5 Ways to Fix “Word Found Unreadable Content” Error

Quick Tips

• You’re likely to encounter the “Word found unreadable content” error while opening a document if it is in read-only mode.
• Repairing your Word document is an effective way to fix this error.
• You can try recovering text from the Word document if nothing else works.

Fix 1: Repair the Word Document

Microsoft Word offers a repair feature for fixing damaged or corrupted documents. If you experience the “Word found unreadable content” error while opening a particular document, repair it using the steps below.

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word and select Open from the left sidebar. Then, click the Browse option.

Step 2: Locate and select your Word file. Click the downward arrow next to Open to select Open and Repair.

Now, wait for Microsoft Word to repair your file and open it.

Fix 2: Remove the Read-Only Attribute

Microsoft Word may fail to read the content of a document if it is in read-only mode. You can remove the read-only attribute from your Word document to see if that helps.

Step 1: Right-click on the problematic Word file and select Properties.

Step 2: Under the General tab, clear the Read-only checkbox. Then, hit Apply, followed by OK.

Fix 3: Restore an Earlier Version of the Word Document

If the Word document you are trying to access was saved to OneDrive, you can attempt to restore an earlier version of the document. This should help revert any changes that may have damaged the document.

Step 1: Press Windows + S to open the search menu, type OneDrive, and select Open.

Step 2: Locate the Word file you are trying to open. Right-click on it and select Show more options.

Step 3: Select Version history from the list.

Step 4: Hover your mouse over an earlier version of the document on the list. Click the three-dot icon and select Restore.

Tip: You can also download the previous version of the file and see if Word can open it.

Fix 4: Disable Protected View in Word

Protected View is a security feature in Word that keeps you from opening malicious files on your PC. If you are confident about the source of your document, you can temporarily disable this feature and see if that fixes the “Word found unreadable content” error.

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word and select Options from the left pane.

Step 2: In the Word Options window, switch to the Trust Center tab and click the Trust Center Settings button.

Step 3: Clear all three checkboxes to disable Protected View and click OK to save changes.

Try to reopen your Word document and check if the error still occurs.

Fix 5: Use Word’s Text Recovery Feature

If Microsoft Word cannot read your document’s content, try using its text recovery feature. It’s important to note that this tool will only help you recover text and remove any formatting. Additionally, Word won’t restore graphics, drawing objects, or any other items that are not text.

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word on your PC. Switch to the Open tab and click on Browse.

Step 2: Locate and select the file you want to open. Click the All Files drop-down menu and choose Recover Text from Any File.

Step 3: Click the Open button.