MacBooks and iPad failing to open xls-file in Numbers, why?

StenLj wrote:

If .xls is obsolete then Numbers should tell me!

And : Some users may have stored information in .xls format. And want to use it after several years.

The .xslx format was adopted around 2007. How far back do you want Numbers to have to go?

.xlsx is safer in the sense that, unlike the older .xls, it doesn't support embedded macros that could contain malicious code.

The older .xls is proprietary, designed for Microsoft Windows. Its only advantage is that ancient versions of Excel on the PC that can't read .xlsx can read .xls.

.xlsx is more open and accessible across platforms.

But most banks offer .csv as a download choice. If you have the choice why not go with that?

SG

.xls is a really old format that Numbers doesn't support.

For years now the preferred extension has been .xlsx.

Instead of .xls does Handelsbanken provide the option of downloading .csv?

If so then try that.

SG

Your best bet for Excel compatibility is Excel itself.

You said LibreOffice opens the file. Can you then save it in a newer Excel format that Numbers will import? I realize this is not an optimal solution but we are users like yourself so the best we can do in cases like this is offer workarounds for limitations.