Cannot open file as archive: Headers Error
"Cannot open file as archive: Headers Error" means archive headers are missing, truncated, or inconsistent. FileFix scans readable local records, rebuilds the ZIP directory, and shows which entries survived. A one-time $5 — and only if the repair works.
Free preview — pay only if you download ($5)
Your files auto-delete within 48 hours
No person looks at your file as part of repair
Uploading your file.
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Starting upload...
Recovering what we can.
Analyzing your file...
Here's what we recovered.
Review the watermarked preview before checkout. Previews are capped at 90 seconds.
Repair your file
Choose a supported file to see what can be repaired before checkout.
Simulated checkout — no payment is processed.
Optional — we'll email your private download link.
Download repaired fileYou preview before you pay. If the download is materially worse than the preview you approved, we'll refund you.
Good news — your file isn't damaged. No charge.
There's nothing to repair. If it still looks broken, the issue may be the player, codec, or viewer on your device rather than the file itself.
We couldn't recover this one.
The file is too damaged to rebuild, so there is nothing to preview and no charge. You can try another file.
Have another clip from the same device?
A healthy video recorded on the same device — ideally the same settings — gives the repair engine a template to rebuild from. It can unlock repairs that fail on their own.
FileFix can't fix that kind of file yet.
Right now we repair video, audio, and document files (MP4, MOV, M4V, MKV, AVI, TS, MTS, M2TS, MPG, MPEG, VOB, 3GP, WebM, M4A, WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, AIFF, XLSX, DOCX, ZIP, and PDF). We're adding support for more formats over time.
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Why this happens
A ZIP contains local headers beside members and a central directory that repeats their locations and metadata. Archive tools report a headers error when those records are malformed or disagree.
Damage to one header or the final directory can block normal opening while other local records and member streams remain readable. A rebuild must use only structures still present in the uploaded bytes.
FileFix scans local headers, decompresses readable members under safety limits, and writes a new archive with consistent records. The free summary lists the rebuilt entries.
What we can and can't recover
We can usually fix
- Archives that show "unexpected end of archive"
- Archives cut off during a download or copy
- ZIP files with a damaged central directory
- Archives that show the right size but won't open
We can't fix
- Encrypted archives
- Multi-part or split archives missing their other parts
- Genuinely empty (0-byte) files
- Files on physically damaged drives (that's hardware data recovery)
How it works
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Upload Drop the file in. It uploads over an encrypted connection. The repair runs automatically — no person looks at your file.
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Free Watermarked Preview You see exactly what we recovered — the list of files recovered from the archive.
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Pay & Download If the summary shows what you need, unlock the repaired ZIP archive for a one-time $5.
You see a recovery summary built from your actual file before you decide anything — so you never guess.
See what's recoverable.
Free recovery summary · files auto-delete within 48 hours
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Questions
Size alone does not make an archive readable. If the central directory at the end is missing or damaged, the tool has no index to locate members and stops, even though member data may still exist earlier in the file.
Only the members whose local records survived in the uploaded bytes are rebuilt. A member that crossed the damaged region may be partial, and the free file list shows exactly what the new archive contains before checkout.
Yes, if the source is still available. A complete re-download is always preferable because repair cannot supply bytes that never arrived; use FileFix when a clean copy is not obtainable.