How to Fix Can’t Open Attachment in AOL Mail

If you have been facing the issue of “can’t open attachment in AOL mail” or “AOL mail won’t let me open an attachment”, you might be frustrated as it doesn’t allow you to access/view attachments. Furthermore, this issue can be resolved easily. All that is required is some patience and skill. There are several people, who have faced this issue and tried out various methods to resolve the same, but were unsuccessful. Fortunately, in this article, we will tell you what can be done about this issue.

Why You Can’t Open Attachment in AOL Mail

You are not alone if you are unable to open the attachment in AOL Mail. There are many reasons why you may be facing this problem. Here are reasons why you can’t open attachment in AOL Mail:

The file size of the attachment is too large. The maximum file size for attachments is 25 MB, but if your large attachments are more than 25 MB then it will not be able to open properly.

If your file extension is .exe or .com then it cannot be opened by AOL Mail. You need to change the extension from .exe or .com to .zip or .rar and then try opening it again.

If you have a virus or malware installed on your computer, then it might prevent your system from opening any type of attachment properly. To fix this problem, you need to scan your computer with an antivirus software which can detect and remove all kinds of viruses and malware from your system automatically without any hassle at all!

You do not have enough space on your hard drive to save the file. Make sure that you have enough space on your hard drive so that you can save the file without any issues. If there is not enough space on your hard drive then try saving the file on an external device such as USB drive or SD card etc.,

If you are using old software then it might be possible that it might not be able to open some formats of files like DOCX, PPTX etc. You need to update these programs at least once every year so that they don’t become obsolete and stop working with new file formats.

Sometimes when an attachment gets corrupted due to any reason then also users can face issues while opening that particular file which resulted in failure while opening any type of attachments in AOL Mail account. If you get a corrupted file, then it will show an error message saying “Could not open attachment” or “dl-mail.aolmail.com”.

If you have password protected your email account and you want to send an important file then also it does not work because of password protection. Therefore, if you want to send or receive a password-protected file, then first change its settings from ‘password protected’ to ‘not protected’ so that other people can access it easily.

If the file format of your attachment is not compatible with your PC and AOL Mail, then it won’t be able to open the file. For instance, if you have a Mac computer, then only files that have the .docx extension will be able to open in it. 

If your AOL Mail server is down, then you can’t open any attachments with your email client software like Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird etc., Even if it’s not down, if the server is under maintenance, then there could be some issues with opening the attachments on AOL Mail account as well as other email clients where these files have been sent from AOL Mail account account holder!

The reason for this issue is that your account has been hacked by someone else, and they have changed your settings and password. In order to resolve this issue, go to https://login.aol.com/home/security/ and reset your password by following the instructions provided there.

If your account is blocked, then it means that you cannot send or receive emails from other users. You cannot download any attachments either. To unblock your account, contact the AOL customer service team and explain your situation to them. They will unblock your account and restore access to your mails and attachments.

If you have an older version of Internet Explorer or Firefox, then it is possible that the browser is not compatible with the file format of the attachment. To solve this issue, upgrade your browser or install a new one.

Your hardware may be having issues, and it is affecting your Internet connection. If this is the case, then you need to check whether all your hardware is working properly and there are no issues with any of them.

If your hardware is not working properly, then it might affect your email account as well because it has a direct impact on it.

If you have installed any kind of software or software updates on your computer, then there is a high possibility that the AOL mail client might be conflicting with the newly installed software. You should check whether there is any conflict and try to uninstall the software if there is any.

If you have enabled the security feature in your AOL Mail, it will prevent you from opening the attachment. The security feature automatically scans all mails and attachments to ensure that they do not contain any malicious code. If at any point, the security feature detects a malware or virus in your email, it will block it and prevent you from opening it.

AOL Mail has a feature that allows you to block certain file types from being sent or received by your account. If any file type has been blocked by the server, then it will not be able to be opened by any user who is using AOL Mail.

If your internet connection is down, then you will not be able to open any attachment. Sometimes, when your ISP is facing technical issues, it may become impossible to download or send an email. The best way to fix this problem is by calling your ISP and asking them about their current status of service.

