How to fix a PDF that will not open
Quick answerRe-download it first. If it is still broken, try Repair PDF, which rebuilds the file structure.
Work through these in order
- Download it again. An interrupted download is the most common cause and leaves a file that looks complete but is not.
- Check the file size. A few KB for what should be a multi-page document means the download failed.
- Open it in your browser. Browsers have built-in PDF viewers that are more forgiving than some apps.
- Check for a password prompt. Closing the dialog can look like an error.
- Run Repair PDF. This rebuilds the internal index that tells a reader where each page lives.
What repair can and cannot do
If the index is broken but the page data is intact, repair usually recovers the whole file. If page data itself is missing, some pages may come back blank — that data was never there to recover.
Files from WhatsApp
A PDF sent as a photo rather than a document can be converted and damaged in transit. Ask the sender to resend it using the document option.
