Error message: Decryption failed(null) when attempting to open an Excel document on iPad

Interim Success

Ok, I've found an interim solution though I still believe Apple has an issue since I have read that 14.1 does not have this problem but at least this works for now.. .. and don't believe that the issue lies with Dropbox, Synology DS File, Microsoft, etc, the issue is with Apple and they need to fix what they broke.

I took the Excel password protected file that I could not open directly from with the Apple Mail app on my iPhone 12 running iOS 14.2 (the same exact file worked fine in 13.6) and instead of opening it, I long pressed it in Mail until I got a pop up menu with choices. I like choices :-) I chose to Save that file in the Apple "Files" app on my phone. The File app comes standard with iOS. I then opened the Files app and tapped the password protected Excel file I just put there, it prompted for a password, I entered it and it opened just fine. 

However, in order to get success, you first have to go to the Apple App store and download the free "Microsoft Office app for iOS", (see pic). Once downloaded to your phone you do not need to sign in to it or even have it open, just the fact that its on the same device as the file you want to open does the trick. The Excel file opened it in Excel.

I will assume this same procedure will work for Word and Powerpoint but haven't tried it yet.

So until Apple fixes the issue, there is another way to open a password protected Microsoft Office file on an iOS device running iOS 14.2

My file/s also now open directly from email.

it does seem that this has been fixed.

very nice of Apple not to let us all know! 😬😬

seems to me they are trying to keep it as low key and quiet as possible and hoping that many people will maybe not have tried to open any password protected files and will therefore never know this happened.

it’s Just garbage customer relations.

Until Apple fixes this issue, there is only a work around but its free and it works whether you are using an iPhone or iPad. The key is to have MS Office on your device. You still won't be able to open a preview from within Mail but at least you will be able to open your password protected file. For details, go here and look for the post entitled “Interim Success"--> https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252022256?answerId=253930156022&page=2

I do not like Microsoft (I do like Excel though) and would never do anything that would actually cause me to have to pay them a freak'n dime if I can avoid it :-) I downloaded the free MS Office app from the Apple app store, I did not even sign into the MS Office app, apparently just having it on my phone was enough as the iPhone knew what to do. When it sees the file extension of what you want to open, it searches all your apps on your device to find one that will open it.

Not sure what you mean in your second sentence about accessing the folder and swiping as I don't do any of that. Here is my procedure.

1. Open the Apple Files app and I can see all the files I have in there with various file extensions
2. I touch the password protected Excel file I want to open
3. I can watch the phone automatically open MS Office and it immediately presents me with the field to type in my password
4. I type in the password and the file opens in Excel

Pretty simple and very fast. Here are some screenshots from my iPhone running iOS 14.2.1

Yeah, you are not following what I and others wrote in this post.. .. just do what I wrote on Jan 2 at 5:17pm, you do not need to be signed in to the MS Office App or do anything in the MS Office app...try this --> https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252022256?answerId=254278212022#254278212022

1. Yes I have read the entire thread. I usually do if I am looking for a solution.
2. Not interested in a workaround. If you read my post you should know that I am able to access the file via other devices already so a workaround that requires installing apps I don't really need or want is not necessary.

Thanks for your input..

I've re-read all posts here and cannot find where anyone has substantiated their claim that Apple fixed this issue. I too am very interested in an Apple solution so I stay active on this topic. The only people who have been successful in opening an MS encrypted file are:

1. Those with iOS < 4.2
2. Those who have installed MS Office or its individual apps on their iOS 4.2 or later device

If anyone is going to state otherwise, pls tell us which iOS you are on. Just saying its working isn't helpful. If anyone claims that all of a sudden its working, tell us which iOS you were running when it didn't work and which iOS you are running when it does work. Working means you are able to successfully open a MS encrypted file within Apple Mail on iOS 4.2 or later and without having MS Office or Excel or Word or Powerpoint on your device.

Hopefully Apple reads these posts so we can get a fix in the next iOS. As of this writing, iOS 4.2.1 is out for phones and 4.2 for iPads.

Hi LindaMGH,

This is very bazaar indeed. In the case that you are on to something, lets try to figure it out, ok? If you don't mind, can you tell us.. ..

1. Which model iPhone are you referring to? We know you are running iOS 14.2
2. Which mail app are you using in this case? Apple Mail or another email app on your phone from a different company or are you going out to an email server and opening it there?
3. Do you have the MS Office app or the Excel app on your phone?
4. Is the password protected Excel file opening from within the Apple Mail app or is it opening from a different app, if so, which one? Once the file is open, you can then see what app its open in.
5. When you open it, is it bringing up a field for you to input your password?
6. If you intentionally enter the wrong password, what happens?
7. How are you opening it? meaning what steps are you taking to open opening it?
8. Is the email account that you use to receive the password protected Excel file, an iCloud account or Gmail, or ?
9. Are you using iCloud for anything on your phone? If so, are you using it for anything that is related to Mail
10. Can you think of anything you did on your phone between the time it would not open until the time it did open? Like installing any other apps or updating any other apps, etc?
11. Do you have automatic background update enabled for any of your apps that might be used when opening files from Mail?