Solutions for Can’t Open Attachment in AOL Mail Issue

Check If AOL Mail Server is Down or Not

If you are unable to download the attachments, then first check if the AOL server is down or not by visiting www.aol.com. If the site is up and running then you can move further to other solutions.

If you are an AOL user and have any issue with your email account then you can check the status of AOL mail server on Downdetector.

Downdetector is a website that will help you to find out if AOL mail server is down or not. It can also be used to check the status of other websites too. This website allows you to see live updates of all the major service providers like Google, Twitter and Facebook. You can also see the overall status of the Internet connection in different countries across the globe.

You check AOL mail Server Status on Downdetector follow below given steps:

Step 1: Go to Downdetector.com and type in “Aol.com”

Step 2: Select the country from where you want to check AOL mail server status

Step 3: Now click on the search icon

Step 4: Now you will see if AOL is down or not. 

If AOL server is down, it’s better to wait and if AOL server is not down and you are unable to open attachments, move to the next given solution.

The first thing that you need to do is change file extension for all the attachments in your AOL Mail account. You can do it by following these simple steps:

Step1: Login into your AOL Mail account and go to the “Settings” tab from the top menu bar. 

Step2: Click on the “File Types” link from the left pane and select “Compressed Files” from the drop-down list located on the right side panel of the window. 

Step3: Now click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the window and restart your browser so that changes take effect immediately.

Malware is one of the most common reasons for corrupting your system files, which can lead to various issues in your computer. So, it is suggested that you should remove malware from your system by using a good antivirus software. You can use any of the following antivirus software: Avast Free Antivirus, AVG AntiVirus Free Edition, and Avira Free Antivirus. These three antiviruses will not only protect your computer from malware but also remove any existing malware from your system.

The first thing that you need to do is free up storage space on your device. This will help you avoid the situations where your device fails to load an attachment and instead, it shows a notification saying “dl-mail.aolmail.com”. To do this:

Go to Settings>Storage>Clear Storage>Clear All Data. 

You can also clear cache from the app settings by going to Settings>Apps>All Apps>AOL Mail>Storage>Clear Cache.

Check your software to make sure that it is updated with latest patches, software updates and security fixes. If you do not update your software frequently then there might be an issue with compatibility. So, check if you need to update your software or not.

Sometimes Attachments are corrupted due to many reasons. What you can do is to ask your friend or the sender of the mail to send the attachment again. You can also send a message asking them to resend the attachment. If you have sent this mail from AOL mail, then you can use this method for sending messages as well.

Use your password for the password protected attachments. This will allow you to open those attachments without any issues.

If you have any unused apps or software installed on your device, then it is best to remove those in order to prevent them from conflicting with AOL Mail. To do so:

Go to Settings > Apps > select the app you want to delete and click on ‘Uninstall’. If it is not listed there, then go to Settings > Storage > Clear Cache/Clear Data of the app and try again.

If this is happening with all types of attachments, then it could be the problem with your browser or with the plugin installed on your browser. So, try changing your browser and check if it works now. If yes, then install the same plugin again in another browser and check if it still works there too or not? If yes, then it means that it was an issue with the plugin and not with the browser itself.

To check whether a specific file type is blocked on your account, 

Click “Account Settings” in the top menu bar, and then select “Troubleshooting” under the “Mail Settings” section. 

Next, click on “Blocked File Types” and confirm whether any file type has been blocked by your account. 

If so, remove it from being blocked by clicking on the “Remove” button next to it and selecting “Yes” when asked if you want to remove it permanently or temporarily until further notice from being blocked by your account.

Make sure that your internet connection is working properly, and your system has enough capacity left for downloading the attachment. If there is any problem with the internet connection, then try restarting your device and check if it works properly now.

If you are still not able to open the attachment, then follow the aforementioned processes. In conclusion, I would say that it is definitely a technical issue and can be resolved by figuring out the precise reason behind it. Thereafter, it will not create hurdles in your daily AOL Mail correspondence. So, fix this issue and upgrade your AOL Mail experience.