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Can't open Word attachments. How to fix?

When someone sends me a Word document in an email, I can't open it on my IPhone or IPad. It asks me if I want to open it in an app called The Vault, which is not a word document. How do I fix this?

iPhone 3GS

Posted on Feb 10, 2014 5:23 PM

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Posted on Feb 10, 2014 5:38 PM

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


User uploaded file


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.

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Question marked as Best reply

Feb 10, 2014 5:38 PM in response to Ronni24

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


User uploaded file


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.

Feb 10, 2014 6:13 PM in response to Demo

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

Feb 10, 2014 7:39 PM in response to Ronni24

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

Feb 15, 2014 4:33 PM in response to 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.

Can't open Word attachments. How to fix?

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