Sorry, I know these are a lot of questions but I believe Apple monitors our posts, well I certainly hope so, and the more info we give, the greater the chance of them substantiating an issue and fixing it but in the meantime, if you can help uncover the secret here, then others can duplicate your process and open their password protect files too like we all used to do before 14.2.

bookbean329, don't hold your breath for a solution from Apple on this issue as it may not actually be a bug, rather an intentional change. Therefore I encourage you to find your own long term solution that you like. I've been able to open password protected files in a few different ways on my iPhone 12 running 14.3

• First: I use iTunes to transfer the file from my computer into my iPhone and then sync ( I have a Mac)
• Second: I simply go to Finder (on a Mac, which is the same as File Explorer on a PC), find the file I want to put on my iPhone, right click it and choose AirDrop (for all you Mac users out there), not sure if a Windows PC support this or has an equivalent. I then AirDrop it which basically just transmits the file over my local network and I accept it on my iPhone and it goes to the Apple Files folder automatically. I like these two methods because my file never has to leave my local network
• Third: I can email the file to myself and then once received, I long press it and get options of which I select Save and it saves it to the Apple Files folder. I don't particularly like to send password protected files via email but this works when I am not at home

Ok, once its on my phone, when I open it, the phone automatically sees the extension as one from Microsoft and since I have the free MS Office app that I downloaded from the Apple App Store on my phone, it opens MS Office and then presents me with the password entry field and subsequently opens the file in its native Microsoft app. It does all this within a second or two or as fast as my fingers can travel.

I have the same issue attempting to open a password protected Excel file via OneDrive app from my iPhone 12. It opens fine if accessed with any other device (non apple). I get the same "Decryption failed. (null)" error whether I try to open it through the OneDrive app or access OneDrive.com using Safari and attempt to open it from there.



Not sure what some of you have done so that you can open encrypted documents directly on your phones/iPads etc. I wonder if you’re actually inadvertently opening it/them in either Numbers/Excel or Pages/Word? Still not working for me when I attempt to open encrypted file directly in Dropbox. I have Excel and Word on my iOS devices but no Office 365 subscription - I can open and read documents but not edit. If I go into Dropbox and attempt to open the file I still get the result as photo below.

I can click on “open” and go to the MS Excel app and open it that way which works fine for me (except it’s an extra step which I don’t need) but it’s irritating that an update should eliminate some functionality. I expect Apple are doing their usual, i.e. not saying anything but working quietly in the background to sort the issue. I haven’t tried the solution of transferring to “files” and opening from there yet as my workaround does the job.

Hi feliciafromnashville,

Thanks for the clarification. I have pasted below what I posted earlier in this thread, see if this works for you. First, sign out of MS Office, I never signed in and it works all day long for me. I'm not saying it won't work if you sign in but if you can do a carbon copy of what worked for me and get it to work for you, then you can experiment from there to find the best way for you. By the way, once I opened the file, the MS Office app copied it and now whether I open it from the Apples Files app or the MS Office app, it opens after putting in my password.

Here is what I wrote. ..

I took the Excel password protected file that I could not open directly from with the Apple Mail app on my iPhone 12 running iOS 14.2 (the same exact file worked fine in 13.6) and instead of opening it, I long pressed it in Mail until I got a pop up menu with choices. I like choices :-) I chose to Save that file in the Apple "Files" app on my phone. The File app comes standard with iOS. I then opened the Files app and tapped the password protected Excel file I just put there, it prompted for a password, I entered it and it opened just fine. 

However, in order to get success, you first have to go to the Apple App store and download the free "Microsoft Office app for iOS", (see pic). Once downloaded to your phone you do not need to sign in to it or even have it open, just the fact that its on the same device as the file you want to open does the trick. The Excel file opened it in Excel.

feliciafromnashville, maybe this will help, you are in the right area and doing the right things but you know how minimalist Apple leaves a bit to figure out on your own :-) Here are four screenshots on my iPhone, do them in number sequence, should work.

I am having the same issue. I receive the error message: Decryption failed(null) when attempting to open a password protected Excel document on iPhone after I updated to ios 14.2. As a software engineer myself, I'm wondering how well you test new versions of updates.

I'm getting the same error message - Decryption failed (null) when attempting to open a password protected Excel doc on my iPhone after recent upgrade to IOS 14.2 I bit surprising as well as disappointing that Apple has not addressed the issue.