I’ve seen some android users ask this very particular question why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone? And I tell you that there are some factors that cause it.
This type of question is usually asked by new android phone users and I will say that they have every right to do so, after all, they are new.
So this article gives you the reasons why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone, and also the solution to that. The solution is applicable to any type of android smartphone you’re using.
Contents showThe reason why you can’t open pdf files on android phone maybe caused by a pdf app missing in your android phone or probably the pdf file is corrupt and damaged.
What can be more painful than downloading a large pdf file from the internet and you can’t seem to open it.
No matter how hard you try, it won’t open.
As a new user, you get confused as to what is really the problem, what ie actually preventing the Pdf file from opening on my android smartphone.
You don’t have to worry as I will explain the reasons for not being able to open pdf files on your android phone. They are as follows.
This is something that some android phone users don’t know about, is not all Android smartphones come with a pre-installed pdf file app.
This requires the user to go to the google play store, and download the pdf file app on the android phone.
I got to notice that some of these low-end android smartphones tend not to come with a pre-installed pdf app.
So the major cause of why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone is because your android phone doesn’t have a pdf file app.
Another cause of not being able to open a pdf file in your android maybe because of corrupt or bad pdf file app.
This is usually the case if you have a pdf file app installed on your android phone, but still can’t be able to open a pdf file on your phone.
You should know that the pdf file app installed on your android phone has gone bad or probably corrupt and should be replaced.
Replacing it only involves you removing the corrupted pdf app, and going to the google play store to download a new one. Doing so will help you to open pdf files on your android phone.
This is another reason for your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone. This is where most android phone users get so confused, they have a working pdf application installed on their android phone, but still can’t seem to open a pdf file.
This is usually caused by a poorly formatted pdf file.
In order to verify and confirm that your pdf app installed on your phone is working, I recommend you to download another pdf file from a different source or website.
Open the pdf file and if it does open, then you should know that the other pdf file is bad or poorly formatted.
So these three are the major reasons for your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone.
Now let’s head over to the solution or how o fix not being able to open pdf files on my android phone.
Solution:
You bought a new android and downloaded a pdf file, open opening it, it states can’t open this file.
This indicates that you don’t have a pdf file application installed on your android phone. The only solution is to download one from the Google play store.
I repeated from Google play store and not anyone you see on this app file sharing websites. Some of them installed a virus or Trojan into their apk files.
However, you don’t have to worry as I have the best pdf file application for android smartphones.
The best pdf file app for android includes;
The first solution to your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone is by downloading and installing Adobe acrobat reader for android phones and tablets.
This is the best pdf file app that I do recommend to android users, and it is also available for ios users as well.
Adobe acrobat reader for android which is offered by the popular adobe helps you to open and read pdf files on your android smartphone.
No matter how big the pdf file size is, Adobe acrobat reader opens it with ease and very fast except if you have a very low ram.
One thing I like about Adobe acrobat reader for android the interface and navigation, and not only that, you can sign your signature on the pdf file.
So far is only Adobe acrobat reader that offers such a feature.
If you have an online form to fill, simply download the form and open Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your android phone and fill the form using the application.
There’s a PDF form filler feature that lets you use your finger or stylus to add an e-signature to any document.
Apart from that, you can search, scroll, and zoom in and out on the pdf reader. Also, you can comment on PDFs directly using sticky notes and drawing tools.
There are lots of features that come with this pdf file app that makes it the best pdf file application for android phones and tablets.
So simply download it and it will solve your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone.
The second solution to your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone is by downloading and installing WPS Office for Android phones and tablets.
This is another pdf file app for android that I love so much, and not only is for pdf reader, but also for docs, word, and excel.
The application is very versatile and have different purposes and not just for pdf reader.
If you don’t fancy downloading Microsoft excel and word application for android, you can use this app to open words or do your excel. Though I prefer Microsoft word and excel application to the WPS office.
