If you’ve forgotten the password for opening or editing the PDF file, you won't need a password to unlock it. There are still ways to get in.
Below, we’ll cover 4 proven ways that can actually help you Unlock PDF file without password, we also introduced one way that can help you recover the lost password.
PDFs comes with 2 types of password to protect content.
The open password (password to open the document)
The owner password (also called permission password, restrict functions like copying, editing, printing, commenting, signing or extracting pages from PDF.)
Cisdem PDF Password Remover
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
Free Download macOS 10.13 or later
We have test most of the options provided online and list only the options that are workable. You can see the comparison table and choose the method that suites your needs.
|
Methods |
Effectiveness |
Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
|
Cisdem |
High - It supports unlocking both open and permission password, no password needed |
Easy, support batch |
|
iLovePDF |
High - It supports removing simple open and permission password |
Easy, online option |
|
Smallpdf |
Moderate - Only remove simple permission password |
Easy, online option |
|
Chrome |
Moderate - Only remove simple permission password |
Moderate |
|
Adobe Acrobat |
Moderate - Need password |
Moderate |
|
Preview |
Moderate - Only remove simple permission password |
Moderate |
|
iSumsoft |
Moderate - Recovering simple permission password |
Moderate |
Most PDF password removers require entering the right password to unlock a PDF, especially when the file are locked with open password. Cisdem PDF Password remover can let you unlock PDF files without knowing the open or permission password.
It is offline and have no limits on file size or numbers. So you don’t have to worry about data loss and leakage.
It comes with smart unlocking algorithm and the fastest checking speed of passwords,compared with other tools it offers the highest success rate. The best part? This PDF unlocker can process up to 200 PDFs in a single batch process. Below are instructions on how to use Cisdem PDF password remover to unlock PDF:
Step 1: Drag-and-drop to add PDF files to the program. Since batch decryption is available, you may add as many PDF files as you like to unlock in a single session.
Step 2: For permission password protected PDF files, it will remove password from PDF files instantly without the need to enter a password.
Scenario 2: When you add open password protected PDF files a padlock icon and a red lock with settings button will appear.
Clicking the red lock symbol, it will pop up a window. prompt you for a password. If you need to unlock the PDF without password you can click Forgot.
To make the unlock process quicker you can tweak the setting below and provide clues, then click Decrypt to start.
When the process finished, choose a destination for the saved files. And then click Remove to unlock user password protected PDF files without password.
How long does it take to remove the password?
That depends. The time varies on the complexity of the password of your PDF. Cisdem PDF Password Remover should be able to remove a simple password within minutes, however, for complex password, Cisdem will try every combination of numbers and letters to find out the correct password, which may take longer.
What’s the difference between the trial version and the full version?
The trial version will expire after 14 days, during this 14-day trial period, you can only export half number of the pages (or up to 3 pages) with watermarks, and the registered version can export the full pages without watermarks.
Can Cisdem PDF Password Remover run on macOS?
Yes. Cisdem PDF Password Remover supports Windows and macOS.
Can I remove a password from a PDF that was scanned?
Yes. Cisdem PDF Password Remover can also be used to remove passwords from scanned documents.
Is Cisdem PDF Password Remover safe to use?
Yes. we are offline PDF password remover and requires no file upload and internet connection. We also take all necessary measures to ensure that all the information is kept secure.
What versions of PDF does it support?
Cisdem PDF Password Remover supports all PDF files.
Will it erase my data?
No, using it will not delete or modify any data in your PDF files. The program simply unlock and remove password from PDF file.
I known this part is what most of you have interest in, and to help you make the right choice, we tested most of the online site which claim to be able to unlock PDF without password. And to test how well they work, we prepare 4 PDF files for testing.
PDF file prepared this time:
In conclusion, of all the free online sites, only a few allow you to unlock PDF without password.
For simple owner password protected PDF like PDF file ①, most of the online sites successfully removed the password without the need to enter a password.
For complicated owner password protected PDF like PDF file ②, sites like ilovepdf, smallpdf, PDF2Go, Pdffiller all successfully unlocked the PDF without a password.
For simple open password protected PDF like PDF file ③ only ilovepdf and PDFcandy successfully unlocked the PDF without a password.
For complicated open password protected PDF like PDF file ④ all online sites failed, and in this case, you only solution is Cisdem PDF Password Remover we introduced above
Note that, While working with online sites, make sure that the file isn’t exceeding 100MB.
Step 1: Go to https://www.ilovepdf.com/unlock_pdf
Step 2: Click the red button “Select PDF File” to add password protected files from PC, dropbox or google drive.
