When you try to open a Excel workbook, PowerPoint presentation, or Word document on your mobile device, you might receive a message stating that the file is locked for editing by another user. Typically, you will be able to open the file as read-only, but you won’t be able to edit it.
The file might be locked because:
In some situations, you can use your mobile device to unlock the file and continue editing it.
If someone is currently working on the file, you can either wait for that person to close it, or you can create a copy of the file and enter your changes in the copy. (Alternatively, you could switch to an app that allows multiple authors to work on a file simultaneously.)
Use the following procedures to create a copy on your mobile device. If you choose to enter your changes in a copy, it’s a good idea to use tracked changes so that you can easily move your changes to the shared file when it becomes available. You can turn on tracked changes on the Review tab.
If the file is not shared on a network or if you are certain that no one is currently editing it, then an instance of the Office app with the file open might be running in the background.
Office includes a file protection feature that allows authors to mark a file as Final. This locks the file, preventing any further editing. You can easily turn off this feature in the Office applications; however, you can’t turn it off from your mobile device. If an Office file is marked Final, you will need to make a copy to enter your changes from your mobile device.