How to Zip and Unzip Files on Android (RAR, ZIP, 7Z)

If your job demands that you send many large files, or if you just want an easy way to send a large number of pictures to someone, zip files are a necessity – even on your phone! This article shows how to compress or decompress large files on your Android smartphone.

RAR is an unzipping tool developed by the people who created WinRAR, their Windows application for the same purpose. Using the mobile app you can unpack files from RAR, ZIP, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, 7z, ISO and ARJ formats. However, you can only archive, or zip files in RAR and ZIP formats. We’ll show you how to use RAR to compress files to the RAR and ZIP formats, then use ZArchiver to compress files to the excellent 7z format.

Using this app will allow you to handle these types of files easily. The following steps show what you need to do.

Also read:7-Zip vs WinRAR vs WinZIP: The Best Tool for File Compression

How to use RAR to unzip files in Android

1. Download and install RAR from Play Store.
2. Open the RAR app. It will take you directly to your files.

3. Locate the directory that the file downloaded to. Tap the folder where the file resides.
4. Click to put a checkmark next to the file to unzip.
5. Tap the Extract button.

6. Select the destination path you want by clicking the button and choosing an option. You can choose a different path by clicking Browse. You can also just use the default path.
7. Tap OK.

The program will then display the file(s) that were in the ZIP folder.

Create a ZIP or RAR file

Creating a zip file on your phone so it can easily transmit via email, or another method of your choice, is also simple to do.

1. Open the RAR app.
2. From the file manager select the files you want to send by checking the box next to them. Make sure the total size does not exceed 707 MB.
3. Hit the “Archive” button.

4. Choose the file format you want to use from RAR, ZIP or RAR 4.x.
5. Change the destination path if you want to use something other than the default.
6. If you want, you can also add a password to the folder that your recipient will need to open the files.
7. If you want to delete the files, you can check that box here. You can also create a solid archive. A solid archive is an archive packed with a special compression method that treats files within the archive as one continuous data stream. You need to save as RAR for this option to work.
8. Click OK.

Create a 7Z File on Android

According to our own tests, 7Z (or 7zip) is the most effective compression format. While the RAR app above doesn’t let you archive files into the 7Z format, you can use another great app called ZArchiver to create 7Z files.

In ZArchiver, you can turn folders into 7Z (or ZIP) archives by simple long-tapping on the folder you want to compress, then tapping Compress.

On this screen, you can select the Archive format (choose 7z) and the compression level – the higher the compression level, the smaller the file will be but the longer it will take to compress.

When you’re done, tap OK and let the compression complete.

In the image below, you can see that the file was compressed by 37%, which is pretty good going!

You can now send these files with fewer worries about whether your recipient will not receive them due to their large size. Want to do more with Android? Here’s how to connect an Xbox One controller to your phone. We can also show you how to fine-tune your phone volume using these nifty apps.