IOS 13 Unable to open mail attachments

Hello woffordscott and welcome to Apple Support Communities.

I see you're having an issue with opening attachments to email messages.

First, you'll want to make sure you're updated to iOS 13.1.1

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Using a .doc attachment as an example, opening in Pages is pretty simple. Just touch and hold the attachment and then choose the Share option. Under Share if you choose Save to Files and then immediately open the Pages app, you'll see the document you just saved at the top of the Recent screen view. Tapping that opens the file in Pages.

You can, of course, also just tap the attachment in Mail to see a preview of the document.

Cheers.

Have the same issue as the above the preview screen is not being shown instead your are given all the options to share the attachment. This issue is only present since updating to IOS13.

Is there a fix to simply have a the preview screen accessible again?

I have this problem since april 2018, business wise. We use Salesforce and in Salesforce the List Email functionality.

When we send an Email with an attachment (PDF or Word or else), Salesforce sends the attachments as an HMTL link : https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=000326717&type=1&mode=1

• With the list email feature, it is possible to send files as attachments; but the email attachments will always be sent as .html files.
• To view the attachment the email recipient simply has to click on this link and the file will open in a new browser window on their computer. Recipients then have the choice to save the file locally.

When receivers open the emails with attachments on Imac, Windows Desktop, Android Phone, Samsung tablet / phone, there is no problem to open it en read it. Receivers with an Iphone and Ipad cannot open the html links, as described in this discussion.

Even if you have Google Mail or Outlook or Chrome installed on your Iphone or Ipad, you can't open the html link. The only difference is dat an url is displayed. Maybe this url gives some information? See for the url the attachment.

Same issue as do a number of my colleagues.

IOS13 has badly broken mail. Many (not all) PDF and DOC attachments do not open any more. Funny thing is, on my iPad with the same IOS they do open. On other colleagues iPhone (same 10 max with same IOS version) the attachments open just fine. This is rendering my iPhone next to useless as a work mail device. Tried all the latest upgrades and switching between dark and light modes without change.

I just might found a solution! I was going to do wipe and restore. When I plugged the phone to MacBook a message appeared that there has to be some update installed first (the message did not revealed any specifics).

After the mysterious update, the doc and pdf opens on the iPhone again! Hurray for the apple technological superiority!!!

The files look differently that on other devices with iOS 13.2 I saw (where there was no problem). But who cares if it works :-)

This has been causing me similar problems. I see very few options in sharing /opening email attachments in iOS mail.

I have just succeeded in a fault diagnosis, though I haven’t yet found a workable fix:

I use my phone (11 Pro) to access work emails. This requires Microsoft InTune and the installation of a company management profile. I think it’s something to do with this, because I removed my device in InTune, which also removed the profile. I then performed an on/off cycle (though this may not have been necessary, I thought it a wise precaution). After this, a full list of Open with / Copy to options became available.

The contents of the management profile installed look like this:

Once these were re-installed, the equivalent screen shows only these options (with no extras available when “Edit Actions” is selected).

In summary, this looks like it is connected with the loaded profile. How to address this I can’t be sure, but perhaps the first stop is Corporate IT support (good luck with that!).

Same issue for me, the office 365 apps don’t show anymore... when I try to open an attachment in iPad mail....

just pointless prints that either crash app or print to pdf and miss off information or screw up graphics... no way to open and modify or even change print settings....

anyone got an answer yet?

i wanted to go about in getting powerpoint attachment on the messenger app but for some reason itll not let me, everytime i tap on the attachment itll just route to another page and will not even promt to download the file

files in doc and pdf format can’t load on my iPhone iOS 13.3.1. I can’t share files from google drive to messenger. The error message is Couldn’t load content. There was a problem loading your content. Please try again. “

I am also having problems opening attachments since I updated to IOS 13. And I’m updated to13.1.3.

i can see the paper clip, it does nothing when I touch it. But, if I forward the email to myself, the attachment shows up at the bottom of the email.

I agree. I'm less interested in sending attachments from my mail app via text than I am simply viewing the attachment in my mail app.

Clicking attachments does note give me an option to view, only to pass it along to others.

I am having the same problem. It sets the default app to open as something completely ridiculous. It never gives me the option for any of my pdf apps, but gives me other choices that won’t open the pdf anyway! Now they have changed iBooks and I can’t even open it in that!!!!

Please is there any solution on this? Did Apple gave any response at all?

The only thing that opens is docx. The doc files and majority of pdf are not opening since iOS 13 (now iOS 13.2). The problem is not only in mail attachments, it is in files app syncing in iCloud too. It just makes the doc files grey and not opening even in MS word app. Nothing wrong with the files itself (they are opening in MacBook normally).

This is a major issue which makes my XS worth the same as old Nokia 5110.

Come on Apple, it’s clear there is a portion of users that have the same clear issue. DOC attachments and PDF attachments are not opening in mail any more. As pointed out by multiple others, this renders these supposed Pro devices useless for business. At least acknowledge that you are aware of the issue and working on replicating or resolving it.

Having the same problem on my iPhone 7 when I updated to 13.1.3 My iPad works fine and it’s 13..2 so I’m not doing the next update. Also spell check doesn’t work. Anyone seeing that issue. Have a call into apple support but discouraged when I see others having the same issue as of yesterday and no response from apple