Decryption failure

I have the same issue impacting my iPhone and iPad. I found that if I saved the Word doc in format 1997-2003, the docs will open when I enter the correct document password. I currently am using Microsoft 2016 and anything saved as a standard Word doc gives me the decryption failed message. I contacted Apple support and have a case number opened.

I contacted Apple support and was told to download the Word app (another app!). It decrypted fine on that although when asked the agent said the issue MAY be fixed in the update after 14.2. Rather disappointing.

I also have the same problem on my iPhone XS Max after updating iOS 14.2. Just after reading Gopher1984's comment on Nov 15, I saved my Excel book(.xlsx) file with password in iCloud as an Excel 97-2004 book(.xls) file by my MacBook Pro 2016 using Microsoft Excel for Mac(ver. 16.43). Then I can open and read that Excel file in iCloud from my iPhone. So, I understand there is something wrong between iOS 14.2 and current Microsoft Excel.

It is not enough to have the Word app on the phone. The document has to be in the app before it is opened, rather than being opened directly on the phone. The first time you click on the document on the phone, before putting in the password and getting the failure message, try moving the document into the app by clicking on the arrow at the top of the screen.

For me it started with update 14.2. I use a password protected MS Word file for various reasons. It always decrypted before. Apple support suggested it could be fixed in 14.3 but it’s reported as not fixing it. I downloaded the Word app which works.

I have been having the same problem in opening an encrypted DOCX document directly from my email since the IOS 14.2 update. What works for me is to click on the document in the email and get to the page to insert the password. Instead of inserting a password and getting the decryption error, I click on the arrow at the top of the page that lets you move the document directly into an app (Word or DocsToGo in my case). The next screen lets you put the password into the Word or DocsToGo app, and the document opens in the app for me. I mentioned all this to Apple support and they say they are looking into it.

While I understand you did not have any issues with iOS 14.1, if you are using the Microsoft apps on your device, they were just updated. Microsoft made changes to their apps and this could have lead to your problem. You need to discuss it with them.

I just spoke to Apple support. They gave me an acceptable work around. From the app store, I downloaded Microsoft's Word app. Once the app was installed, I was able to open any Word Doc that was previously password protected.

Thanks for the tip :), Opening the excel App and then opening the file from the one drive location allowed the password and opened the file.

With the is 14.2 update, Microsoft issued updates to the Microsoft apps. I would also take the time to reach out to Microsoft to explain the issue to them, since they are the ones that write and support the Office apps on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

I've had the same issue and brought it to Apple's attention when 14.2 came out. The work around isn't the best. You can download Word and it will open files on your phone. Files sent via email will not. My iPad is also impacted so it's clearly a software error. I'm not convinced Apple is going to fix this. I didn't get the opinion from support that it was being passed to the next level.

Exactly. It is still a problem. The only solution is the clunky 'open it in the original app' workaround. Dropbox don't appear to be interested in fixing it and their 'community support' blames Apple. Apple obviously aren't interested either - it looks like no-one from Apple reads the stuff here.

I checked this issue on my wife's phone. She never updates to the newest ios. She is still on 14.1, so it looks like it happened with 14.2.

I have exactly the same issue when trying to decrypt a Word file stored in Onedrive. Since updating to iOS 14.2, I get the same „null“ failure message reported here. The same file can be decrypted on a W10 PC without problem.

Deleting and reinstalling Word App on iPhone made no difference, problem persists.