Google Sheets Formulas Not Updating

That last one accounts for most confused reports, because those functions genuinely do behave differently from everything else — and the setting controlling them is not where people look.

1. The recalculation setting

Ordinary formulas in Sheets recalculate whenever a value they depend on changes. There is no equivalent of Excel's manual mode and no F9 to press.

But volatile functions — those that change without any cell changing — are governed by a separate setting. NOW(), TODAY(), RAND() and RANDBETWEEN() depend on the clock, so Sheets refreshes them on a schedule instead of continuously.

Find it under File → Settings → Calculation, where Google documents the options:

Setting	Volatile functions refresh
On change	Only when a cell is edited (the default)
On change and every minute	Every minute as well
On change and every hour	Every hour as well

On the default, a NOW() timestamp will sit unchanged until somebody edits something. That is the setting working as designed, not a fault.

2. The cell is formatted as plain text

The same trap as Excel. If a cell's format was set to Plain text before the formula was typed, Sheets stores the formula as a string and displays it literally.

The tell is alignment: text sits on the left, results on the right.

The fix: select the cells, choose Format → Number → Automatic, then re-enter the formula — click the cell, press Enter to edit, then Enter again. Changing the format alone does nothing, because the cell already holds text.

3. Show formulas is on

If every formula in the sheet displays as text, this is a view toggle rather than a data problem. Press Ctrl + ` (the grave accent above Tab), or use View → Show → Formulas.

4. IMPORTRANGE and the other IMPORT functions

IMPORTRANGE, IMPORTDATA, IMPORTHTML, IMPORTXML and IMPORTFEED all cache their results and refresh on their own schedule, not on demand. This is deliberate — each call fetches data across the network, so refreshing constantly would be slow and would hammer the source.

If an import looks stale:

• Check the permission first. IMPORTRANGE needs one-time access approval to the source spreadsheet. If it was never granted, or access was later revoked, the formula shows an error or keeps returning old data. Click the cell and look for an "Allow access" prompt.
• Force a refresh by making the formula's arguments change — a common approach is to reference a cell you can edit, so amending it causes a re-evaluation.
• Expect a delay regardless. These functions are not designed for real-time data, and no setting makes them instant.

5. A leading apostrophe

An apostrophe before the equals sign — '=A1+B1 — tells Sheets to store the entry as text. It does not display in the cell, only in the formula bar, so it is easy to miss. It usually arrives via a paste from another application.

Delete the apostrophe and press Enter.

6. Circular references

A formula referring to its own cell produces a #REF! error with a circular dependency message rather than a stale value.

If the calculation is intentionally circular — some iterative models are — enable File → Settings → Calculation → Iterative calculation and set a maximum number of iterations. Otherwise, find and break the loop.

How this differs from Excel

	Excel	Google Sheets
Manual calculation mode	Yes — a common cause of stale results	No such mode
Force recalculation	F9	No equivalent; edit any cell
Volatile function control	Recalculates on every change	Follows the Calculation setting
Show formulas	Ctrl + `	Ctrl + `
Text-format trap	Yes	Yes — identical behaviour

If you arrived here after searching for Excel advice, the important difference is the first row: there is no manual mode to switch off in Sheets, so that fix does not apply and the cause is one of the others.

For another common Sheets task, highlighting duplicates in Google Sheets covers the conditional formatting rule and the anchoring that decides whether it works.

And if a sort is failing rather than a formula, merged cells are the usual cause: how to merge cells in Google Sheets covers what merging breaks and how to find them.

For the import functions specifically, Google Sheets IMPORTRANGE not working covers the access prompt that catches everyone first time, and why the initial #REF! is expected rather than a fault.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my Google Sheets formula not updating?

Ordinary formulas update whenever their inputs change. If one does not, the cell is probably formatted as plain text, Show formulas is toggled on, or the formula uses a volatile function like NOW or TODAY, which follow the recalculation setting instead.

Does Google Sheets have a manual calculation mode?

No. Unlike Excel there is no manual mode and no F9 key, so a formula that is genuinely stale is not caused by that setting. The Calculation setting affects only volatile and imported functions.

Why is my NOW() or TODAY() not updating?

Because volatile functions follow File → Settings → Calculation. On the default "On change", they refresh only when a cell is edited. Choose "On change and every minute" for a live clock, accepting the extra load.

How do I force Google Sheets to recalculate?

There is no refresh command. Editing any cell triggers a recalculation, so entering a value in an empty cell and deleting it works. For IMPORT functions, change one of the formula's arguments.

Why does my cell show the formula as text?

If every formula does it, Show formulas is on — press Ctrl + `. If only one does and it is left-aligned, the cell was formatted as Plain text before you typed it. Set Format → Number → Automatic, then re-enter the formula.

Why is my IMPORTRANGE not refreshing?

These functions cache results and refresh on their own schedule. First check that access to the source spreadsheet was granted — IMPORTRANGE requires a one-time approval, and a revoked permission causes stale data or an error.

Will per-minute recalculation slow my sheet down?

Yes, on a large spreadsheet. It forces a recalculation cycle every minute regardless of whether anything changed. Enable it only when you actually need continuously updating times.

Conclusion

Check alignment first: left-aligned means Sheets is holding text, and the fix is Format → Number → Automatic followed by re-entering the formula. If every formula shows as text, it is just the Show formulas toggle.

If the formula is volatile or an import, it is not broken — it is following its schedule. That is the setting under File → Settings → Calculation, and it is the difference that catches out anyone applying Excel troubleshooting to Sheets.

Related: why an Excel formula is not calculating covers the Excel equivalents, and Excel formula errors explained covers the shared error codes.