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How to open .EML files on iOS

To open .EML files on iOS, open the .eml from the Files app and use Share to send it to a mail app or transfer it to a desktop email client if your iOS apps only show raw source or can’t preview it.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Open the .eml from the Files app and use Share to send it to a mail app or transfer it to a desktop email client if your iOS apps only show raw source or can’t preview it.

Alternative methods

  • Open .EML in a browser-based viewer if desktop apps fail.
  • Try opening .EML on iOS with a secondary app to rule out app-specific issues.
  • Convert .EML only with trusted tools when direct opening is not possible.

Common issues

The .EML file opens as unreadable raw text

This typically happens when the file is opened in a plain text editor that does not interpret RFC 5322 headers and MIME parts (HTML body, attachments).

  1. Open the .eml with an email client/viewer instead of a text editor.
  2. If you must inspect it manually, use a text editor only to verify headers, and extract attachments using a mail client that understands MIME.

Double-click opens the .EML in the wrong program

File associations may be set incorrectly (for example, not associated with message/rfc822 or mapped to a generic editor).

  1. On Windows: right-click → Open with → choose Outlook (or another mail client), and set it as the default for .eml if offered.
  2. On Linux: change the default application for message/rfc822 or the *.eml association via your desktop environment settings (shared MIME-info).

Outlook won’t open the .EML as expected

Different Outlook versions and configurations (including the new Outlook) can behave differently when opening .eml files.

  1. Use Microsoft’s documented method for opening .eml in the new Outlook (see Further reading).
  2. If one method fails (e.g., double-click), try opening from within Outlook or using Open with from File Explorer.

Attachments are missing or won’t open

The .eml may be incomplete/corrupted, or the message’s MIME structure may not have been preserved during download/transfer.

  1. Re-download or re-export the .eml from the original source to ensure the full message is saved.
  2. Open the .eml in a mail client that supports MIME so attachments are recognized and extracted correctly.

Security note

.EML files can contain links, HTML content, and attachments via MIME; treat them like opening an email—be cautious with unexpected senders and do not open attachments you don’t trust.

Back to .EML extension page