PDF Opening Issues

How to Fix Screen Lines and Phone Shutdown When Opening PDFs on Android

Adam Davis Oct 19, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user's mobile device displays horizontal screen lines and unexpectedly shuts down when attempting to open PDF files in a third-party PDF reader.

How to Fix Screen Lines and Phone Shutdown When Opening PDFs on Android

Product: Adobe Acrobat Reader Mobile
Device & OS: OnePlus 9R 5G (Android)
Scenario: Attempting to open and view standard PDF documents using Adobe Acrobat Reader on an Android mobile device.
Observed behavior: Upon opening a PDF, horizontal lines appear on the screen, immediately followed by the phone shutting down entirely. The issue resolves when the application is uninstalled.

Before you start

Ensure your device has sufficient battery charge, and try opening a plain text file to confirm the display issue is strictly related to PDF rendering.

Solution 1Recommended

Update Apps, OS, and Clear Background Conflicts

Resolve compatibility bugs and rendering overload by ensuring your operating system and application are fully up-to-date while minimizing background resource usage.

Screen glitching and device shutdowns during PDF rendering often indicate a severe resource conflict, outdated graphic drivers tied to the Android version, or a buggy app update.

Clearing the device's operational environment before launching the app can prevent system overloads.

Update Android OS

Go to your device 'Settings', navigate to 'System' or 'About device', and tap 'Software update'. Download and install any available updates for your OnePlus device.

Update the PDF Reader

Open the Google Play Store, tap your profile icon, select 'Manage apps & device', and check for updates for Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Disable Active VPNs

If you are running a VPN service, open the VPN app and tap 'Disconnect', as network interception features can sometimes conflict with mobile app loading sequences.

Clear Background Apps

Tap the recent apps button on your device's navigation bar and swipe away all running applications to free up RAM before opening your PDF.

Update Apps, OS, and Clear Background Conflicts

System Restart Required: Always restart your phone after updating the operating system or the application to ensure all new system files are properly loaded.

Solution 2

Isolate the Issue Using an Alternative Viewer

Determine if the issue is with the specific PDF file or isolated to the Adobe Acrobat app by opening the document in a different viewer.

Solution 3

Record the Glitch and Contact Support

If standard troubleshooting fails, gather specific diagnostic data and escalate the issue to the software developer for a targeted patch.

Read and Edit PDFs Safely with WPS Office

Avoid display crashes and device shutdowns by switching to WPS Office. Its highly optimized PDF rendering engine allows you to open, view, and edit heavy PDF files seamlessly on any Android device without overloading system resources.

1. Install WPS Office: Download and install the free WPS Office app directly from the Google Play Store.
2. Open the App: Launch WPS Office and grant the necessary file access permissions so it can locate your documents.
3. Navigate to the PDF Tab: Tap on the 'PDF' filter at the top of the main screen to automatically scan and display all PDF files on your device.
4. Open the Document: Tap the desired PDF file to instantly open and read it within the stable WPS PDF viewer.

Stable PDF rendering that prevents screen glitching and device crashesFully compatible with all standard PDF versions and Microsoft Office document formatsLightweight architecture ensuring minimal battery and RAM consumptionBuilt-in tools to read, edit, compress, and convert PDF files on the go

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Android phone screen show lines and shut down when opening an app?

This severe reaction is typically caused by a hardware-level rendering failure. When a specific app requests graphic resources that conflict with the device's GPU drivers or Android version, it can trigger a kernel panic, resulting in visual artifacts (lines) and an automatic protective shutdown.

Can a corrupted PDF file cause my mobile device to crash?

Yes. If a PDF contains malformed code, incredibly high-resolution uncompressed images, or complex vector layers, a poorly optimized PDF reader may overwhelm the device's memory trying to process it, leading to a crash or shutdown.

How do I stop my default PDF reader from crashing my phone?

First, completely uninstall the problematic app. Next, clear your device's cache. Finally, install a more stable, lightweight alternative like WPS Office, which handles PDF files using better memory optimization to prevent system overloads.

PDF Troubleshooting