numbers, text, dates, and trimmed values.
  • Add IFERROR or another fallback only after deciding that a missing match should be hidden.

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