I’ve been getting these time-outs since yesterday when trying to test Find Row.
None of the connections I have are working, but they were working before.
This is happening across all Zaps.
Question
Troubleshooting Microsoft Excel time-out errors when using Find Row
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+14- Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
- 34070 replies
Hi
Help links for using Excel in Zaps: https://zapier.com/apps/excel/integrations#help
If the issue persists, open a ticket with Zapier Support: https://zapier.com/app/get-help
The error in your Zap step is:
"Failed to find a row in Microsoft Excel"
Followed by an HTML 504 Gateway Timeout page.
What's happening:
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Your Zap is trying to find a row in Microsoft Excel (using a "Find Row" action).
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Instead of returning valid data or a “row not found” response, it received a 504 Gateway Timeout error from the Excel/OneDrive/SharePoint server.
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This HTML error page (
<html><head><title>504 Gateway Time-out</title>) is coming from nginx, a web server, meaning the request didn't get a response from the upstream Microsoft service in time.
Likely Causes:
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Microsoft Excel Online (OneDrive/SharePoint) is temporarily down or slow to respond.
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Your spreadsheet is very large, causing the query to time out.
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Poor internet connection or authentication token expired, causing communication to stall.
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Zapier is timing out before Microsoft servers respond.
How to fix it:
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Retry manually: Click "Replay" or re-test the step.
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Check Excel File:
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Make sure the file is online and accessible (try opening it via OneDrive or SharePoint).
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Reduce spreadsheet size or remove unnecessary rows/columns.
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Reconnect your Microsoft Excel account in Zapier to refresh the token.
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Add a filter or refine search conditions to narrow the row lookup.
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Test during off-peak hours, in case it’s a server load issue.
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