# How do I change the PDF reader on iPhone? — DocFind Last reviewed: October 7, 2026. HTML version: https://docfindapp.com/answers/change-pdf-reader-on-iphone **Not from Settings: the iPhone's Default Apps list has entries for email, messaging, calling, the browser and a few others, but none for PDFs. The control lives in the Files app instead. Touch and hold a PDF, choose Get Info, and set Always Open With to the app you want; iOS then asks whether that applies to the one file or to the file type.** For a one-off, Open With in the same menu picks an app without changing anything. ## What Settings offers, and what it leaves out

Apple's page on default apps lists what you can swap under Settings, Apps, Default Apps: Email, Messaging, Calling, Call Filtering, Browser App, Translation, Passwords & Codes, Contactless App, Keyboards and Media Sharing Extensions. It adds that "Some app categories, including Maps, Camera, and Music, aren’t available in Default Apps" ([*Change the default apps on iPhone*, iPhone User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphc57feab64/ios), read 7 October 2026). PDFs are not on that list, and the page does not mention them at all. The iOS 26 edition of the page has no PDF entry either; its list stops at Keyboards ([*Change the default apps on iPhone* (iOS 26)](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphc57feab64/26/ios/26), read 7 October 2026).

## Set it in Files: Always Open With

Apple's Files guide has a section titled "Choose a default app for opening a file". Its steps: open Files, "Touch and hold the file, then choose Get Info", then "Below the Preview, tap the pop-up menu next to Always Open With, then select an app." Apple adds: "When you select a new default app to open the file, a prompt appears to verify if you want to change the default app for that file or file type" ([*Find and view files and folders in Files on iPhone*, iPhone User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/find-and-view-files-and-folders-iphe4bff8827/ios), read 7 October 2026). So choosing the file type is how one setting covers every PDF.

A version note: the same section appears on the iOS 26 edition of that page, but the iOS 18 edition has no default-app section ([*Find files and folders in Files on iPhone* (iOS 18)](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphe4bff8827/18.0/ios/18.0), read 7 October 2026). If Get Info shows no Always Open With menu on your phone, check which iOS it runs.

## Pick an app once: Open With

From the same Files page, "Touch and hold the file you want to open", then "Choose Open With from the menu, then choose an option." To look at a PDF without leaving Files, the same menu offers Preview with Quick Look. Apple also notes that "If you haven’t installed the app that created a file, a preview of the file opens in Quick Look" (the *Find and view files and folders* page above), which is why a tapped PDF often opens in a plain viewer rather than an app.

## What opens a PDF when you have not chosen

It depends on where you tap it. In Safari, Apple's steps for saving a PDF start with "Go to the PDF", so the browser shows it first ([*Download a PDF from Safari to your iPhone*, iPhone User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/download-a-pdf-ipha9ed5131c/ios), read 7 October 2026). In Mail, Apple's Preview guide says you "can tap the attached file in the Mail app to open and complete the form in Preview" ([*Open and view PDFs and images in Preview on iPhone*, iPhone User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/open-and-view-pdfs-and-images-iph7a0cdad0c/ios), read 7 October 2026). That Preview guide is published for iOS 27 and iOS 26 only.

## Send a PDF to a particular app

The Share button is the other route, and it moves a copy into the app you pick. For Books, Apple's steps are "Tap the PDF attachment to open it", then tap the Share button "then tap Books from the list options" ([*Read PDF documents in the Books app on iPhone*, iPhone User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/read-pdfs-iphab2193d5/ios), read 7 October 2026). For Notes: "Touch and hold the file, tap the Share button, tap Notes, choose a note, then tap Save" ([*Work with PDFs in Notes on iPhone*, iPhone User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iph8958dd125/ios), read 7 October 2026). Our [Books walk-through](https://docfindapp.com/answers/add-pdf-to-apple-books-library) covers what happens after the PDF lands there.

## Which reader to choose

That depends on what you do with the files. Reading, highlighting and signing need nothing extra; [the free readers page](https://docfindapp.com/answers/free-pdf-readers) lists what each one offers without paying, and [choosing a PDF app by job](https://docfindapp.com/answers/which-app-is-best-for-pdf-viewer) covers the rest.

Related: [Open PDF files in Safari on iPhone](https://docfindapp.com/answers/open-pdf-files-in-safari-on-iphone) · [Add a PDF to Apple Books](https://docfindapp.com/answers/add-pdf-to-apple-books-library) · [Where is the Files folder on iPhone?](https://docfindapp.com/answers/where-is-the-files-folder-on-iphone) · [The default PDF reader on Android](https://docfindapp.com/answers/the-default-pdf-reader-for-android)