According to the developer:
WPS Office is an all-in-one office suite that integrates Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, Forms, as well as Cloud Storage, Template Gallery, and Online Editing & Sharing. Also, WPS Office can perfectly work with Google Classroom, Zoom, Slack & Google Drive, makes your online work and study more efficient & stable.
Some of the features of the WPS office are free PDF Reader, which makes it possible to open, view, share, and comment on any PDF files on any android smartphone.
This is quite similar to Adobe acrobat reader software in terms of commenting and sharing of pdf files from the application.
WPS office application for android helps you to convert all office docs ( word, text, Excel, PowerPoint, doc ) to PDF file and this comes for free.
No charges at all.
The pdf reader application also helps you to scan paper docs / turn images to PDF files on your android smartphone. The app support PDF annotation, and also PDF Signature, PDF Extract/Split, PDF Merge, PDF to Word/Excel/PPT.
To use its pdf signature, you will have to upgrade to the premium version. But the app offers a free trial to enjoy some of its premium features.
Lastly, you can easily add and remove the watermark in PDF file. This is also another of its premium features but can enjoy it on trial mode.
Again its word and excel don’t come for free, one needs to register and upgrade their account to premium before going ahead to use their word and excel.
However, if you don’t fancy this, go to Google play store and search for Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel and you’ll see them on the play store.
Download and install them. To use these Microsoft apps are all for free as long as you using the android version.
Download WPS Office for android and for your pdf reader.
Doing so helps you to fix why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone.
So far these two are the best pdf reader I do recommend for android users, but that doesn’t mean that there are no other good ones on the Google play store.
All you have to do is open your play store and search for pdf reader, you’ll see lots of them.
To know the good ones, look at the one with higher ratings and a high number of downloads. Also, check and read people’s comments to see if most of them say bad things about the application.
The second general solution to your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone is by downloading the pdf file using another browser.
You may think that this may not actually work and not the cause of your problem, but the truth is that it does happen.
Sometimes, this normally happens. Downloading a file and it gets corrupt because of your internet isp network or the browser you’re using to download the file.
This has happened to and I noticed that it was caused by the browser I was using to download the file. Switched to another browser and downloaded the file again, and the file opened.
If the pdf file you downloaded is corrupt, it will show file corrupt or corrupted. Then what you’ve to do is to use another browser to download it and to see that the problem isn’t from your end.
If again it shows file corrupted after using another browser to download the file, then be rest assured that the problem is from the owner and the upload.
Usually, during the process of uploading the file to the internet, it got corrupted.
In this case, you only have to notify the owner or uploader that the file is bad, if you’re lucky enough, he or she might re-upload the file again.
So this is the number two solution to your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone.
Every android smartphone will definitely open any type of pdf file thrown to it, but when the phone has a ram of 565mb or a maximum of 1GB opening large pdf files becomes a problem.
Then I was using the Samsung galaxy s4 along with my s8, opening large pdf files on my Samsung galaxy s3 was a big war, it was so difficult and hardly opens.
Any time I tried to do so, it crashes and wouldn’t open the but doing so on my s8 opens in a twinkle of an eye. What I’m saying is that having a low ram is also a major cause of the question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone.
Again if your android phone is running on these old android versions, chances that you may not be able to run a pdf app on it.
For example, Adobe acrobat reader and WPS Office no longer support old and outdated Android versions. This also makes it difficult for one to use them to open pdf files on their android phones.
So the solution to this is to upgrade to android phones that runs on the latest android versions with a ram of at least 3GB if you don’t have that much to spend.
This is the third solution to your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone.
And for now, that’s all I have. But the most important thing is to check your phone and confirm if there’s any pdf file app installed on it. Not having a pdf file app is the major cause of not being able to open or run pdf files on android.
So I hope I’ve answered your question on why can’t I open pdf files on my android phone. I bet the solutions here will definitely help you out in solving your pdf problem.
I'm Amaechi Uchenna by name, a mobile tech enthusiast who love writing articles about tips and tutorials especially relating to gadgets.
