Downloading files on iphone

Thankfully, when Apple released iOS 11, they included the Files app, which lets you save files directly onto your phone or manage your cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox. And with iOS 13, you can finally use Safari to download files directly from the internet. This article will dive into all the different file types you can save, how you save them, and, most importantly, answer the question of where your files are being saved. Downloading files you find online can take up a lot of space and quickly fill up your storage.

Use an app like Gemini Photos to find and delete unwanted duplicate pictures and old screenshots to free up space.

One of the most common file types you are likely to receive in an email or find online is PDF. If you want to save a PDF, you can save it and read it offline later thanks to the Books app.

Another common file type you might want to try to open on your phone is a ZIP file. The good news is, thanks to the Files app, you can now download and save ZIP files onto your phone.

Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Open Mail or Messages, whichever has the file you want to download. You may have received a PDF attachment in Mail that you want to save or a friend sent you a video file in Messages that you want to download to your phone. Tap the attachment icon. It will immediately begin downloading. You'll be able to find this file in your Files app in the Downloads folder.

Long-tap a photo or video attachment, then tap Add to Photos. If the attachment is a photo or video, you can touch and hold your finger on the file to save it to your Photos app. Method 2. You can use any mobile web browser to download files, but Safari is recommended. It makes downloading and moving files around a breeze. Because it can tie in to various cloud services, and let you access and move files between them, Documents 5 can be the central location for all your file handling needs.

Documents 5 can even let you move files around folders and cloud services by using a drag and drop gesture. This makes file handling almost as simple as it would be on a desktop computer.

To move a file, simply tap and hold your finger on it, then drag it to your destination of choice. It can be a folder, or a cloud service such as iCloud , Dropbox, etc. No matter how good you are at getting this workflow down, it still feels like downloading files and documents from an iPhone or iPad is a giant pain in the butt. Maybe this will be part of a future software update, especially now that Apple is trying hard to pitch iPad as a work machine. Tap on the Share button, which will bring up the Share sheet.

Download files from a password-protected website The steps mentioned above work great if the file you are trying to download is available publicly from a website.

You can also transfer files between iPhone and other devices by using AirDrop and sending email attachments. Note: To use the Finder to transfer files, macOS With earlier versions of macOS, use iTunes to transfer files.