Can't open Word attachments. How to fix?

Is this the "Vault" app that you are talking about?

You should not have to open it in any app at all in order to read the attachment. It should download nd open right in the mail app. After the document opens, you should have the option to "open in" any other apps that you have on your devices that will save/edit/view Word documents.

If the files have the .doc or the .docx extensions that Lyssa is describing, they should open in the mail app. You must have the Vault app on your devices, do you not?

Demo -

I found a thread somewhere here (think it was in an iPhone forum...) about .docm files not opening properly - hence my question.

I've also found that third-party mail apps (such as Mailbox & the Gmail app), don't always play nice with certain types of attachments. The built-in Mail app tends to handle attachments in general a bit better.

~Lyssa

Does the attachment include the name of the document? Usually the very end will have the extension.

The name should be something like Laundry list.doc.

What happens if you press and hold a finger on the attachment? Do you get a list of options for what you can use to open the attachment? If so, and one of them is Mail, try picking it to see if that helps.

If your'e not seeing the name of the file and the extension, it may be worth removing The Vault from one device, just to see if you can open the attachments as usual. If so, that suggests a problem with how the app was designed to work with iOS.

~Lyssa

The ones I have trouble opening don't have the name of the document. When they do, I don't have a problem opening them. Usually it has an open to open in mail or open in The Vault. I'll try your suggestion. I'm reluctant to remove The Vault from my device because it contains all my passwords -- a hassle to recreate.

Thanks! Hope it works.

If you're not seeing the file extension, perhaps it would be worth keeping track of who is sending you the attachments you can't open properly. It may be an issue with the email program they're using or something similar.

~Lyssa

What extension does the Word document have? Is it just .doc or .docx? Or is it .docm?

~Lyssa

It's a good question and it makes sense. I even didn't think of it. Sometimes I assume when I shouldn't. I'm anxious to hear back from Ronni24 now.