Since the latest update to the pages/numbers/keynote "can't open file"

The Numbers/Pages/Keynote update that hit most recently now won't allow me to create files it can read. It won't read older files that were working fine a few days ago. The apps won't open the files stored on my Mac or iCloud, but I was able to get them to open from Dropbox. Pages/Keynote/Numbers 5.2.1 (6733) on a 5th gen iPad running iOS 13.2.2.


No ****** way I'm updating my productivity apps on the Mac until I know what they h#$l happened here. I can't afford to lose all of my publishing files to some glitch Apple pushed out the door. It's bad enough I now can't use my lecture notes until I do the Dropbox two step, and I'm not sure that'll keep working.


Please tell me someone else has had this issue or there's a fix.

iPad, iOS 13

Posted on Nov 19, 2019 5:54 PM

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Posted on Nov 25, 2019 8:17 PM

I backed up the iPad, did a restore, then restored from that profile I backed up and everything started working again.


Try that. It's tome-consuming, but I didn't lose everything. Up side: even when the iPad wasn't getting the files from iCloud, I could use the, in the browser or on my Mac.

9 replies

Nov 26, 2019 6:23 PM in response to black campbell

I used your comment but was too lazy to walk into the computer room. So I successfully used the following.

  1. I deleted the numbers application from my iPad and rebooted it using sari reboot device command.
  2. i reinstalled the numbers application and found the templates available but not the files which were greyed out.
  3. I again rebooted the iPad with the sari command.
  4. All of the files appeared in bold and I opened the three critical ones successfully.
  5. the update I made from my iPhone that caused all the problem had the update when opened.


Nov 25, 2019 7:18 PM in response to SGIII

I have the same problem. I updated a numbers file on my iPhone 6+. I am locked out of all iWork files on iCloud from my iPad as a result. Your systems will not save to local with the old files either. My iPad is 13.2.3.

This is a real pain probably facilitated by the iCloud approach to godliness. The iCloud is supposed to be a tool, storage device, not a block to using my iPad.

ho do i get direction on reverting to old version as the error message asserts? Is that the OS, application, or file version. I auto update my iPad (never again)

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Since the latest update to the pages/numbers/keynote "can't open file"

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