Step 3: Click on “Unlock PDF”.
Step 4: Click on “Download unlocked PDFs”.
Test Results:
PDF file ①: Success.
PDF file ②: Success.
PDF file ③: Success.
PDF file ④: Failed.
Step 1. Go to the Smallpdf website.
Step 2. Click on “Choose file” to add your PDF or you can upload PDF from Dropbox or Google Drive.
Step 3. Then, check the box which says: I pinky swear that I have the right to edit this file and remove its protection. And click on Unlock PDF, wait for the process to finish.
If you upload a PDF file locked with user password, this site will ask you to enter the correct password.
Step 4. As soon as the password restriction is removed from the PDF file, download it to save it locally. Then, you can access and open the PDF without a password.
Test Results:
PDF file ①: Success.
PDF file ②: Failed.
PDF file ③: Failed.
PDF file ④: Failed.
You can also use web browser to unlock PDF file without a password. But in our test, we found that if you use chrome or edge this method only works if the PDF file is not restricted from printing.
However, Firefox is the only browser that works even if the PDF are restricted from printing.
Step 1: Right-click on the PDF and choose to open it with Google Chrome.
Step 2: Chrome will open the PDF and you just need to click on the print in the upper-right corner.
If you are reluctant to upload important documents to web browser, and you doubt with PDF Password Removers. you can also unlock PDF with Adobe’s official PDF creation software - Adobe Acrobat. This is a different program from the free Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF viewer that most people have.
Adobe Acrobat Pro can unlock PDF without password if the PDF has permission password, But for open password you need to enter the right password to remove it.
Step 1: Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro and click File > Properties then click the Security tab.
Step 2: In the drop down menu select No Security, and click OK to remove the password.
Step 3: Click File > Save to save your changes. Now the password is removed from the original PDF file.
If you are a Mac user, you can also unlock PDF without password with Preview.
It is the default PDF viewer and editor on macOS. Few people know that it can also serves as a free PDF unlocker. With its aid, One can easily unlock PDF files without downloading any third-party program.
However, on the other hand, Preview does have its flaws: it only works with PDF permission password, If your PDF have open password you must input the correct password to remove it; Also, it doesn’t support batch unlock PDFs.
Step 1: Open PDF with Preview on Mac. In the menu choose File >> Print…
Step 2: In the bottom of the print dialog click PDF >> Save as PDF...
Step 3: Enter a file name and location for your new PDF file. Then you get a new PDF file that have the same contents but no password.
If you need a solution that can help you get back the loat PDF password. iSumsoft PDF Password Refixer is the PDF password recovery tool you need.
This tool will quickly recover PDF open or permission password and remove it.
Step 1: Download and install iSumsoft PDF Password Refixer.
Step 2: Click on the Open button to load PDF files.
Step 3: In the upper right corner select the type of attack. Here we choose Brute-force. In our test, setting the right attack type will improve the success rate. So if you choose this app to remove the PDF Password you can try all the 4 attack type and see which one can do the work.
Step 4: Click on the Start button. And it will start unlocking the PDF file and show you the password shortly.
After you’ve unlocked your PDF, you can easily edit, compress, convert, sign, or watermark your PDF document with PDF editors like Cisdem PDFMaster.
Of course! To lock your PDF file and assign different protections to it, you can use Cisdem PDFMaster and choose protect to set open password, permission password, encryption level etc.
With strong password, it will be difficult for someone to remove the password from the PDF. And you can rest assured that your PDF is safe and even safe to share online. Here are some tips on setting a strong password.
1. Longer passwords are more difficult to crack. So it is advised to set password that are longer than 12 characters.
2. Most of the PDF unlocker will try all the items in an inbuilt dictionary until it finds the right password. If your PDF password have only number or only character it will be easy to unlock. So it is recommend to use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
That covers the top methods for unlocking PDF files without the password in 2024! The key options include using Chrome, Adobe Acrobat, Preview, third-party software like Cisdem PDF Password Remover and iSumsoft, and online sites like iLovePDF, Smallpdf, etc. You can choose the one that suits you most from the mentioned methods.
Cisdem PDF Password Remover should be the most efficient way to help you solve problems like how to unlock PDF. Especially it have the highest success rate in unlocking open password protected PDFs. Why not download Cisdem PDF Password Remover and try this unlocking tool now!
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 Free Download macOS 10.13 or later
Carolyn has always been passionate about reading and writing, so she joined Cisdem as an editor as soon as she graduated from university. She focuses on writing how-to articles about PDF editing and conversion.
