Real case from Microsoft community ( See it happens on your case): "Word found unreadable content error. Several of my Word files are unable to open and display the error message: "Word found unreadable content in......No matter which option I select, it then shows the message......I've tried Open and Repair, Recover Text from Any File, etc. but nothing has worked so far.

It is really frustrating that your files get such an error in the middle of the work. Here some methods come! In this article, we are going to provide different ways to fix unreadable content in Word.

Fix 1. Apply EaseUS Fixo Document Repair to Repair Unreadable Content in Word

If an unreadable error happens, the most urgent thing you need to do is find and recover all lost documents. To save your time and apply the simple steps, one of the best file repair software - EaseUS Fixo Document Repair is your wise choice.

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Trusted by users for 17 years, this document repair software from EaseUS can retrieve and repair your lost data in a few clicks. No matter whether Word documents get corrupted by software or human errors, this app can get them back as soon as possible and repair your corrupted Word files during the previewing process.

Step 1. Download and launch Fixo on your PC or laptop. Choose "File Repair" to repair corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, PDF, and others. Click "Add Files" to select corrupted documents.

add files to repair documents with Fixo

Step 2. To repair multiple files at once, click the "Repair All" button. If you want to repair a single document, move your pointer to the target file and choose "Repair". You can also preview the documents by clicking the eye icon.

select documents to repair

Step 3. Click "Save" to save a selected document. Select "Save All" to save all the repaired files. Choose "View Repaired" to locate the repaired folder.

save repaired documents in Fixo

You can download this utility and apply 3 simple steps to repair Word files. Watch this video and just follow suit:

  • 00:14 Method 1. Insert to a new Word document
  • 00:38 Method 2. Use open and repair
  • 00:55 Method 3. Default settings
  • 01:30 Method 4. EaseUS Fixo Document Repair

Fix 2. Use Recover Text from Any File Function to Solve Word Found Unreadable Content

If you want to search for some manual ways, you can use a text recovery converter from Microsoft Word. Now, Open Microsoft Word and follow the steps.

Step 1. Navigate to File tab > Click Open on the left panel > Click Browse on the right panel.

repair word files 1

Step 2. On the Microsoft Open window, select the unreadable word files.

Step 3. Choose Recover Text from Any File from the drop-down menu.

repair word files 2

Step 4. Click Open and wait. Your damaged file will open, and you should save it as a new file.

Fix 3. Use the Open and Repair Utility to Solve Word Unreadable Content

Solution 3 is also a built-in function. The steps part is the same as the second fix. Check the step-by-step guide.

Step 1. Move to File tab > Open > Browse.

Step 2. Choose the damaged file in the new window.

Step 3. Click the small triangle arrow icon > Choose Open and Repair.

repair word files 3

Step 4. The file can be open and you can save it as a new file.

Fix 4. Fix Word Found Unreadable Content Android by OneDrive

If you have saved your word files to OneDrive, then you can use the Version History function of OneDrive to restore the word document to the previous version. The following steps are best done on a computer.

If you are using the web version of OneDrive, follow the steps:

Step 1. Log in to your OneDrive account.

Step 2. Select the files you want to restore to the previous version, right-click it and choose Version History.

Step 3. On the Version History window, select the arrow next to the file, and click Restore.

onedrive restore to the previous version

If you are running the OneDrive app on PC, you can go to File Explorer.

Step 1. Click OneDrive on the left panel > Click Document folder and choose the files you want to recover.

Step 2. Choose Version History > Click the dots next to the wanted version > Click Restore.

What Is Unreadable Content in Word

The error may happen when your files get damaged or corrupted for some reasons, such as:

1. The Word document was not closed correctly, including files that suddenly shut down, unexpected power interruption, laptop battery exhaustion, system crash, etc.

2. Virus attack.

The virus may attack your Office data contains Word file. If your file gets infected, then your document has unreadable content.

3. Text convert error. When you convert word files to another format, your file will appear "Word found unreadable content" message or "Word was unable to read this document" warning.

word found unreadable error

Don't worry. Your Word document is still there. Follow us and pick out the great method in the next part.

Conclusion

This post has looked at a few workable fixes to fix and repair Word found unreadable content. You can use the VLC to convert format; try the built-in utility of MS Word. If none of the methods work, your files are possibly corrupted and damaged. In this case, use EaseUS Fixo Document Repair. 

 Free Download

Trustpilot Rating 4.8

 Free Download

Secure Download

Word Found Unreadable Content FAQs

Read the frequently asked questions to get additional help on unreadable content in Word.

1. Why did everything disappear from my Word document?

Here's the reason why the Word document disappeared:

Microsoft Word documents can disappear in certain situations. For example, it may be gone after a forced quit, power interruption, or close without saving changes.

2. Can you fix a corrupted Word file?

Yes. Follow the steps below to repair corrupted Word online:

  • Select the corrupted Word .doc/.docx file.
  • Type your email address to receive repaired Word file.
  • Wait for the repair process to complete.

3. How to recover unsaved Word documents?

Steps to recover unsaved word documents in Windows 10:

  • In MS Word, click the File tab in the upper left.
  • Click Manage Document and select Recover Unsaved Documents from the drop-down list.
  • Check for your missing File in the dialog box. If it was a recent loss, it should appear.
  • Open the recovered Word document and click the Save As button in the top banner.

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Updated by Finley

Finley is interested in reading and writing articles about technical knowledge. Her articles mainly focus on file repair and data recovery.

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Written by Tracy King

Tracy became a member of the EaseUS content team in 2013. Being a technical writer for over 10 years, she is enthusiastic about sharing tips to assist readers in resolving complex issues in disk management, file transfer, PC & Mac performance optimization, etc., like an expert.

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