Cannot view any search pages in safari other than page 1 on my iPad.
why does safari want to download a file instead of opening the next page on my ipad.
iPad Pro, iPadOS 26
That sounds more like an issue with the particular search site than Safari intentionally downloading the next results page.
I’d first try the same search in a Private Browsing tab. If page 2 works there, cached website data or an extension/content blocker may be involved.
If it happens there too, which search engine are you using, and what’s the name or extension of the file Safari tries to download? That would help narrow down whether the site is sending Safari a download instead of a normal webpage.