This article was written by Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions.
The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work.
This article has been viewed 183,804 times.
This wikiHow teaches you how to unpack a ZIP file on your Android using an app called WinZip.
Steps
-
1Open the Play Store. Look for the white briefcase icon with a multicolored triangle on the home screen. If you don’t see it, you’ll find it in the app drawer.
-
2Search for winzip. Type it into the search box at the top of the screen, then press the Enter or search key on your keyboard. A list of matches will appear.
-
3Select WinZip – Zip UnZip Tool. Its icon is a yellow file cabinet inside of a gray vice grip. WinZip’s Play Store home page will appear.
-
4Tap INSTALL. A pop-up will appear, asking you to give WinZip permission to access your files.
-
5Tap ACCEPT. WinZip will now install on your Android. When the installation is complete, the “INSTALL” button will change to “OPEN.”
-
6Open WinZip. If you’re still at the Play Store, tap the OPEN button. If not, look for the WinZip icon on your home screen or in the app drawer.
-
7Scroll left through the features. When you reach the end, you’ll see a button that says “Start.”
-
8Tap Start. Now you’ll see a list of Storage folders on your Android. The folders will vary by device, but you may see one for your SD card and another for internal storage.
-
9Select your ZIP file. You’ll have to browse through the folders until you find it. When you tap the file, its contents will appear on the screen.
-
10Tap a file to open it. If you don’t want to extract the files to your device, you can open any of the files by tapping it now. As long as it’s a file type that’s supported by Android, you’ll be able to view it without any problems.[1]
- If the files are encrypted, you’ll need to enter the encryption password before you can view them.
-
11Select the files you want to unzip. To quickly select all files in the ZIP, tap the square at the top-right corner of the file list. This should add check marks to every file in the list.
-
12Tap the unzip button. It’s the first icon (after the ZIP file name) at the top of the screen.
-
13Follow the prompts to unzip the file. You’ll have to select a folder on your device to store the files. Once the files are extracted, you can access them easily using an Android file manager or a supported app.
Community Q&A
-
QuestionHow can I extract a zip file without an SD card?
Mohd YounusCommunity AnswerYou can look in Google Play Store by searching "Zip file".
References
About This Article
1. Download WinZip from the 'Play Store.
2. Open WinZip.
3. Scroll through the features and tap Start.
4. Select your zip file.
5. Select files to extract.
6. Tap the unzip icon.
