Level 1

19 points

PDF’s not opening in iOS 13.1.2

Ever since I’ve updated to iOS 13 PDFs in mail attachments do not open. When I tap on them as before I get a pop-up menu asking me if I wish to save it or some other option.

What happened to the functionality of just tapping on the PDF and having an open within the email attachment?

I have noticed that the icon that represents the PDF no longer says PDF on it it is simply three horizontal lines on the icon. Perhaps another app has taken the place of the PDF reader that is built-in to Apple mail on the iPad. Any idea what app uses three horizontal lines on it’s a icon?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Posted on Oct 10, 2019 9:16 AM

Top-ranking reply

ryadaddy

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Oct 17, 2019 6:53 PM

Got it. In my case (or cases, as I had the issue on my iphone and ipad), it was winzip. Deleting that app (which I don't use any more) cleared up the problem.

Maybe it is a good idea to delete all apps that I don't use.

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88 replies

Oct 23, 2019 8:36 AM in response to supportme2

It worked for me too, many thanks. I deleted the Alibaba app.

LUISNUNO

Level 1

4 points

Oct 26, 2019 7:00 AM in response to supportme2

Worked for me too....amazing.Thanks

Cheers

Florial

Level 1

4 points

Nov 25, 2019 4:48 AM in response to iPhoneUser216

Very sorry for that. Perhaps you can take a backup and then restore your device to “factory settings”. Then you try PDF’s, Books, etc. Presumably, it will work. Then you can restore your backup and check again. If it doesn’t work still, I suggest you to get back to “factory settings” and re-download apps one at a time. Good luck ! Pierre.

Nov 20, 2019 5:22 AM in response to supportme2

This worked for me. It has been driving me nuts for months. I would have never guessed Alibaba was the culprit.

supportme2 Author

Level 1

19 points

Oct 10, 2019 9:46 AM in response to QuickPost

Unfortunately there is no option to open the PDF in Books. The only options available are to send the PDF in either mail or message the PDF. Other than that all that is offered is the ability to save or print the document.

Oct 21, 2019 7:08 AM in response to supportme2

The issue is related to the list of apps that can be used directly to open files within applications mail or whatsapp

when you delete alibaba the acrobat was inserted to the list. Alibaba and acrobat start with letter “a”, and after deleting alibaba, acrobat is the next in the list if the your list is full

Oct 10, 2019 5:45 PM in response to supportme2

iOS 13.1.2 - when trying to send a pdf via email a totally different file is sent. I have used this facility many times before this release and have not encountered this problem. Does anyone have a solution?

tand1

Level 1

9 points

Oct 11, 2019 9:30 AM in response to supportme2

I have the same issue. After the upgrade to 13.1.2 all PDF attachments do not open in the generic iPhone mail app. However, the same PDF attachments do open in the gmail app on my iPhone.

Any idea?

Thank you.

Oct 11, 2019 2:29 PM in response to supportme2

You are an absolute legend!!!! This one was killing me because I have a lot of PDF reports. Iphone IOS 13.1.2. Tried removing my other PDF readers but no help so gave up. Now I removed Alibaba and BANG, I can read PDFs the simple way again both in mail and in my files app. Massive THANKYOU!!

Zander1

Level 1

4 points

Oct 11, 2019 6:36 PM in response to supportme2

This is a big problem and needs prompt attention by Apple. PDFs open with the text line blurred and not readable. I doubt there is a business in the world that can tolerate that. No public communication and tedious workarounds offered. This is core email function that we’ve reported through tout the hospital.. thanks you Apple for making work and patient care difficult. Very sloppy engineering and very defensive passive public response.

supportme2 Author

Level 1

19 points

Oct 12, 2019 8:13 PM in response to David AppSup

I haven’t bothered to reinstall. Perhaps there was something in pre iOS 13 Alibaba saved data that caused the glitch a preference or some other Bit of data. I can only relate to my experience that before I removed Alibaba I could not open any pdf on any device it was installed on. Good to know it is working for you. i might try if I need Alibaba in the future. Good feedback.

Oct 15, 2019 4:13 PM in response to supportme2

PLEASE help!! I’m having the same issue: unable to open mail attachments, and I don’t have Alibaba. I tried deleting and reinstalling my mail accounts, a soft reset on my phone, and I spent 2 hours on the phone with 2 different apple tech support staff members who could not figure out a solution.

I also cannot open the attachments in my Gmail App or AOL app. Everything worked fine before the iOS 13.1.2 update. I just updated to 13.1.3 hoping that would solve the problem, but no luck.

Any other suggestions?

Thank you.

Oct 19, 2019 2:15 AM in response to samkok9174

I tried deleting each App (I don’t have Alibaba) one by one as it was mentioned in the “open in...” suggestion when I clicked on the pdf attachment, until finally it said “open in....” and there was no app listed. No improvement. I’m having other problems with mail since the iOS 13.1.2 update as well, such as original emails not being shown in a reply. Mine is a refurbished iPhone 7, so I wonder if that is part of the problem. I spent the entire afternoon on the phone with Apple support the other day and will probably spend the afternoon at Verizon today.... and switch to an Android... has so many problems with my first iPhone 7 as well.

Oct 23, 2019 8:30 AM in response to supportme2

We are experiencing the same issue with check stubs we email out to employees. No one can open the pdf docs on their apple devices. Not finding any connection to the Alibaba app, as we do not have that installed. Any other suggestions?

Tellme1

Level 1

4 points

Nov 2, 2019 6:18 AM in response to supportme2

I don’t have Alibaba app installed. But I have this problem. The pdf opens in mail but not in gmail. This is in version 13.1.3. Id was opening in 13.1.2. Hope Apple works on this ASAP. It’s a huge nuisance.

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PDF’s not opening in iOS 13.1.2