Excel 2016 Users: Microsoft Update KB5002653 Breaks Opening Excel Add-Ins | Excel: "Sorry, we couldn't find... ASAP Utilities.xlam..."

Update: Microsoft has released an update to fix this issue

Microsoft update KB4484305 fixes an issue in which Excel add-ins that were enabled the last time that you used Excel might not load correctly when you open Excel.

• November 19, 2024, update for Excel 2016 (KB4484305)

Question

After installing the Excel 2016 update KB5002653, Excel 2016 no longer loads add-ins, including ASAP Utilities.
In the error message, the first character (the drive letter) is missing:

Answer

This is a bug in KB5002653 that was released by Microsoft on November 13th.
 It is discussed in the following topics:

• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/unable-to-run-excel-add-ins-after-kb5002653-latest/765e15be-e280-4b3e-9800-18f3bc56a942
• https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/discussions/excelgeneral/xlam-load-error-with-kb-5002653/4295554
• https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/1gqjq6v/office_addins_broken_after_updates/
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/excel-2016-broken-after-update/501f830f-23b1-4969-a8d1-974c84954922

A (temporary) solution is to either uninstall KB5002653, or open the ASAP Utilities.xlam manually until Microsoft has solved this.

Update 1 - November 14, 22:23

Microsoft has updated its release notes to include additional information and an acknowledgment of the issue. However, a real solution is not yet available.

Microsoft: Known issues in this update

After you install this update, Excel add-ins that were enabled the last time that you used Excel might not load correctly when you open Excel. To work around this issue, open the add-ins manually by double-clicking them or selecting File > Open.

# Description of the security update for Excel 2016: November 12, 2024 (KB5002653)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/description-of-the-security-update-for-excel-2016-november-12-2024-kb5002653-189190cb-3ae5-47ac-b85a-ca9815cff793

Update 2 - November 20, Microsoft has released an update to fix this issue

Microsoft update KB4484305 fixes an issue in which Excel add-ins that were enabled the last time that you used Excel might not load correctly when you open Excel.

• November 19, 2024, update for Excel 2016 (KB4484305)