djaneb

Q: Can't view pdf attachments within mail apps

iPhone 6P / iPad Air 2

both running iOS 9.3.1

 

Previously, when I tapped on an attachment in the Mail app I could view it. Now, it only downloads an image of the first page (which means I don't even have the option of opening into a pdf reader. All other attachment types can be previewed as always (including images and spreadsheets.

 

This also occurs to some extent in other mail apps, but the behaviour differs - sometimes it is just an image, at other times the whole pdf downloads but opens with a placeholder saying "PDFReader File", with its size, on a grey background. At least I can then open into another app. The apps that behave this way are Outlook, Dispatch and Airmail.

 

Spark works as previously - I can view pdf files within Spark without opening into another reader.

 

I tried deleting Spark, in case it was the issue, but nothing changed.

 

All pdf readers are behaving normally (PDF Expert and Documents). I tried deleting Documents because it was a recent install, but it also made no difference.

 

This is occurring on both iOS devices I use, and my husband's iPhone 6 as well.

 

What I have noticed in Mail that when I tap to download the iBooks icon fleetingly appears and I'm wondering if it has something to do with that.

 

I've tried a few other things, looked in settings, rebooted etc etc, but to no avail. It only started a few weeks ago so am wondering if something was introduced in the last update.

 

Many thanks if you can offer any advice or next steps.

 

Deb

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 9.3.1

Posted on Apr 17, 2016 2:14 PM

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Q: Can't view pdf attachments within mail apps

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  • by BaryBazz,

    BaryBazz BaryBazz Jul 7, 2016 10:04 AM in response to Ritetrack
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 7, 2016 10:04 AM in response to Ritetrack

    I also have the same issue on my iPad but can view the PDFs on my iPhone , very strange anyone have a solution yet.

    barry

  • by Ritetrack,

    Ritetrack Ritetrack Jul 7, 2016 10:31 AM in response to BaryBazz
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPad
    Jul 7, 2016 10:31 AM in response to BaryBazz

    I wish I did have a solution but its been 3 months and everything I've tried is to no avail.  Really affects my work.  Wish Apple would chime in and help out.  So for now all I can do is to commiserate with you and hope someone comes up with a solution.

  • by BaryBazz,

    BaryBazz BaryBazz Jul 7, 2016 2:50 PM in response to Ritetrack
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 7, 2016 2:50 PM in response to Ritetrack

    OK thanks shame

  • by ctaggie,

    ctaggie ctaggie Jul 19, 2016 9:30 AM in response to djaneb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 19, 2016 9:30 AM in response to djaneb

    I Am having the same issue.  Apple must fix this quickly, it is crippling to me being able to conduct business on my phone.  I am about to have to do the unthinkable and get an android.  why does Apple hate pdf's?

  • by BolivarAquino,

    BolivarAquino BolivarAquino Jul 20, 2016 9:13 AM in response to djaneb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 20, 2016 9:13 AM in response to djaneb

    I might have found the problem. So, it happens that I had used the default Mail app of my iMac to send the attachments. What I did is that I sent the Attachment from the Default Gmail website, and the recipient in this case got it to work correctly. Also another problem was that he was using a user@website. com email, I sent it to his Gmail account instead.

  • by lauriell,

    lauriell lauriell Jul 25, 2016 2:22 AM in response to Tiago_NL
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 25, 2016 2:22 AM in response to Tiago_NL

    You are a Champion ! I have had this problem for the last month or so and has been driving me crazy.  Called Apple support today and did a restore on my iPad which looked to work until all my apps downloaded.

    After reading your post it was Bamboo Spark !

    Deleted it and did a restart and all is good !

     

    Thanks for posting the fix !

  • by TotoleHeros1000,

    TotoleHeros1000 TotoleHeros1000 Aug 15, 2016 4:30 AM in response to lauriell
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 15, 2016 4:30 AM in response to lauriell

    Bambo Spark was the guilty guy here too! Thanks!

  • by z owner,

    z owner z owner Aug 15, 2016 1:13 PM in response to z owner
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 15, 2016 1:13 PM in response to z owner

    Update.

     

    I went to the Apple store about a month ago (again) and I have an update. The Apple genius confirmed what we all knew, that PDFs were not able to be read on my iPhone or iPad, each upgraded to the current iOS. I went to the store, based on an idea from a colleague, that I would try to downgrade the iOS on one of my iPads to a prior version. I was disappointed to learn that that is not possible, at least through the Apple Store.

     

    After further discussion with the genius, I said that I was willing to have one of my iPads completely erased and set up as a new device. She proceeded to completely erase the iPad and then set it up as a entirely new device. That is, as if it were new and out-of-the-box. Most importantly, I did not restore my content or applications from my back up. This is a complete nuke of the device--erase all content and settings. Then plug in to the computer and fired up iTunes and set the device to set up as new. Do not restore from your backup (though I did make a new backup before doing this, just in case I needed it).

     

    I then signed in to iCloud and set up my Apple Mail account. Surprisingly, I was able to read PDFs. That was the good news. The other news is that I had none of my content or applications on the iPad. I began to selectively restore just a minimal number applications (about 20-30) from the Apple Store and so far, so good.

     

    Further update. Just a few days ago, after several weeks of this fix working, I tried it on my other iPad, a 9.7 iPad Pro. Complete erase of everything, restore as new while plugged into iTunes, download only selected previously purchased apps from Apple's App Store. All has been working for about a week on this device and i can read and save PDFs as normal. If this continues, I will nuke my iPhone and try the same thing. The solution is radical and takes some time to get everything back and workable, but it does seem to be a solution for me.

     

    This solution suggests that it is possible one of my applications causes the bug.

     

    I am cautiously optimistic the solution will continue to work. At this point, you may want to try the solution on a non-critical device or if you are desperate.

  • by xavisch,

    xavisch xavisch Sep 2, 2016 12:58 AM in response to TotoleHeros1000
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 2, 2016 12:58 AM in response to TotoleHeros1000

    I had the same problem after installing the bamboo app with my iphone. First I tried to upgrade to 9.3.5, but it did not help. I installed the outlook app to be able to read PDF in email at least until a solution is known.

    However there is an update in the app store today (inkspace, bamboo spark), I downloaded it and the problem seems to be solved.

    On my iPad -where the bamboo app is not installed- I never got the problem.

  • by Nolo in Texas,

    Nolo in Texas Nolo in Texas Sep 27, 2016 2:32 PM in response to djaneb
    Level 1 (13 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 27, 2016 2:32 PM in response to djaneb

    The solutions proposed in this chain of responses do not work. This is maddening.  Opening PDFs is a basic necessity for the business user. This is an unacceptable defect. I'm thinking about throwing this phone (6s+) away and getting an android.

     

    This problem persists on my iPhone; not on my iPad or my mac. Why?!?!?!

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