How to Open RAR Files on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android?

Learn how to open RAR files on your system in numerous ways. We know the best tools, apps, programs, and software to help you open these files without any hassle. 

For the users of Mac, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, iPhone and Android, we have gathered superb methods to open and extract these files. And just in case you witness an error in opening the RAR files, you can rely on our assistance to overcome them. 

Take a look at the topics this blog will cover.

How to Open RAR Files on Mac?

“How do I unzip a RAR file on Mac?” Are you finding an answer to the same question? If you are, then you can access the RAR extractor app. This app will make it smooth for you to open and extract the files.

The steps for accessing this app on your Mac for opening the files have been provided below.

1. On your Mac computer, visit the location of the “.rar” file.

2. To open the file, click twice on it.

3. In the menu, you will find several apps for opening this file.

Note: In case a message saying “File Cannot Be Opened” shows up, press “Share”. The menu will open again. You will be able to see the apps for opening the file.

4. Choose the free RAR extractor app. Then hit “Enter”.

5. Click on “Extract”. This will enable you to access the compressed file. Thereafter, you can find the various files compressed in this file.

At the end of this method, you will learn to open RAR files on Mac.

How can I Open RAR Files on Mac OS X by Using The Unarchiver?

“How do I open a RAR file without WinZip? Is it even possible to do so?” 

Yes, there are various applications that you will find useful. The Unarchiver is one such app that we can recommend. For using this app, you will have to read the 14 steps shown as follows.

1. Go to the “App Store” on your Mac.

2. In the “Search Bar”, write “Unarchiver”.

3. Click on “Return”.

4. Below the “Unarchiver” app, press “Get”. Then click on “Install App”.

5. Provide the password of your “Apple ID”, if required.

6. Go to the “Launchpad”.

7. Tap “The Unarchiver” app to open it.

Note: You may be asked to choose the unarchived files you would like to save in the same folder at all times. An option to be asked for the same every time will also be available. You can choose any as per your preference.

8. Open the tab of “Archive Formats”.

9. Tick “RAR Archive”.

10. Now, visit a “RAR” file’s location and click on the file.

Note: In case you wish to extract any multi-part RAR file, use “.rar”/”.part001.rar” file to begin. You will find its parts in the same folder.

11. Click on the “File” option.

12. Click on “Open With”.

13. From the pop-out, click on “The Unarchiver”.

Note: The RAR file may be protected by a password. You may be required to provide the password to initiate extraction. 

14. The app will extract the files. These will be extracted in the same folder wherein the RAR file was stored. 

How Do I Open a RAR File Using The Unarchiver with Automator?

The Unarchiver app gives you an easy way to open RAR files. While you may now be familiar with using this app, here we will show you how to run it with Automator. This method has been elaborated in this section.

1. First, open the desktop and make a new folder. This folder should be named as “Unrar”.

2. Now, click on “The Unarchiver”.

3. Go to the “Extraction” tab.

4. Click on the option “Extract Archives to”.

5. Choose “Same Folder as the Archive”.

6. Turn on “Move the Archive to the Trash”.

7. Open “Automator”.

8. Tap on “File” and select “New”.

9. Click on “Folder Action”.

10. Then press “Choose”.

11. A dropdown menu will be available at the top. From this menu, choose “Other”. Then select the “Unrar” folder.

12. Drag “Find Finder Items” towards the workflow available on the right.

13. After the new action has been added, select the “Unrar” folder. Click on “Search” for this.

14. Click on “Any” in the dropdown menu.

15. Click on “File Extension”.

16. Then tap “Contains”.

17. In the box, write “RAR”.

18. Now, drag “Open Finder Items” to the pane on the right.

19. Click on “Open with”.

20. Choose “The Unarchiver”.

21. Tap the keys “cmd” and “S” at the same time. Assign a name to the workflow. Then press “Save”.

22. Exit the “Automator”.

23. You can copy the RAR archives for unzipping in the “Unrar” folder. It will be extracted. The files will be found in the “Unrar” folder.

How to Use Terminal on Mac as a RAR File Opener?

How do you open a RAR file on Mac using the Terminal? If you lack any knowledge of this, then you can count on the 4 steps presented here. These steps will provide you with certain commands that will assist in quickly opening the RAR files. 

1. Access the “Utilities” folder for opening “Terminal” on Mac.

2. Now, the “RAR Format Extractor” has to be installed. Use this command for installing it.

“brew install unrar”

3. You may be required to build “unrar” from the source. For this, the Xcode command line tools will have to be installed. Use the command shown below.

