How to open & Uncompress Zip Files on iPhone & iPad
You can easily unzip and uncompress zip files archives on iPhone and iPad, directly from the Files app.
This makes it easier than ever to access data and files stored within any zip file, and you don’t need any third-party apps or tools to open the zip archive.
Decompressing a zip archive and opening the zip file is super easy in iPadOS and iOS with the Files app. This tutorial will walk through that process of extracting these archives on an iPhone or iPad.
How to open & Uncompress Zip Files on iPhone & iPad
- Open the Files app on iPhone or iPad
- Navigate to the Zip file you want to open and unzip
- Tap and hold on the zip archive file name, then choose “Uncompress” from the options in the pop-up menu
- Wait a moment for the unzipped file contents to appear in the same folder in Files app as the original zip archive
- Repeat with other zip files you wish to unzip if necessary
Small zip files will unzip and uncompress zip files basically instantly in the Files app. For large zip files, it may take a moment or two before the uncompress zip files of all contents.
If you have uncompressed zip files archive that you know has tons of files contained within it, it may be a good idea to make a new folder in the Files app, then move and relocate the zip file to that newly created folder before uncompressing it.
This feature is incredibly helpful if you have downloaded zip files from Safari, saved from an email attachment, or saved zip files to the device or iCloud Drive and wants to check it out, decompress the archive, and take a look at the contents.
Of course, you can also now just as easily create zip files archives on iPhone and iPad with files app too.
These archive management features are only available on modern versions of iOS and ipadOS, so you’ll need version 13 or later to have the ability to create, unzip, and modify zip files archives directly from Files app on iPhone or iPad. Previous versions of iOS could still accomplish these feats with third-party apps, however, so if you’re running an earlier system software release on your device you can still manage to interact with zip archives but it’s a more cumbersome process requiring third-party app downloads.
This is pretty simple as you can see, and while it’s not as easy as opening zip files on Mac with a simple double-click, it’s still an easy process. The Mac also has an easy ability to create zip files in Finder too.
Do you use the new unzip features of the Files app to uncompress archives on your iPhone or iPad? Do you use a different approach to manage zip files archive in iOS and ipadOS? Share with us your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
