How to Open RAR Files on iPhone & iPad

Although ZIP and RAR files allow you to conserve space and speed up data transfer, opening them on your iPhone or iPad is not very user-friendly. We’ve described what these files are and how to open RAR files on iPhone.

Check out how to open RAR files on iPhone

Note: iPhone can’t natively open RAR files, though it can open ZIP files.

Before you learn how to open RAR files on iPhone, you should be using a popular file management app named iZip to manage the RAR files. Before following the procedures below, ensure you have the most recent version of iZip downloaded and installed from the App Store.

Here’s how to use iZip to extract RAR files on iPhone

On your iPhone or iPad, open iZip.

Then, from the app’s main menu, select “Document Browser.”

This will open your iPhone’s native file browser. By default, you’ll see your recent files, but you may go to the bottom menu and select “Browse” to find a specific file.

Using the file browser, navigate to the directory where the RAR file is located and select it.

This will return you to iZip and notify you that the file has been imported. To continue, tap “Yes.”

Afterward, you’ll see a preview of the file’s contents. For unzipping the files, you’ll also get a confirmation window. “OK” should be tapped.

The extracted files will instantly appear in the app. To see the files separately, simply touch on them.

What are ZIP and RAR files | Advantages and disadvantages

It’s important to know that the ZIP file format is the most widely used. To archive and transport data, ZIP and RAR files are utilized. Typically, they contain one or more compressed files or directories. When downloading from the internet, you may come across ZIP or RAR files. Before you can utilize these files, your computer, iPhone, iPad, or another device must first be able to extract the compressed data. Unzipping is a popular term for this procedure.

What is the distinction between ZIP and RAR archives?

There are several similarities between ZIP and RAR files. They condense their information into a single file that can be readily transmitted and securely protected. There are actually a few significant variations between them.

RAR files compress data more efficiently than ZIP files, resulting in reduced file sizes. RAR is also a proprietary format. Therefore, developers must get a license to utilize it. ZIP is significantly more used since it is open-source.

How to use the Files app to open ZIP files?

Note: Must be running on iOS 13, iPadOS, or later.

You can open ZIP files natively if your device is running iOS 13, iPadOS, or later. Go to Settings > General > About and look at the Files app on your iPhone. The Files app supports native ZIP file opening.

Using Files to open ZIP files:

On the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, open the Files app.

Locate and open the ZIP file.

To extract contents of the ZIP file, simply tap it.

Alternatively, you may pick Uncompress from the menu by tapping and holding the ZIP file.

To wrap up

Now you know that you can extract and read the contents of a ZIP or RAR file on your iPhone and iPad using these techniques. Keep in mind that regardless of what OS version your device is running, you’ll need third-party apps like iZip or Unzip to extract and open RAR on iPhone because the native Files app is currently incapable of doing so.

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