“xcode-select-install”

4. In “Terminal”, go to the “.rar” file. Then use the following command for extracting the file.

“unrar x [file name].rar

When the files have been extracted, you will find them in the same location wherein the RAR file had been located.

How to Open RAR Files on Windows?

When you think about how to open RAR files free on Windows, this section should be of help. In this section, you will come across a tool called 7-Zip. A big number of Windows users have downloaded this tool for opening these files on their system. 

Being time-tested, you can also download and use it. For this, go through the 7 steps shown here. 

1. The basic step is to go to the location where the “.rar” file has been kept.

2. Then right-click on the file.

3. Several options will be available. Click on “7-ZIP”.

4. Then click on “Extract Files”.

5. In the new window that opens, provide the location where the extracted files have been kept.

6. Press “Ok”.

7. Now, tap “Extract Here”. Tapping this option will allow you to keep the extracted files in the location of the compressed “.rar” file. 

At the end of the seventh step, the files will get extracted from the archive.

How to Open RAR File in Windows 7 without Software?

For the users of Windows, the 7-Zip tool can be preferred for opening the RAR files. No software will be needed for doing so. Now, let’s move further and know the steps for how to open RAR files on Windows 7.

1. On your Windows 7 computer, download the free tool named “7-Zip”.

2. Install the tool. 

3. Right-click on the “RAR” file you want to open.

4. Click on “7-Zip”. 

5. Click on “Extract Files”.

Note: The option of “Extract Here” will also be available. In case you click on it, the files will get saved in the same folder where you have stored the archive.

6. A pop-up will be visible. Here, you have to select the folder for extracting the files. 

7. Now, press “Ok”

How Do You Open a RAR File on Windows 8?

You can prefer to install the WinRAR program to open RAR files on your Windows 8 system. This is suitable for Windows 8 systems having the 32-bit version as well as 64-bit version. The steps of this method can be seen here.

1. Check the version of your Windows. Find out whether it is a 32-bit version or 64-bit version. To check this, open the window of the file explorer.

2. Tap “This PC”.

3. Click on “Properties”.

4. In the new window, locate “System”.  Towards the right of “System Type”, the version of Windows will be mentioned. Note the version. This may be required later.

5. As per the version of Windows, download “WinRAR” using the browser. Then install it.

6. On the top-left, click on “File”.

7. Click on “Open Archive”.

8. In the new window, visit the “RAR” file’s location. 

9. Double-tap on the file to open it.

10. The file on the top needs to be clicked. 

11. Press and hold the “Shift” key. Then tap the file which is last.

12. Tap “Extract to”.

13. Select where you want to keep the extracted files.

14. Click on the “+” icon for expanding the folders inside.

15. Double-tap on the folder.

16. The folder, to which the files have to be extracted, needs to be highlighted.

17. Press the button for “Ok”. The first RAR file will get opened.

The method for how to open RAR file in PC with Windows 8 will be done.

How to Use WinRAR RAR File Opener for Windows 8.1?

WinRAR works as an excellent RAR file opener for PC with Windows 8.1. You can download it from the RAR Lab’s website. Thereafter, you can start running it and open the RAR files. You can take help from the 5 steps provided below.

1. Visit the official page of RAR Lab. 

2. As per your “Windows” type, download the version of “WinRAR”.

Note: In case you do not know the Windows type for your system, you can download WinRAR for 32-bit.

3. Install the setup file by clicking twice on it.

4. Now, right-click on the “.rar” file that has to be opened. Then select “Extract Files”.

5. Pick a location for keeping the extracted files.

Now, this procedure will be over.

How to Open RAR Files on Windows 10 Using 7-Zip?

The method for how to open RAR files on Windows 10 makes use of the 7-Zip tool. You will have to first download this tool and install it on Windows 10. After the installation is over, you can start extracting the RAR files. 

Here, you can discover how to download this tool and use it on your system. 

1. First, download the RAR file opener free tool “7-Zip” on your system. Then install it.

2. Visiting the “.rar” file’s location is the second step. 

3. Then right-click on the file.

4. The contextual menu will mention “7-Zip”. Place the mouse on it and select the files you want to extract.

5. Now, choose a path. Then enter the RAR file’s password, if required.

Now, the files will get extracted. 

How to Open RAR Files on iPhone?

