How to Open Epub Files

It can be a frustrating experience: An e-mail comes from the boss with an unusual attachment called an “Epub” file that you’re expected to read, only to find out your PC doesn’t support it. Or you’ve downloaded an Epub copy of a favorite book on a phone, but a message pops up reading “Unsupported file format” message when you try to open it.

If there’s a need for a quick fix to these problems, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll provide information about Epub files, detailed instructions on how to open them across devices, what the best programs for doing so are, and how to convert Epubs to other file formats.

How to Open Epub Files?

Epub stands for “electronic publication” and it’s a type of electronic publication that contains all the necessary files and can adjust to fit any device’s screen. Epub is one of the most widely adopted file formats on the web, which is why viewing one of these files is a breeze.

Opening Epub files is a relatively straightforward task. Depending on your needs and preferences, you can either download a program to open the file, get a browser extension that will make it available, or convert an Epub file to allow you to read it. We’ll cover all options below.

How to Open Epub Files on Windows 10?

Long-time Microsoft Edge users might be able to remember reading Epub files in their browser. Unfortunately, that story’s over now, as users wanting to open Epub files now need to use additional software for Windows. Fortunately, there are a few excellent free options out there that fit the bill perfectly.

We’ll present the two most popular programs for reading Epub files on Windows 10: Calibre and Sumatra PDF.

Calibre

This is a robust, open-source software made for book management. Users will find an Epub file reader among its many powerful features. If you’re into editing, collecting, and converting books, this would be the best option.

Follow the instructions below to download and open Epub files via this software:

1. Download Calibre from here.
2. Follow the installation instructions.
3. Launch Calibre on your Windows 10. You don’t need to make an account.
   
4. Once inside the program, click on the green “Add books” button in the screen’s upper left-hand corner.
   
5. Select a book that you wish to read from the computer.
   
6. Click “Open” to continue.
   
7. Select the book and click on the “View” button from the top menu.
   
8. Your book will open in a new window. Use the arrow keys (left or right) to turn the pages.
   

Sumatra PDF

If you’re looking for a more straightforward user interface application, try Sumatra PDF. Sumatra’s main priority is to keep things simple and accessible.

1. Download the program from the Sumatra PDF website and follow the instructions.
   
2. Once installed, launch the program on Windows 10.
3. Click on the “Open a document” button and select a book to read.
   
4. The book will open right away. Use the arrow keys (left, right) to turn the pages.
   

How to Open Epub Files on iPhone?

To open Epub files on an iPhone first, make sure that the file is in the Files app. Here’s how to add a file to this app:

1. Look for the Epub file (in your e-mail or wherever it is) and click on the share button.
   
2. Tap “Save to Files” and select a file location.
   

Once the book has been transferred to the iPhone, proceed with the next set of steps:

1. Open the Epub file’s location by tapping on “Files,” then “Browse.”
   
2. Select the storage option (On My iPhone) and then find the folder where the Epub file has been saved.
   
3. Tap on the Epub file. The file will automatically be added to the iBooks app, which is pre-installed on the iPhone.
   
4. If it doesn’t open automatically, go ahead and launch the iBook app.
5. Tap on the “My books” tab from the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
6. Tap on the Epub book title you want to read.
7. Swipe left and right to turn the pages.

How to Open Epub Files on Android?

There’s a great app that lets you open Epub files on an Android phone, and it’s called Google Play Books. This is a free app, but it also allows users to shop for books from its library. However, you can simply upload an Epub file to the app by following the steps below:

1. Download the app from the Google Play Store.
   
2. Wait for the app to install and launch it once ready.
   
3. Tap on the three horizontal lines in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
   
4. Navigate to “Settings” and check the box next to “Enable PDF uploading.”
   
5. Exit the app and find the Epub file to read, whether it’s in the e-mail or in the “Downloads” folder.
   
6. Tap on the three vertical dots for more options.
7. Select “Open With,” then “Play books” or “Upload to Play Books.”
8. Launch the Google Play Books app again and tap on the Epub file just added to the library to start reading it.

How to Open Epub Files as PDF?

We’ll show two simple ways to convert Epub files into PDFs.

Calibre

If you’ve already downloaded the Calibre software for reading Epubs, it can also be used for this purpose as well. Calibre lets users easily convert Epub files to any other eBook file format, including PDF.

Here’s how to do so:

1. Launch Calibre on a computer.
   
2. Select a book to convert and click on the “Convert” button from the top menu.
   
3. A new window will appear. Make sure that the “Input format” is set to “EPUB,” and “Output format” is PDF. Additional changes can also be made to the book, such as editing its cover page, but this is not obligatory.
   
4. Click “OK” to continue. It will now say “Jobs: 1” in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Wait for it to say “Jobs: 0.” This means the book is converted.
   
