File Explorer not previewing pdf files since 25H2 update

Paul Nicholson 560 Reputation points
2025-10-15T08:07:37.1033333+00:00

Since installing the 25H2 update to Windows 11, the preview for pdf files is not working.

I just get the following message "The file you are attempting to preview could harm your computer. If you trust the file and the source you received it from, open it to view its contents"

I have tried everything to restore the preview without success.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage
Answer recommended by moderator
Vivekanandan Tiwari 210 Reputation points
2025-10-20T03:18:02.11+00:00

Here is a simple solution that worked for me -

in the file explorer, just disable this check box as shown in the image, this simply worked for me

(This happened on windows 10 as well!)
Screenshot 2025-10-20 084655

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  1. Douglas Bowker 0 Reputation points
    2026-06-11T14:49:21.3866667+00:00

    As of June 2026 it appears this issue may have been (partly) taken care of by Microsoft itself? I'm seeing actual document thumbnails again, which certainly is a big help! *At first I thought the Preview panel was working too but I was mistaken. I also give this problem a better than 50% chance it's an Adobe issue. Acrobat Pro is easily the most bloated piece of software on their entire stable of programs! How can it be that a document app is larger and more complicated than a sophisticated video editor or special fx compositor program?

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  2. Raymond Immigration 15 Reputation points
    2026-01-08T20:23:21.45+00:00

    Hey Everyone (SOLUTION FOUND)

    In Registry Editor (search regedit in taskbar), navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3. 

    Look for key 180F , double click on it and change its value to 0 (if present). 

    This solved the issue for our organization

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  3. Gee Wizard 10 Reputation points
    2025-11-25T04:14:57.4033333+00:00

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  4. Sunny Surella 15 Reputation points
    2025-10-24T01:19:43.82+00:00

    Below solution steps worked for me:

    A) Currently on Windows 11, version 25H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5070773) (26200.6901).
    B) In Defender:

    User's image

    First-

    1. Check if you are missing PreviewHandlers Registry Key, if yes then use below:

    Method 1) Fix: Recreate the Missing PreviewHandlers Registry Key

    Step 1. Open Registry Editor

    1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter

    Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

    Step 2. Create the Missing KeyStep 2. Create the Missing Key
    Right-click Explorer → New → Key.

    Name it exactly: PreviewHandlers

    Step 3. Restore Default Preview Handler Entries Inside PreviewHandlers, create the following String Values (REG_SZ) — you can copy and paste both the names and values exactly:

    Microsoft Office Preview Handler
    {65235197-874B-4A07-BDC5-E65EA825B718}
    Microsoft Office Preview Handler
    {65235197-874B-4A07-BDC5-E65EA825B718}
    Microsoft PDF Preview Handler
    {DC6EFB56-9CFA-464D-8880-44885D7DC193}
    Microsoft Word Preview Handler
    {84F66100-FF7C-4fb4-B0C0-02CD7FB668FE}
    Microsoft Excel Preview Handler
    {00020827-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
    Microsoft PowerPoint Preview Handler
    {65235197-874B-4A07-BDC5-E65EA825B718}
    Microsoft Outlook Mail Preview Handler
    {A776EDEF-81C0-4A3C-BE0A-46E36A9B8E2D}
    Text Preview Handler
    {1531d583-8375-4d3f-b5fb-d23bbd169f22}
    Image Preview Handler
    {FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}

    (You don’t need all of them; adding the Text, PDF, and Image handlers is usually enough.)

    1. It should look like below screenshot: User's image

    Step 4. Restart Explorer

    Either reboot, or open Command Prompt and run:

    taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

    start explorer.exe

    Then test your preview pane again. If it did not work, then use below solution as well:

    I also used Mark Zuber's suggestion and used below method:

    Method 2)

    Automate It for Multiple Common Folders

    If you want this to apply to multiple folders, use a script like this:
    Open Notepad and paste below code:

    User's image

    $folders = @(

    "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads",

    "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents",

    "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop"

    )

    foreach ($folder in $folders) {

    if (Test-Path $folder) {Write-Host "Unblocking files in $folder..." Get-ChildItem -Path $folder -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Unblock-File

    }

    }

    Write-Host "✅ All files have been unblocked successfully."

    Save it as UnblockFiles.ps1, then run it once as Administrator (right-click → Run with PowerShell). This clears MOTW tags from typical folders where downloaded content lives.

    I hope it will help everyone until Microsoft has a fix for it. The above may not be a proper solution, and may not work for everyone. But is a workaround for now and worked for me.

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