We know an app to open RAR files on iPhone. The Unzip – Zip File Opener app can be downloaded from the App Store on your device. After installing it, you can extract and open the files in 9 steps. Take a look at these steps below. 

1. Start this method by clicking on the “App Store”.

2. From the store, download “Unzip – Zip File Opener”.

3. Search for the “RAR” file that you would like to open.

4. Tap on the “RAR” file. Then hold it and press “Share”.

5. In “Share”, from the app icons’ row, go to right. Then press “More”.

6. Click on “Copy to Unzip”.

7. Now, open “Unzip”.

8. Click on the archive file. A folder will be newly made for keeping the contents.

9. You can see the RAR files here. As per your preference, you can save, open or share them. 

At last, the method for how to open RAR files on iPhone will be complete.

How to Open RAR File in Android?

To open RAR file on Android, you can install the RAR app on your device. This app will extract the RAR files. Once extracted, you can use your device’s file manager for viewing these files. The following 8 steps will guide you in performing this method.

1. Unlock your Android device and visit the “Play Store”.

2. Type “RAR” in the search box. Next, tap “Enter”/”Search”.

3. Tap “Install”. Then press “Accept”.

4. Now, open the “RAR” app.

5. Various files can be seen when this app is opened. For seeing one file, press it and open. For shifting the files to any other folder, tick the box beside the files. 

6. Press the icon of “Up-arrow”.

7. Now, do as per the prompts guide you. 

8. After the extraction of the files is complete, you can use the file manager or a similar app for accessing them.

How to Open RAR Files without WinRAR?

Are you looking for an option other than WinRAR for opening the RAR files on your system? The RAR Extractor Frog is what opens RAR files without WinRAR. Below, we have unfolded the steps to use it.

1. Downloading the “RAR Extractor Frog” is the beginning step.

2. Complete its installation and launch it.

3. Pick the folder that has to be unzipped.

4. Open the selected folder in “RAR Extractor Frog”.

5. Make certain that the “Extract Files to the Default Output Folder” option has been ticked.

6. Tap “Browse”. Then decide a location for saving the files.

7. Hit “Ok”.

8. Press “Ok” available on the wizard screen. 

9. Now, visit the location where you have saved the files to check them.

Why am I Unable to Open RAR Files?

“I need to open a RAR file but I am encountering difficulties in doing so. What could be the reason?” There can be several reasons for these difficulties. Some of them have been listed here.

1. The RAR file may be broken. Thus, an error may have occurred in opening it.

2. The sectors on the external drive or hard disk may have gone bad. If the RAR files are stored here, then you will face issues while opening them. 

3. A virus may have attacked the RAR file.

4. When the RAR file is made or transferred online, the system termination may not be proper.

5. The file’s extension may have been changed. A problem in changing it could be preventing you from opening it.

6. While you open the file, power failure may have occurred.

How to Fix RAR File Not Opening Problem?

How do you open up RAR files when you encounter a failure? In such a case, you will have to fix the cause of the failure. After the cause has been removed, you can run the process to extract the files. No error in opening the files should be encountered then.

To remove the cause of this failure, the 2 fixes shown in the up-coming section will be worth considering.

Fix 1: Use WinRAR Repair for Fixing RAR Files

For those of you who can’t open RAR file as archives, there could be a problem with the file. Repairing it will resolve this issue. You will be required to download the WinRAR Repair app on your system for repairing the files. You can check out these steps to download this tool and repair the RAR files.

1. On your system, download and install the “WinRAR” app.

2. In the second step, launch the app and go to its home screen.

3. Click on “Browse” and choose the “.rar” file which is not opening.

4. Tap the button for “Repair”. Now, the repairing process will begin.

5. When the repairing process is over, select a place for storing the RAR archives.

6. Now, press “Save”.

Fix 2: Check Whether the RAR File is Password-protected

Do you know that RAR cannot open file as archives when it has been password-protected? You can check whether the RAR files you’re opening are password-protected or not.

In case the RAR files need a password for opening them and you can’t remember it, we will suggest you recover it. After recovering the password, you can start extracting the files. When you are prompted to input the password, write it and continue extracting the files. No error will turn up now.

Summing up

Extracting the RAR files to open them has been made easier with these methods. From Windows to Mac, many users can benefit from the methods presented here. 

In addition to these, we also have tested methods for how to delete apps on Mac. And to fix error code 43 Mac, you can read here.