How to Use ZArchiver on Android | File Compression Tutorial (Updated July 2026)

You just got a ZIP file on your phone and tapped it. Nothing happened. Or worse, your built-in file manager said "format not supported." Frustrating, isn't it?

That's the moment most people give up or start searching for a desktop computer. You don't need one. ZArchiver handles it all right on your Android device, and this ZArchiver tutorial shows you exactly how to do it without touching a laptop.

ZArchiver is a free archive manager for Android developed by ZDevs, a small independent team that has been maintaining and updating this compression tool since 2012. It opens and creates nearly every compressed file format you'll run into: ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, and dozens more that your phone's built-in file manager won't even recognize. No ads, no account signups, no internet required. It just works.

By the end of this ZArchiver guide, you'll know how to extract files, create your own compressed archives, handle password-protected RARs and ZIPs, and work with multi-part archives. All from your phone.

Before You Start: Install ZArchiver on Android

First, download ZArchiver. Search for "ZArchiver" on APKPure. The app is lightweight, usually around 5MB, and installs in seconds.

ZArchiver

ZDevs

ZArchiver is a file management app that creates, opens, and edits compressed archives on Android.

Gaming Tools Productivity

Download (4.9 MB)

After installing, open ZArchiver. You'll see a file browser that looks a lot like your phone's built-in file manager. Tap the three-line menu icon in the top-left corner, then tap "Internal storage" to start browsing your phone's files.

One thing to know: when you first open ZArchiver, Android might ask for storage permission. You need to grant this. Without it, the app can't see your files. Tap "Allow" and you're ready to go.

Why can't you just use your phone's default file manager for this stuff? Because Android's built-in tools only handle ZIP files, and even then, not always well if the archive uses certain compression methods or contains files with non-Latin character names. ZArchiver supports over 30 formats, including RAR, RAR5, 7Z, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, and ISO.

How to Extract ZIP and RAR Files with ZArchiver

This is what you're probably here for. Someone sent you a compressed file, and you want to open it. Here's how.

Open ZArchiver and navigate to the folder where your compressed file lives. Most downloads go to the "Download" folder, which you can reach by tapping Internal storage and then scrolling down until you see the Download directory in the file list.
Tap the compressed file once. A menu slides up from the bottom.
Tap "Extract here" to extract everything into the current folder. Or tap "Extract to..." if you want to pick a different location.
If the archive has a password, ZArchiver asks for it before extracting. Type it in and tap OK.
Wait a few seconds. The extraction bar shows progress. When it's done, your files are right there in the folder.

That's it. No extra steps, no weird workarounds. ZArchiver supports extracting RAR, RAR5, ZIP, 7Z, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, ISO, and at least 20 other formats, so whatever compressed file you get, it can probably handle it.

One neat trick: you don't always have to extract everything. Tap the archive file and you can browse inside it first. If you only need one photo from a ZIP full of 50, long-press that single file and tap "Extract selected." Saves time and storage space.

How to Preview Files Without Extracting

Full extraction isn't always the smartest move, especially when an archive is huge and you only want one document. Downloading a 2GB ZIP just to pull out a single PDF wastes both time and phone storage.

When you tap an archive in ZArchiver, it opens like a folder. You can scroll through the file list, tap individual images to preview them, and check file sizes. All without writing anything to your storage. This preview works for ZIP, 7Z, RAR, TAR, and most other formats ZArchiver supports.

For photos and screenshots inside archives, ZArchiver shows them right in the app when you tap on them, which means you can check if a photo is the right one before committing to a full extraction of an entire folder's worth of files. For videos and documents, tapping opens them with whatever app your phone normally uses for that file type.

How to Create a ZIP or 7Z Archive with ZArchiver

Compressing files yourself is useful when you want to email a folder of work documents, share a batch of vacation photos without hitting attachment size limits, or just free up storage space by archiving things you don't need to access every day. Here's how to create a compressed archive.

Navigate to the folder containing the files or folders you want to compress.
Long-press the first item to select it. Then tap other files or folders to add them to your selection. Or tap the three-dot menu and choose "Multi-select" if you're picking a bunch of items at once.
After selecting everything, tap the green checkmark button at the bottom-right.
A menu appears. Tap "Compress."
Now pick your format. ZIP is the safest choice. Every device on earth can open a ZIP file. Choose 7Z if you want better compression, which means smaller file sizes, plus support for password protection and split archives.
Give your archive a name. Pick a destination folder if you don't want it saved to the current location.
Tap OK. ZArchiver creates the archive and you're done.

The default save location for new archives is ZArchiver's own folder under Android/data. If you can't find your new ZIP file, check there. Or better, tap "Show in folder" after the compression finishes and move it somewhere easier to find.

How to Create Password-Protected Archives

Sometimes you need to lock things down. Maybe you're sending work documents over email or storing personal files you don't want anyone else to open if they borrow your phone. ZArchiver lets you add password protection to your archives, and setting it up is straightforward.

When you're at the compression settings screen (the one where you pick the format and name), look for the password field. Type your password, confirm it, and continue. The archive gets encrypted so only someone with the password can open it.

A couple of security notes: ZArchiver uses AES encryption for password protection, which is the same industry-standard encryption algorithm used by banks and governments worldwide. The developer explicitly states that password recovery is impossible. If you forget yours, the files are gone. Write it down somewhere safe or use a password manager.

For the strongest encryption, choose 7Z format. ZIP's password protection is older and less secure. It's still fine for most casual use.

How to Handle Multi-Part (Split) Archives

Ever downloaded something and ended up with a bunch of files named .001, .002, .003 instead of a single archive? Those are split archives, and Android's built-in tools won't touch them. ZArchiver handles them just fine.

To extract a split archive:

Make sure you have ALL the parts in the same folder. If you're missing part 3 of 4, the extraction fails.
Tap the FIRST part, specifically the one ending in .001 or .part1.rar. Never start with part 2 or 3.
Tap "Extract here" or "Extract to..." like you normally would.
ZArchiver automatically reads all the parts and stitches them together during extraction. That's it.

This is especially handy for large game data files and software distributions that commonly use split archives to stay under file size limits on hosting services.

When Things Go Wrong: Common ZArchiver Issues

Not ideal, but stuff happens. Here are the most common problems and what to do about them.

"Can't open file" or "Unsupported format". ZArchiver handles most formats, but a few obscure ones slip through. First, make sure the file isn't corrupted by downloading it again. Second, check if the file extension is wrong. Someone might have renamed a PDF as a ZIP, which confuses everything.
Password prompt but no password. Sorry, there's no backdoor here. ZArchiver's AES encryption is real. Ask the sender for the password or try common ones if the archive came from a public source.
Extraction freezes or is extremely slow. Large archives take time, especially on older phones with limited RAM. If it's a multi-gigabyte 7Z file, give it a few minutes. If ZArchiver seems completely stuck, force-close the app and try extracting to a folder with more free space.
Can't find your compressed file after creating it. ZArchiver saves new archives to its own directory by default. From the main screen, go to Internal storage > Android > data > ru.zdevs.zarchiver > files > Archive. Next time, tap "Extract to..." or "Compress to..." and choose a folder you'll remember.

Conclusion

That's the full picture. ZArchiver does what your phone's built-in file manager can't: open any compressed file anyone sends you, create password-protected archives, and handle the weird edge cases like split RAR files and 30-format archives.

If you haven't installed it yet, you can download ZArchiver on APKPure. The latest version is on the download card below. The app stays small, runs offline, and doesn't pester you with ads or subscriptions.

Once you have it set up, try this: the next time someone sends you a weird compressed file format, don't reach for a laptop. You already have what you need.