A Microsoft file hosting and synchronization service.
OneDrive and SharePoint on Android can show this kind of message for PDF files when the app cannot get proper access to the file or when the way PDFs are opened is not supported in the mobile viewer.
Based on the documented behavior and fixes, try these steps on Android:
- Check storage permissions for OneDrive
- Open Android Settings → Permission Manager → Files and media.
- Select OneDrive.
- Temporarily set permission to Deny.
- Open the OneDrive app and try to open the PDF again.
- When prompted, choose Allow or Enable permissions so OneDrive gets full access to device storage again.
- Test opening the same PDF directly from OneDrive and from a SharePoint library synced in OneDrive.
- Use the browser when the app cannot open the shared link
- If the PDF is opened from a link that someone shared, and the OneDrive app asks to open it in a browser, follow that prompt.
- Some links (for example, from another organization, older links, or links without explicit permission) must open in the mobile browser instead of the OneDrive app to complete security checks.
- Be aware of PDF limitations in mobile Office viewers
- When a PDF is opened via SharePoint/OneDrive using Office Web Apps/Office Online Server in a mobile browser, the Word Mobile viewer does not support viewing PDFs and can show an error.
- In such cases, open the PDF with a dedicated PDF app on Android (after downloading) or via the browser’s built‑in viewer instead of the Word Mobile viewer.
- If the PDF is protected (IRM/AIP)
- If the PDF is rights‑protected (for example, from Microsoft Purview/Azure Information Protection) and does not open properly in standard apps, install the Azure Information Protection mobile viewer from Google Play and open the protected file with that app.
If, after correcting storage permissions and trying the browser path, PDFs still only open when downloaded locally, collect an example link and environment details and contact Microsoft technical support for OneDrive/SharePoint for deeper investigation.
References:
- Unable to open email attachments in OneDrive for Android
- Why don't all links that people share with me open in the OneDrive app?
- Mobile viewing PDF files with Office Web Apps
- View protected files with Microsoft Purview Information Protection viewer
- Use OneDrive on Android and iOS devices
- Access your files on any device