5. The book is now ready to be opened as a PDF.
6. To save the PDF file in a specific directory, click on “Save to disk” and select the proper location.
   

Epub Converter

If you’re not using Calibre, there’s a great website called Cloud Convert that would be a useful option as well for converting Epubs to PDFs.

Just follow the steps below:

1. Save the Epub file on a computer.
2. Go to this website.
   
3. Choose the file format to convert. Make sure the choice to “Convert Epub to PDF” is available.
4. Click on the red “Select File” button.
   
5. Locate the file in the computer directory and click “Open.”
   
6. Click on the red “Convert” button. The book will now start converting. This might take a while, depending on the internet connection speed.
   
7. Once ready, you’ll see the “Download” button. Just click on it, and the file will download automatically.
   

How to Open Epub Files on Kindle?

Those who use a Kindle are probably aware that Kindle can’t natively read Epub format. If you’re still not using Calibre, we highly recommend downloading it and converting Epub books using the steps explained in its respective section above. Calibre is one of the best book management software for transferring books from a computer to a Kindle.

After converting the Epub to MOBI (Kindle’s preferred format), right-click on the book and select “Send to device,” then “Send to main memory.” This will transfer the book to the Kindle’s internal memory in a matter of seconds.

Another way to open Epub files on a Kindle is to use the Cloud Convert website (see the previous section). First, convert the Epub file to a MOBI format. After having done so, follow the steps below:

1. Copy the MOBI file (Ctrl + C for Windows, Command + C for Mac.)
2. Plug the Kindle into a computer using a USB cable.
3. Open Kindle through the “File Explorer,” then “This PC,” then [Kindle’s name]. For Mac, open the Finder app and look for the Kindle’s name on the left-hand side.
4. Launch the “Documents” folder. If you don’t see it right away, click on the “Internal Storage” or “Books” folder first.
5. Paste the MOBI file (Ctrl + V for Windows, Command + V for Mac) in it.
6. Wait for the file to transfer and eject the Kindle. The file will now be available on Kindle.

How to Open Epub Files on iPad?

There are a few ways to open an Epub file on an iPad. We’ll show some of the most common ones, starting from the simplest option:

From Your iPad

1. Open the link to the desired Epub file in Safari.
2. Select the “Open in iBooks” option on the iPad. This will add the book to the iBooks library.
3. Open the iBooks app (pre-installed on the iPad) and search for the file in the book collection.

From Your Computer

1. Locate the Epub file on a computer.
   
2. Drop it into your iTunes library.
3. Connect an iPad to the computer.
4. Check that the file is selected for syncing under the “Books” tab in iTunes.
5. Sync the file.
6. The Epub file can now be found in your iBooks library on your iPad.

How to Open Epub Files on iPad From E-mail?

If you received an Epub file via e-mail or have sent one to yourself, follow the steps below to open it on an iPad:

1. Open the e-mail with the Epub attachment on the iPad.
2. Tap on the attachment to download it.  There will be a prompt window asking you to choose which app to use to open the file.
3. Choose the “Open in iBooks” option.
4. Wait for the download to finish.
5. Open the book by navigating to “iBooks,” then “Collections,” then “Books.”

How to Open Epub Files on PC?

There are many ways to open Epub files on a PC. So far, we’ve covered programs such as Calibre and Sumatra PDF. There are also other programs such as Adobe Digital Editions or browser extensions (EpubReader). A general rule of thumb for opening Epub files on PC using a program is as follows:

1. Download and install a program that lets you read Epub files.
   
2. Add an Epub file from the computer into the program.
   
3. Click on the Epub file to begin reading the eBook.
   

Additional FAQs

Here are some more questions to help you get the most out of reading Epub files.

Can I Open Epub Files on Adobe Reader?

Unfortunately, you can’t open Epub files on Adobe Reader. However, there’s another version of the program that is free and lets you enjoy Epubs: Adobe Digital Editions. You can download it here.

What Programs Can Open Epub Files?

As Epubs are one of the most common eBook file formats globally, there are many great programs to open them. Some of the most popular ones (that we’ve already covered in this article) include Calibre, Adobe Digital Editions, and Sumatra PDF.

There are some other programs we didn’t cover, such as FBReader, Cool Reader, or EPUBReader. The latter is a browser extension, and it’s currently available for Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Opera.

Enjoying Your Epub Files

Whether you want to enjoy Epub books on Windows, iPhone, Kindle, or Android, this article has hopefully answered all your questions. If you had trouble converting Epub files before, nothing should stop you from being able to do so now.

Finally, our advice for PC users: If you’re a Kindle user, we highly recommend using Calibre. Otherwise, programs such as ADE or Sumatra PDF will work great as well, as these have a more straightforward user interface.

What is your preferred program for opening Epub files? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

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