Ability to UnZip Zip files in GOS / AOSP File Manager

Themble

Sorry for asking again, but I don't get it.
When I tap the zip file I am offered several apps to open the file with, but none of them is useful for the operation.
Under the three dots in the right corner there is no unpack option.

Lusca

Themble Navigate to the .zip in the Files app. Tap on the .zip to enter the archive. Press and hold to select your files and then press the three dots at the top right and press Extract to

Themble

Lusca Tap on the .zip to enter the archive.

When I do that I am offered a bunch of apps to open the archive with. None of them is useful at that moment. I cannot access the content of the archive through the files app.

Sigismund

Themble When I do that

When you do what exactly?

It works as described. I just tested making an archive and then decompressing the files using the standard Files app from GOS. Looks like you may have messed with system app permissions and or some settings as it simply works.

Lusca

Themble You might have better luck with Material Files. Let us know what happens when you try to open it with this.

Material Files

Dumdum

Sigismund When you do what exactly?

The thing that they quoted.

GrapheneOSuser74

The mentioned method only works when you trying to unzip .zip files. If you try to unzip .rar file, you will need to get a specific app for this.

Sigismund

Dumdum ah yes. The unspoken rule of the internet. If two people say it, it must be true..

Dumdum

Sigismund
Not really a matter of being true, but instead a matter of how clear they were. The quote made it very clear. If it wasn't clear for you, then that's unfortunate I suppose.

Sigismund

Dumdum Not really a matter of being true, but instead a matter of how clear they were. The quote made it very clear. If it wasn't clear for you, then that's unfortunate I suppose.

Oh you sweet summer child..

Just because a person online tells you they did X, exactly as you instructed them, it's often a wise move to ask them to describe exactly what they did, step by step. But it takes some experience to know this.

Themble

Trank you all for your help but I think I found the problem. Although the downloaded file had a .zip it was marked as BIN instead of as Archive.

Dumdum

Themble
Bizarre, but at least its sorted.

Grapi

If you want a reliable zip/unzip tool on Android, you really need a separate app made for archiving. It's a shame that in 2025, Android still doesn't handle this well by default - and even worse, Android itself (Files app) and many archiving apps don’t preserve timestamps when packing or unpacking files. That’s a big problem if you care about keeping file dates intact.

Some apps say they support timestamp preservation, but they either only work partly or are uncomfortable to use.

I found only one app that truly works and keeps timestamps correctly, even for folders: RAR for Android by RARLAB.

https://www.win-rar.com/rar-for-android.html

It’s not open source, but it’s made by a trusted developer. If you care about file dates, this is the one to use.

I often use RAR to back up my entire user profile, including all folders. Combined with the export features available in many apps, it’s a practical backup solution, especially since we still don’t have a reliable native option built into GrapheneOS.